Building a Fire Organization 



487 



1 . To prevent or reduce man-caused 

 fires. 



2. To lessen the probability that 

 fires will start or spread by eliminating 

 or reducing the amount of inflammable 

 material the brush and grass, logging 

 slash, and other fuels that at times be- 

 come highly inflammable. 



To reach these objectives, the plan 

 must be based on a thorough analysis 

 of the principal reasons why fires occur 

 on the area and how the fires can be 

 prevented or reduced. The analysis 

 should include : 



1. Study of risk. 



Analyze fires by causes for the pre- 

 ceding 5 years. To the extent possible, 

 the reason why each fire started should 

 be determined. 



Map the location of fires, by major 

 causes, for the same 5-year period. This 

 is to earmark the areas of high fire oc- 

 currence or "risk." 



Classify the high-risk areas and de- 

 termine the fire-starting potential of 

 each area. 



2. Study of special hazards. 

 Delineate dangerous areas from the 



standpoint of potential fuels, or hazard, 

 such as slash, the highly inflammable 

 brush, debris along railroads and high- 

 ways and around sawmills, and so 

 forth. 



3. Correlation of the risk and hazard 

 factors, with a relative composite rating 

 for each problem area. 



4. Determination of remedial pre- 

 vention measures needed. 



A general principle to be considered 

 in preparing a fire-prevention action 

 plan is to recognize that forest fuels 

 and fire risks are the two controlling 

 indices. Where critical fuels are ex- 

 posed to human risks, the prevention 

 effort must be aimed at reducing either 

 the fire risk or the fuel hazard, or at 

 minimizing the potentials of each. 

 Often it is possible to eliminate or re- 

 duce abnormal fire hazards, but where 

 that is not feasible the main effort must 

 be directed toward lowering their ex- 

 posure to unnecessary risks. 



Many devices and methods have 

 been used to reduce human risk from 



high-hazard fire areas at critical times. 

 They fall into two general categories, 

 education and restriction. The educa- 

 tional efforts, a wide range of activi- 

 ties, try to change the attitudes and 

 careless habits of individuals and the 

 general public. Country-wide fire-pre- 

 vention programs are helpful, but the 

 over-all educational campaigns need 

 to be supplemented by particularized 

 efforts that are aimed directly at the 

 specific local needs. Personal contacts 

 often are the most effective. 



Few prevention plans can, however, 

 depend on education alone. High- 

 hazard fuel areas may require the re- 

 stricted use of the area by people 

 forbidding smoking except at specified 

 safe places, for example, or limiting 

 the campfires, or fixing the hours and 

 places for burning debris. Some haz- 

 ardous areas might even have to be 

 closed entirely to all use during critical 

 periods. 



The fire-prevention plan must meet 

 the specific needs. It must be work- 

 able. It must be kept up to date. It 

 must outline a definite course of action 

 as to what is to be done and by whom, 

 where and how it will be accomplished, 

 and the period during which it will be 

 carried out. An effective program also 

 requires qualified and trained person- 

 nel. Respected local residents are fre- 

 quently the best. 



To DETECT FOREST FIRES, vigilance 



must be eternal. Time is of the es- 

 sence. Adequate facilities and person- 

 nel are required to assure that all fires 

 are discovered when they start. That 

 generally demands a network of look- 

 out points, manned by competent 

 observers or detectors during the fire 

 season. Patrolling by foot, car, or air* 

 plane also is sometimes necessary. 



The first step in preparing a detec- 

 tion plan is to designate on a map all 

 fires in the previous 5 years, grouped 

 by major causes and zones as to fre- 

 quency. This is known as the fire-occur- 

 rence business map, and it represents 

 the number of fires that experience 

 has shown must, on an average, 



