NFPA Journal - May/June 2013 - (Page 12)

A scene from a new video on community wildfire preparedness, produced by the Fire Adapted Communities Coalition. WILDLAND FIRE Prep Work New details emerge about Colorado’s historic Waldo Canyon fire. Plus, NFPA partners with South Africa to strengthen wildfire mitigation efforts, and a best-practices guide for wildfire-prone areas is released. BY FRED DURSO, JR. T he Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) Coalition has released a new report and companion video underscoring how a decade-long push to implement wildfire safety programs in Colorado Springs, Colorado, affected the damage and response to the state’s costliest wildfire. The report, “Lessons from Waldo Canyon,” outlines the preventative measures in place as the Waldo Canyon Fire last year forced the evacuation of more than 30,000 residents and destroyed 345 homes. Following the fire, FAC representatives toured the area’s most heavily impacted neighborhoods for three days and noted their findings in the report. “The mitigation tools used by the Colorado Springs Fire Marshal’s Wildfire Mitigation Section mirrored, to a large extent, the recommendations of the FAC program,” says Pam Leschak, wildland urban interface/ FAC program manager for the U.S. Forest Service. “The report’s findings conclude that the damage to the city would have been far more widespread if these practices weren’t put into place.” Download the report and watch video interviews of FAC’s assessment team on the scene at fireadapted.org. Perfect partners The Wildland Fire Operations Division recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with FFA Non Profit Company in South Africa, which has developed a program modeled after NFPA’s Firewise Communities Program. FFA works with public and private sectors, as well as donor and government agencies, to address wildfire safety concerns in South Africa. The MOU signed 12 NFPA JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2013 with NFPA builds on this partnership by exchanging the lessons learned on wildfire mitigation and supporting international relationships that tackle global fire. NFPA will support FFA’s efforts to further develop their FireWise Programme, which is similar in scope to NFPA’s Firewise Communities/USA Recognition Program. In 2011, NFPA signed a similar MOU with the Partners in Protection, a Canadian nonprofit also focused on reducing wildfire loss through its FireSmart recognition program. “Seeing the Firewise Communities program being successfully applied to such a different landscape shows the program’s strength and flexibility,” says Molly Mowery, NFPA’s program manager for Fire Adapted Communities and International Outreach. “Not only are we sharing our lessons from the U.S., but we’re also learning the successes from South Africa’s unique and sometimes challenging context.” Rules to live by Wildfire safety regulations sound good in theory, but how does a community go about implementing them? Addressing this question, NFPA has developed “Community Wildfire Safety Through Regulation,” a best practices guide for planners and regulators considering the implementation of tools aimed at addressing the risks of living in the wildland/urban interface (WUI). The guide lists the benefits of regulatory implementation, the various scales of implementation (community, neighborhood, individual property, and structure), the WUI tools that best fit specific communities, and examples of the successes and challenges posed to communities who have adopted regulations. Download the guide at nfpa.org/wuiguide. Data driven Federal, state, and local organizations all have their methods of collecting wildfire data, but imagine the possibilities if this information was consolidated to paint a clearer picture of wildfire risk in the United States. This idea was what prompted NFPA and the U.S. Fire Administration to recently bring together 18 organizations responsible for wildfire data collection. The meeting’s attendees shared information on current data reporting and identified next steps in improving the completeness, accuracy, and standardization of reporting. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for July. “We want to share the latest developments in this critical arena and forge relationships where there may have been gaps in the past,” says Hylton Haynes, associate project manager with NFPA’s Wildland Fire Operations Division. Download the meeting’s report at nfpa.org/wildfiremeeting. Salt Lake City hosts wildfire conference Registration is now open for NFPA’s Backyards & Beyond® Conference, November 14-16 in Salt Lake City, Utah. More than 50 breakout sessions divided into five educational tracks will underscore best practices and safety issues for reducing wildfire risks. The pre-conference workshop, “Assessing Wildfire Hazards in the Home Ignition Zone,” offers insight into fire behavior and structure ignition by wildfires. For registration information, visit nfpa.org/backyards. Photograph: USDA http://www.nfpa.org/wuiguide http://www.nfpa.org/wildfiremeeting http://www.fireadapted.org http://www.nfpa.org/backyards

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - May/June 2013

NFPA Journal - May/June 2013
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Treasurer's Report
Work in Progress
Amping It Up
Drill Team
Working Together
Code Process 2.0
Routine Maintenance
Here, There, Everywhere
Section Spotlight
Expo Preview: Exhibitors' Showcase
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - May/June 2013