6.1.1 Systematic Fire Protection
Increasing frequency and intensity of fires are having a negative effect on ecosystems and are leading to a general degradation of the land in many areas. The search for a solution is difficult. Systematic Fire Protection (SFP) offers a framework for developing a fire protection program designed to address this problem. The framework of SFP consists of several integral steps that can be applied in a number of ways. These steps are:
Fire Prevention
Fire prevention’s goal is to prevent a fire from occurring and consists of two activities. The first is to reduce the production of firebrands from various sources and the second is to reduce the susceptibility of vegetation to ignition by some form of treatment.
Fire Pre-suppression
Actions taken in anticipation of a fire are referred to as pre-suppression. This can involve training and equipping resources, as well as modifying fuels or constructing fire belts.
Detection
In order to take quick action on a fire, it must be detected as closely as possible to its time of ignition. Detection triggers all suppression actions and is critical in minimizing fire size and costs. Methods of detection include lookout towers, aircraft, infra-red scanners, patrols, and public reports.
Location
Once a fire has been detected, it must be located on a map or with other means in order to provide accurate information to personnel responding.
Dispatch
Once the location of the fire is determined, a decision must be made about strength of attack and specific forces to be sent.
Communication
The location and fire information is then transmitted to the forces being dispatched. Methods used may range from radio to bicycle messenger.
Travel
Once forces have received the dispatch order, they must travel to the fire using the fastest conveyance and routes possible.
Attack
Stopping the fire’s spread as quickly as possible, using the personnel and equipment available, is the goal of fire attack.
Mop-up
Once the fire’s spread has been halted, the next step is to secure the fire by extinguishing and cooling all hot spots.
6.1.2 Determining Fire Protection Objectives
The first step in applying Systematic Fire Protection is to determine the fire protection objectives for all the areas within the organization’s jurisdiction. Not all land need to be protected at the same level. For example, the fire protection level for a commercial pine plantation will be quite different from semi-desert shrub land. Determining objectives can be accomplished by subjective means, or it can be done in a more logical manner, as described below.
A logical and rational approach to establishing fire protection objectives begins by delineating areas of similar vegetation, topography, climate, protection constraints, etc. This allows fire protection to be targeted and prioritised. Area evaluation of values at risk (commercial, environmental, and social), and potential for fire to damage of these values, is then performed. Values at risk comprise one or more of the following:
v Commercial Values (values with monetary values)
• Timber – value of trees for production of wood products;
• Forage – value of grasses and shrubs for animal feed (this would include potential losses in milk production, loss in weight, loss of animals due to feeding on poisonous plants);
• Thatch and reeds – value of roofing and fencing;
• Non-wood forest products – loss of berries, fruits, mushrooms, herbs, dyes, medicinal trees;
• Water – value of the land's capacity to capture and store water;
• Wildlife and fish – value in the utilization of wildlife including non-consumptive uses.
v Environmental Values (values that can not be quantified monetarily)
• Wildlife and fish habitat;
• Endangered plants and animals;
• Soils (erosion of top soils due to burning);
• Wind and shelter protection;
• Long-term ecological impacts (e.g. level of ground water table, silting of hydro-electric dams and reservoirs).
v Social and Political Values
• Public safety;
• Archaeological, historical, or other sites;
• Sustainability of resource base for local communities (fire damage to housing, infrastructure and crops).
Fire potential is evaluated considering:
v Fire Regime
• Historical role of fire and its impact on vegetation;
• Historical fire return interval;
• Recent Fire occurrence (5 to 10 years);
• Historical use of fire (including gender aggregated data);
• Fire cause(s) (gender aggregated data).
v Fire Fuel Conditions
• Present vegetation composition;
• Projected vegetation composition.
v Environmental Conditions
• Past and present climate and seasonal trends;
• Climatic change;
• Topography.
Once the protection objectives have been identified, they can be weighted, using the following Table (Table 1) as a guide:
Table 1. Guidance of Fire Protection Objectives
|
Protection Objectives Example | |
|
Description | |
|
Critical |
Fire in any form is not desired at all. Fire has never played a role in the ecosystem or - because of human developments - can no longer be tolerated without significant economic loss. Virtually all fires would be actively suppressed. |
|
Full Protection |
Fire plays a natural role in the function of the ecosystem but - because of resource concerns and potentially high economic impacts from fire - considerable constraints exist. Fire suppression is usually aggressive. |
|
Limited Protection |
Fire is a desirable component of the ecosystem. Certain ecological/resource constraints may be applied. These constraints - along with health and safety, etc. - are used in determining the appropriate suppression tactic on a case-by-case basis. |
|
Fire Use Area |
Fire is desired to achieve the resource condition, sought for designated areas with no constraints. Prescribed fire is used to obtain the desired resource/ecological condition. |
Once protection objectives for each area have been established and agreed to, the next step is to decide how to implement them.
6.1.3 Selecting Implementation Alternatives.
One of the primary means of evaluation is the measurement of the alternative’s economic efficiency. This method balances costs with losses due to fire. The costs included in this method are:
• Budgeted. These include all the fixed annual costs of maintaining a fire organization, such as staffing, equipment, training, facilities, etc.
• Suppression. These include emergency costs, above the budgeted costs, used to pay for actual fire suppression.
• Net Value Change. This is cost of resources lost due to fire.
• Cost + Net Value Change(C+NVC). This is the sum of the above costs, which indicates the overall efficiency of the alternative.
6.2.1 Regional Phase
Evaluating Wildfire History
In order to understand the fire hazard problems of a region better, the wildfire history can be mapped, to determine where the most serious wildfires occur.
Regional Fire Protection Objectives
The regional fire protection strategy should be incorporated into the regional fire protection plan, and should be concisely compiled to cover important issues of fire protection at a regional level such as:
• Fire hazard evaluation and identification of hazardous areas
• External and internal fire protection strategy including regional bufferzoning
• Control over fire protection programmes
• Disaster management
Care should be taken that those issues such as ecological prescribed burning constrains, optimal water supply maintenance and urban interface problems/potential problems are carefully considered when the regional fire protection strategy is drawn up.
Regional Fire Hazard Mapping
Before fire hazard can be considered at regional level, it is necessary to classify fire hazard according to a specific fire hazard grading system. Regional fire hazard classifications used, vary according to the nature and percentage cover of natural fuels and land-use, and may be based mainly on natural vegetation cover features, man-made fire hazard features, or a combination of both. Region-specific classifications should be developed after careful evaluation of requirements.
Regional Bufferzoning
On-site studies, wildfire simulation, topographical terrain considerations and wind flow dynamic studies, together with wildfire history studies, should be used to consider where in the landscape major regional fire breaks (bufferzones) should be placed, what their specifications should be, and how they should be placed in the landscape, in relation to the most dangerous wind direction. These zones will disregard man-made property boundaries and provide continuous protection lines which can stop most (if not all) wildfires, or at least provide safe lines from where counter-fires can be applied against approaching wildfire fronts. The following main criteria have to be considered when bufferzones are placed:
• To incorporate natural protection features as much as possible, such as watersheds, constantly flowing rivers and indigenous forests.
• Include major roads, suitable prescribed burning areas/compartments (natural as well as plantations) and cultivated lands.
• Incorporate recent wildfire areas.
• Place the zones (as near as possible) at a 90 degrees angle with the most likely direction of maximum fire spread.
• Ensure that the buffers form continuous lines, from the safest possible starting to end points.
• Provide adequate width along favourable topography, from where a counter-firing line can be constructed, from where an approaching wildfire can effectively be attacked.
Bufferzones should also be mapped on the 1:50 000 regional fire protection maps, and must be described in detail in the strategic regional fire protection plan. All landowners and fire fighting organizations within the region should have full detail available about these regional bufferzones and fire fighting should (where possible) be concentrated along these lines.
The Strategic Fire Protection Plan
Certain realities are here to stay, which should be considered in developing an integrated fire protection plan:
• An increased population pressure, and subsequent increase in fire hazard as more and more people infringe on the natural and plantation environment.
• Global changes in weather patterns will have to be accepted as a fact, and planners will have to consider these issues in future seriously.
• Urban interface problems must be identified, and an action plan has to be developed by local authorities.
• Weed control programs on a regional level must be implemented, to address factors such as biomass accumulation (and subsequent fire hazard).
• Continuous attempts are necessary to come as close as possible to optimum ecological requirements.
Integration with conservation programmes
Priority areas, deserving special conservation status, such as unique floral communities, breeding areas for rare animals and special cultural sites, must be considered for incorporation as part of bufferzones. The creation of natural corridors throughout such areas will be facilitated in this way, by following main riparian zones and inter-connected internal bufferzones.
Multi-purpose strategic regional plan
A Strategic Fire Prevention Plan may form part of an Integrated Fire Management Plan, which includes the following aspects:
• Fire awareness raising (campaign) and fire prevention
• Fire pre-suppression
• Fire suppression
• Training and education
• Law enforcement and the use of incentives
• Prescribed burning for special purposes
Addressing urban interface problems
Much of the responsibility for implementing a good comprehensive and effective plantation/urban interface fire protection program is going to fall on local government and municipalities.
This situation of homes and other buildings located in, or adjacent to, fire-prone areas of vegetation can have the following effects:
• The risk of loss of life and property is greatly increased.
• Fire fighters are often put in exceptionally dangerous situations as they are forced to protect property.
• Fire commanders could shift tactics towards structure protection and away from controlling the main fire.
• Potential conflicting priorities in fire management policies where public and private land meet.
There is a need for close collaboration between the fire authorities and the people prescribing requirements for structural designs and materials to be used in building housing in urban interface areas.
There is also a need to connect the local population in the planning of prescribed burning at landscape levels. Previously people have reacted very negatively towards any fuel reduction activities due to the pollution it causes as well as to the incidents, when prescribed fire runs out of control.
6.2.2 Evaluation Phase
Fuel modelling, Fuel Classification and Fire Hazard Rating
To arrive at a suitable fuel classification base at a smaller scale (1:10 000 to 1:30 000) it is necessary that the fuels of all significant burnable areas in the region are considered for fuel modelling, to arrive at a representative fuel model file. This process can be regarded as the first step towards fire hazard assessment at a more detailed level, which can be used during the evaluation process. Fuel models should then be developed and tested, which can then be ranked according to standardized performance under the following parameters set for typical wildfire conditions:
• Flame Length (m)
• Rate of Spread (m/min)
• Fireline Intensity (kW/m)
• Heat per Unit Area (kJ/sq.m.)
• Maximum Spotting Distance (km)
Fire hazard ratings should then be calculated per area or compartment, to illustrate the existing as well as future predicted fire hazard status.
Mapping Fire Hazard over Time
A suitable base map (or maps) should be selected to act as fire hazard rating maps, which should be at the smallest possible scale without having to use more than one or two maps per rating year.
Two maps should be prepared (with GIS assistance if possible) to illustrate fire hazard. One to show the existing hazard situation, the other to show the future (predicted) hazard status. When comparing the two (sets) of maps - one for the present and one for the future fire hazard status - prominent high fire hazard areas and major shifts in hazard can easily be identified and then be considered in the following decision-making process (placement of fire protection systems such as fire breaks):
Evaluating Existing Fire Protection Measures
Based on the fire hazard-rating phase, long-, medium- and short-term programmes are put together. In this process some of the issues that must be addressed are:
• The placement of existing fire belts.
• Riparian zone requirements.
• Nature conservation requirements, such as special regimes for natural heritage sites, wetlands, etc.
• Financial constraints and the cost-effectiveness of the recommendations.
• Adjustments required in the working plan and changes to land-use policies.
6.2.3 Application Phase
Placing Bufferzone Systems
The finer detail of this programme can only be dealt with after completing the Evaluation Phase, and once the broader-scale routes of zones are considered at smaller scale maps. This will provide more detail regarding areas or compartments, grazing camps, the fuel mosaic pattern or wildfire history.
Where a lack of fuel management options or prescribed burning restrictions occur, alternative routes may (temporary) have to be considered, until such time that the fuel status of these areas are more favourable for fuel reduction/fire application. More exact (final) route placement may also give rise to minor deviations of bufferzone boundaries and routes.
Apart from the major regional bufferzones, other bufferzones - such as internal bufferzones – can now also be placed and described, with the emphasis on natural protection lines (such as wetlands) and artificial alternatives (such as public roads and areas with restricted fuel levels). The main aim here will be to reduce the area at risk within management units, and to fill gaps in the creation of continuous fire protection lines.
External Fire Protection Requirements
Once the bufferzone systems have been placed in the landscape, attention should be given to other external fire protection, on property boundaries and around management units.
Reducing the Area at Risk
This applies to the area within external boundaries, and can include industrial plantations with compartments/blocks or farms subdivided into different camps/cultivated lands. It can also be applicable to sub-divided nature reserves, hunting farms, rural areas, mountain catchment areas or other forms of natural grassland, bush or forest.
It is important that the area at risk, within a fire management unit, is reduced as much as possible to restrict free spread of wildfires, which either originated within the unit, or from outside its boundaries. Identifying effective, continuous, fire protection lines, which can be used as part of the internal fire protection system, can do this. Natural protection lines should be used for this purpose where possible, extending them with additional fire break sections where these lines are not continuous. In natural vegetation, existing wetland lines, rivers, mountain ridges and road systems should be used to advantage where possible to achieve this.
Prioritising Prescribed Burning Programmes
In many cases prescribed burning programmes can only be completed if long burning seasons are experienced, with a maximum number of suitable prescribed burning days. Unfortunately, during some years, only a restricted number of suitable burning days can be used. In some areas, particularly where dynamics fuels occur with significant seasonal fluctuations in dry fuel status (such as grasslands in Africa and Australia), the following burning priorities are normally used:
• Main (Regional) bufferzones (always top priority)
• External fire breaks on dangerous boundaries
• Fire protection along public roads
• Fire protection under powerlines
• Internal bufferzones
• Fuel management around internal settlements and houses
• External fire breaks along less dangerous boundaries
• Conservation burning programmes
It is important that fire managers can obtain some information about the level of fire danger for a given region for a specific day, in order to allocate manpower, equipment and applicable operational rules to face the situation. Daily weather patterns have a marked influence on fire danger even where human beings are mostly responsible for fires, but days since last rain (and quantity of precipitation), the status of vegetation and fuel moistures, and the soil dryness index can all be regarded as influencing factors, although their relative importance may vary between regions. To enable fire managers to evaluate fire danger daily, fire danger rating systems have been developed to assist them, some - such as the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) and the National Forest Fire Danger Rating System (NFFDRS) - dating back from the early 1900s.
Because there exist major differences between regional requirements for fire danger rating systems because of climatic characteristics, geographic features and/or vegetation structure and drying pattern, it has been determined that region-specific FDR systems need to be used. Various continents, countries and regions have accordingly tested different FDR systems in use elsewhere, and developed system(s) suiting there own local conditions. However, it has been identified that certain basic elements should be incorporated in an FDR system, which are:
• Dry bulb air temperature
• Relative humidity
• Wind speed
• Days since rain and amount
Then there may be other region-specific parameters that should be included in certain countries/regions, some of which may be the following:
• Vegetation/fuel classification systems
• Fuel moisture
• Topographical factors
• Drought indexes
• Soil dryness indexes
• Grassland curing factor
In most developed countries suitable FDR systems have been tested and in use, some of which are even linked to information obtained from daily satellite images for improved accuracy, such as in the USA. In other countries basic FDR systems are in use, but improvement is being investigated (such as in some South American Countries and South Africa). However, in some developing countries, such as in most African and some central and south American countries, FDR systems still need to be introduced before daily fire danger ratings can be provided.
