Fire Management Pocket Guide Incident Response & Fireline Safety
Fire Management Pocket Guide Incident Response & Fireline Safety
Fire Management Pocket Guide Incident Response & Fireline Safety
Pocket Guide
• Incident name
• Incident commander
• Incident type
• Wildfire, search and rescue, etc.
• Incident status
• Location
• Jurisdiction
• Radio frequencies
• Incident size
• Fuel type
• Wind speed and direction
• Slope and aspect
• Best access
• Special hazards or concerns
• Additional resource needs
Table of Contents
PINK – FIRELINE
SAFETY
YELLOW – 18 ‘watch out’ situations 16
OPERATIONAL Ten fire orders 17
Fast check 1 L.A.C.E.S. 18
Fire weather and flame Fire survival 19
length 2 Specific first aid
Reconnaissance 4 treatment 21
Trooping 5 Burn injury treatment 22
Minimum impact CPR 24
suppression tactics 6 Aerial water drops 26
Communication
responsibilities 8 BLUE – ICS
Media interviews 9 ICS basics 27
Post fire debriefing 11 ICS organogram 28
Fire cause determination Operational leadership 29
checklist 12 The incident commander’s
Helicopter hand signals 13 duties 30
Phonetic alphabet 14 Initial unified command
Fire Protection duties 31
Officer 15 Planning meeting activity
checklist 33
Incident Response &
Fireline Safety Pocket
Guide
Sponsored by
South African National Lottery Development
Trust Fund
Prepared by
Fire Management Group
Fire Programme
CapeNature
PINK – FIRELINE
SAFETY
YELLOW – 18 ‘watch out’ situations 16
OPERATIONAL Ten fire orders 17
Fast check 1 L.A.C.E.S. 18
Fire weather and flame Fire survival 19
length 2 Specific first aid
Reconnaissance 4 treatment 21
Trooping 5 Burn injury treatment 22
Minimum impact CPR 24
suppression tactics 6 Aerial water drops 26
Communication
responsibilities 8 BLUE – ICS
Media interviews 9 ICS basics 27
Post fire debriefing 11 ICS organogram 28
Fire cause determination Operational leadership 29
checklist 12 The incident commander’s
Helicopter hand signals 13 duties 30
Phonetic alphabet 14 Initial unified command
Fire Protection duties 31
Officer 15 Planning meeting activity
checklist 33
FAST CHECK
Size-up: As you respond and when you first arrive
at the scene of an emergency, you should do a full
size-up of the situation. Only then are you ready to
develop your plan of action.
Fire history: What have fires in this area done before?
Weather conditions: Temperature, humidity, wind
speed and direction should be recorded. Analyze this
information to detect if a change is taking place. Ask
for an up-to-date forecast.
Fuels: Heavy/light, loading, arrangement, etc..
Topography: Kloofs, ridges, man-made or natural
barriers.
Fire behavior: Spotting, crowning and rate of spread.
Number of structures being threatened: Density,
roofing, siding, clearance and LPG tanks.
Access: Narrow roads, mid-slope roads, dead ends,
bridges and clearances.
Water sources: Dams, rivers, hydrants and swim-
ming pools.
Evacuations: Will you have to evacuate people and
animals? If the residents are going to stay, turn them
into an asset.
Special hazards: Hazardous materials, explosives,
high-voltage lines and above- ground fuel storage tanks.
FIRE WEATHER
The weather is used to detect changes that may
impact fire behavior. At a minimum, the following
weather factors should be recorded every hour:
- temperature
- relative humidity
- wind speed and direction.
FLAME LENGTH
Less than 1m: Fires can generally be attacked at
the head or flanks by firefighters using handtools.
Handline should hold fire.
RECONNAISSANCE:
PLAN THE FLIGHT
Pre-flight briefing:
-d
iscuss flight plan, check smoke, sun and
flight hazards
-c
heck air to ground comms
- test on-board comms
-s
elect best seating
- take map, pens, digital camera etc..
In-flight:
- identify landmarks, access routes, water
sources, control lines, drop zones, flying
hazards
- observe current and potential fire behaviour,
vegetation and topography
- trace perimeter and rate of spread of fire on
map.
TROOPING
•
Brief pilot on drop zones.
•
Appoint emplaning, deplaning officers.
•
Test air-to-ground comms.
•
Safety briefing for fire-fighters:
1. Only approach, leave on pilot signal
2. Stay In front of aircraft
3. Crouch on approach, tools horizontal
4. Fasten gear, ruck sacks to front
5. Don’t throw tools
6. Don’t run
•
Form groups, as per pilot instruction.
Emplaning:
1. Form rows, up wind of LZ
2. Row move forward on signal
3. Climb aboard one-at-a-time
4. Fasten seat belts
Deplaning:
1. Guide pilot to drop zone
2. Assist fire- fighters out
3. Indicate safe exit route
4. Refasten seat belts
MINIMUM IMPACT
SUPPRESSION TACTICS
Safety
• Safety is of utmost importance.
• Constantly review and apply the ‘Watch-out Situ-
ations’ and ‘Firefighting Orders’.
• Be particularly cautious with:
- unburned heavy fuel between you and the fire
- fireline down hill towards fire head
- unburnt area where terrain is difficult and
slow
- area and local factors influencing fire behav-
iour unfamiliar to fire fighters
- entering unknown terrain under cover of
darkness
- frontal assault with fire tankers
- frequent spots
- r olling material
- c hange in wind speed and direction
-b urning snags allowed to burn
-p artially burnt area for possible reburn.
Fire suppression
- Select procedures, tools, equipment that least
impact the environment.
- In light to medium fynbos, fuels swatting with
a beater remains an effective means of fire
suppression.
- Consider using water as a firelining tactic
(fireline constructed with nozzle pressure,
helicopter bucketing - wetlining).
- Allowing fire to burn to natural barrier.
- Minimise the use of bulldozers.
- Avoid the construction of tracer belts on steep
gradients.
- Avoid driving in vehicles tracks through the
fynbos.
COMMUNICATION
RESPONSIBILITIES
11
12
13
14
PHONETIC ALPHABET
A Alpha
B Bravo
C Charlie
D Delta
E Echo
F Foxtrot
G Golf
H Hotel
I India
J Julliett
K Kilo
L Lima
M Mike
N November
O Oscar
P Papa
Q Quebec
R Romeo
S Sierra
T Tango
U Uniform
V Victor
W Whiskey
X X-Ray
Y Yankee
Z Zulu
FIRE PROTECTION OFFICER
15
16
Survival Checklist
The following 18 situations shout ‘WATCH OUT!’
•F
ight fire aggressively but provide for safety first.
•O
btain current information on fire status.
•R
emain in communication with crewmembers,
supervisor and adjoining forces.
•D
etermine safety zones and escape routes.
•E
stablish lookouts in potentially hazardous
situations.
•R
etain control at all times.
•S
tay alert, keep calm, think clearly, act
decisively.
17
18
L. A. C. E. S.
Basic principles:
• Select an area where there is the least amount
of combustible material.
• Use every means to protect yourself from radia-
tion from the flames.
• Remain calm and don’t panic.
In a vehicle:
• Don’t drive a vehicle blindly through heavy
smoke.
• Park in clear or burnt area and switch head-
lights on.
• Role up windows and shelter yourself from
radiation beneath the dashboard and with a
rug or similar item. (If the vehicle catches fire,
leave it but keep your skin covered as much as
possible).
• Remain calm and remember that the fuel tank
won’t explode and that even in the worst situa-
tion, it will be some minutes before the vehicle
catches fire. cont...
19
20
...cont
In the open:
• Don’t panic.
• Protect against radiation.
• Take cover:
- in a shallow trench, culvert or crevice
- behind a large rock or log
- in running streams or dams
- under a vehicle.
• Enter the burnt area through the flames if this is
the only escape route.
• Burn out as large an area as possible between
you and the flames.
• Lie prone in a depression as a last resort.
• Don’t run unless you see a clear avenue of
escape (generally best to go downhill or towards
the flank).
• Regulate breathing, cover mouth and nose with
dampened handkerchief.
Specific First Aid
Treatments
21
22
23
24
CPR
25
26
27
ICS ORGANOGRAM
28
Operational Leadership
29
30
The Incident
Commander'S Duties
The Incident Commander has a wide variety of
duties:
31 cont...
32
...cont
33
strategies
Designate branch, division,
group Operations Section Chief
4 Operations Section Chief
boundaries and functions as
appropriate
Describe tactical operations and
5 Operations Section Chief
Planning Meeting
tactics
Activity Checklist
cont...
...cont
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