Safety          Safety           Safety

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This is also available as a Fast-Track course - May go directly to Quiz (This is only recommended for those persons who have taken this course several times)

Section 2,        Section 3,        Section 4,        Section 5  Direct to Quiz

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Section 1.0 Introduction 

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S-185 Fire Entrapment Avoidance & Safety

1.0 Introduction

SAFETY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION ON ANY FIRE

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It should be noted and remembered that most fireline emergency incidents are a result of someone (or a whole crew) not following ALL of the safe work procedures.

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This course will teach the participant the basic principles of fire-line safety and in particular, those safety rules pertaining to avoiding a fire entrapment incident.  

It is expected that if all fire-line safety rules and regulations are followed, the need may never arise for a fire fighter to have to unexpectedly resort to “last ditch” efforts to save their or others, lives.

However, it is well documented where unexpected fire behaviour does occur.  In some of these documented cases, several lives have been lost.  

It is the goal of this course to ensure that even when the “unexpected” occurs, the fire fighter will know what to do and where to go and in the end, be safe and alive.

Note: The British Columbia Forest Service – Protection Branch, no longer issue Fire Shelters to their fire crews.  Therefore, all fire fighting strategies factor this into the emergency; withdraw and escape procedures as there is no fire shelter available.

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Basic Fire Behaviour

1. Affected by topography
2. Affected by fuel type, spacing and density
3. Affected by weather conditions

• wind
• precipitation
• relative humidity
• temperature

1. Affected by daily weather patterns / daily (diurnal rhythms) upslope winds during daytime and downslope winds at night
2. Affected by historical weather patterns

• extended droughts (less than average rainfall)
• reduced snow-pack over previous winter(s)

Wind is typed in red because of all the weather related conditions, the sudden changes and movement of air (wind) can be the most critical to fire control attempts and to the fire fighter’s personal well being.  

Many fire entrapments are a result of sudden and unexpected winds and wind direction changes.

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