Public Safety, Wildland Interface and COVID-19
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Tracy Rickman, David Harold Updike and Nash Flores
May 21, 2021
Public safety leaders are responsible for reducing hazards, responding to emergencies and minimizing loss of life and destruction of property. Accomplishing this task requires balancing implementing the emergency management cycle, developing effective strategies and staying within prescribed budgets. As the climate continues to change, rising temperatures and droughts have extended the wildland fire season to a year-round threat. This results in leaders constantly preparing for the next wildland fire emergency. The increase and severity in wildfires throughout the world calls for a cadre of unique people trained and ready to serve as wildland firefighters.
In 2020, first responders experienced many changes in how they responded to and controlled wildland fires. The increased emphasis on protecting wildland firefighters as frontline defenders of the public grew in importance as COVID-19 diminished many responding agencies’ operational capacities.
The men and women at the forefront of protecting lives, property and the environment from the destructive nature of wildland fires deserve protection from threats that reduce their ability to respond. In 2020, the National Interagency Fire Center reported that there were more than 56,000 wildfires in the United States, an increase of about 15% from 2019. This equates to more than 10 million acres of land burned.
As the challenges of responding to wildland fires intensified, responses to COVID-19 drew attention to developing practices on how to best protect the affected people, first responders and firefighters, in a COVID-19 environment. Reducing the virus’s spread is as important as extinguishing uncontrolled fires.
The Incident Command System (ICS) proved effective in responding to a multi-threat environment. The ICS supports a structure allowing various leaders to collaborate while implementing protocols limiting the virus’s spread while addressing the conflagration. Daily briefings, mask-wearing and social distancing are as important as the firefighters attacking a fire.
In 2020, wildland firefighters frequently were victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, as firefighters brought people together from various United States regions. Incident management bases are densely populated locations that suffer a variety of viral infections. As firefighters attack fires, responders fall victim to “camp crud” (runny noses, sniffles and coughs). Contagions spread and thrive in a populated environment, especially one where firefighters gather for briefings, meals and management strategy meetings.
The initial threat of COVID-19 infection to wildland firefighters decreased as health protocols implemented nationwide mitigated the spread of the virus. As quarantine measures brought hope to the nation in 2021, first responders transitioned from reaction mode to a confident response mode.
Knowledge gained from best practices and lessons learned made the firefighting environment safer in an already dynamic setting. A significant practice in reducing the threat from a wildland interface was reducing high-touch community surfaces. Simple preparations like having hand sanitizer readily available, eliminating drinking from community coolers and other controls limiting person-to-person interactions reduced the potential for the virus spreading within the ranks of wildland firefighters.
Another strategy implemented was reducing overpopulated congregation areas by either increasing the responder footprint or reducing attendance at meetings to mandatory personnel.
Corralling the virus included virtual briefings and meetings. Many IMTs (Incident Management Teams) spent the last year sharing the best intelligence on what has worked while creating a path to ensure the future safety and reduction of virus’ spread to first responders and the communities they serve in the year-round fire season. First responders’ health and safety is critical to ensure a contingent strategy to combat wildland fires.
Response to a rash of wildfires in 2020 incorporated activating international crews and United States military crews to combat unprecedented conflagrations in the western United States. International crews responding from Canada and Mexico posed challenges not only with their own protocols, but also now virus protocols in the United States. Placing these crews in isolation for a 14-day period while traveling from country to country created a unique planning and logistical challenge.
While homeowners affected from wildfires sought refuge in hotels during evacuations, using the venues for responders increased the difficulty of providing sanitized lodging for fire crews. Beyond the prophylactics controlling the spread of COVID-19, multi-language messaging became an added challenge to ensure safety for all responders during the 2020 fire siege. These mitigation efforts proved successful in keeping the majority of responders safe while protecting people and property. Ensuring personnel in a multi-agency response effort are aware of and understand health and safety protocols is part of the leaders’ responsibility in fighting fires while combating COVID-19.
Moving forward in the 2021 fire season, planners must develop dynamic preparedness and logistical plans in a continual process ensuring that personnel and equipment are ready for immediate deployment to wildfires. In California, for example, a proposal to support efforts in fire prevention, updating building construction standards in the wildland urban interface and providing for vegetation management, is being reviewed.
The take-aways from the combined COVID-19 wildfire experiences of 2020 to early 2021 is that public safety leaders understand their role to support first responders regardless of the disaster and threat. Contemporary wildfires not only place responders at risk from burn events but also from pandemic contagions. Coming home safely means much more in today’s environment. Responders need to come home safe and in good health.
Author: Dr. Tracy E. Rickman, Chief David Harold Updike are both Faculty at Rio Hondo College in the Wildland Fire Technology program. Dr. Ygnacio “Nash” Flores is faculty at Rio Hondo College in the Homeland Security program.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...
Public Safety, Wildland Interface and COVID-19
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Tracy Rickman, David Harold Updike and Nash Flores
May 21, 2021
Public safety leaders are responsible for reducing hazards, responding to emergencies and minimizing loss of life and destruction of property. Accomplishing this task requires balancing implementing the emergency management cycle, developing effective strategies and staying within prescribed budgets. As the climate continues to change, rising temperatures and droughts have extended the wildland fire season to a year-round threat. This results in leaders constantly preparing for the next wildland fire emergency. The increase and severity in wildfires throughout the world calls for a cadre of unique people trained and ready to serve as wildland firefighters.
In 2020, first responders experienced many changes in how they responded to and controlled wildland fires. The increased emphasis on protecting wildland firefighters as frontline defenders of the public grew in importance as COVID-19 diminished many responding agencies’ operational capacities.
The men and women at the forefront of protecting lives, property and the environment from the destructive nature of wildland fires deserve protection from threats that reduce their ability to respond. In 2020, the National Interagency Fire Center reported that there were more than 56,000 wildfires in the United States, an increase of about 15% from 2019. This equates to more than 10 million acres of land burned.
As the challenges of responding to wildland fires intensified, responses to COVID-19 drew attention to developing practices on how to best protect the affected people, first responders and firefighters, in a COVID-19 environment. Reducing the virus’s spread is as important as extinguishing uncontrolled fires.
The Incident Command System (ICS) proved effective in responding to a multi-threat environment. The ICS supports a structure allowing various leaders to collaborate while implementing protocols limiting the virus’s spread while addressing the conflagration. Daily briefings, mask-wearing and social distancing are as important as the firefighters attacking a fire.
In 2020, wildland firefighters frequently were victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, as firefighters brought people together from various United States regions. Incident management bases are densely populated locations that suffer a variety of viral infections. As firefighters attack fires, responders fall victim to “camp crud” (runny noses, sniffles and coughs). Contagions spread and thrive in a populated environment, especially one where firefighters gather for briefings, meals and management strategy meetings.
The initial threat of COVID-19 infection to wildland firefighters decreased as health protocols implemented nationwide mitigated the spread of the virus. As quarantine measures brought hope to the nation in 2021, first responders transitioned from reaction mode to a confident response mode.
Knowledge gained from best practices and lessons learned made the firefighting environment safer in an already dynamic setting. A significant practice in reducing the threat from a wildland interface was reducing high-touch community surfaces. Simple preparations like having hand sanitizer readily available, eliminating drinking from community coolers and other controls limiting person-to-person interactions reduced the potential for the virus spreading within the ranks of wildland firefighters.
Another strategy implemented was reducing overpopulated congregation areas by either increasing the responder footprint or reducing attendance at meetings to mandatory personnel.
Corralling the virus included virtual briefings and meetings. Many IMTs (Incident Management Teams) spent the last year sharing the best intelligence on what has worked while creating a path to ensure the future safety and reduction of virus’ spread to first responders and the communities they serve in the year-round fire season. First responders’ health and safety is critical to ensure a contingent strategy to combat wildland fires.
Response to a rash of wildfires in 2020 incorporated activating international crews and United States military crews to combat unprecedented conflagrations in the western United States. International crews responding from Canada and Mexico posed challenges not only with their own protocols, but also now virus protocols in the United States. Placing these crews in isolation for a 14-day period while traveling from country to country created a unique planning and logistical challenge.
While homeowners affected from wildfires sought refuge in hotels during evacuations, using the venues for responders increased the difficulty of providing sanitized lodging for fire crews. Beyond the prophylactics controlling the spread of COVID-19, multi-language messaging became an added challenge to ensure safety for all responders during the 2020 fire siege. These mitigation efforts proved successful in keeping the majority of responders safe while protecting people and property. Ensuring personnel in a multi-agency response effort are aware of and understand health and safety protocols is part of the leaders’ responsibility in fighting fires while combating COVID-19.
Moving forward in the 2021 fire season, planners must develop dynamic preparedness and logistical plans in a continual process ensuring that personnel and equipment are ready for immediate deployment to wildfires. In California, for example, a proposal to support efforts in fire prevention, updating building construction standards in the wildland urban interface and providing for vegetation management, is being reviewed.
The take-aways from the combined COVID-19 wildfire experiences of 2020 to early 2021 is that public safety leaders understand their role to support first responders regardless of the disaster and threat. Contemporary wildfires not only place responders at risk from burn events but also from pandemic contagions. Coming home safely means much more in today’s environment. Responders need to come home safe and in good health.
Author: Dr. Tracy E. Rickman, Chief David Harold Updike are both Faculty at Rio Hondo College in the Wildland Fire Technology program. Dr. Ygnacio “Nash” Flores is faculty at Rio Hondo College in the Homeland Security program.
Follow Us!