Wildland Fire Suppression 05
Wildland Fire Suppression 05 : Objectives: (1) Safety: Protection of human life, both firefighters and civilians, is first priority. When arriving on a scene a fire crew will establish a safety zone (s), escape routes, verify communication is in place and designate lookouts (known in the U. S. by the acronym LCES, for lookouts, communications, escape routes, safety zones). This allows the firefighters to engage a fire with options for a retreat should their current situation become unsafe. Although other safety zones should be designated, areas already burned generally provide a safe refuge from fire provided they have cooled sufficiently, are accessible, and have burned enough fuels so as to not reignite. Briefings may be done to inform new fire resources of hazards and other pertinent information. A great emphasis is placed on safety and preventing entrapment, or a situation where escape from the fire is impossible. Prevention of this situation is reinforced with a list of 10 fire orders and 18 watch out situations for firefighters to be aware of, which warn of potentially dangerous situations. As a last resort, many wildland firefighters carry a fire shelter. In this unescapable situation, the shelter will provide limited protection from radiant and convective heat, as well as superheated air. Entrapment within a fire shelter is called a burnover. In Australia, firefighters rarely carry fireshelters, (commonly referred to as "Shake 'N' Bake" shelters) rather training is given to locate natural shelters or the use of handtools to create protection. Or in the instance of 'burnover' in a Tanker or other fire appliance, 'fire over-run' training is used. Hazards beyond the fire are posed as well. A very small sample of these include: unstable hazard trees, animals, electrical cables, unexploded ordnance, hazardous materials, rolling and falling debris, and lightning
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