Vehicle Fires - The Hidden Dangers (powerpoint)

Vehicle Fires – The Hidden Dangers
From a wildland fire perspective the following PowerPoint training is intended to alert personnel to the serious hazards that are likely to be encountered when responding to vehicle fires. It is imperative to emphasize that suppressing vehicle fires is not the mission of many agencies with wildland fire responsibilities.

The Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations, 2006 includes the following policy guidance. This direction is applicable to the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Please consult Chapter 10 of the Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations, 2006 (http://www.fire.blm.gov/Standards/redbook.htm) and agency specific policies for additional information.

Structure Fires, Vehicle Fires, and Landfill Fires
Structure, vehicle, and dump fire suppression is not a functional responsibility of wildland fire suppression resources. These fires have the potential to emit high levels of toxic gases. Firefighters will not be dispatched to structure, vehicle, or dump fires unless there is a significant threat to lands and resources that are under agency protection, including by protection agreement. Firefighters will not take direct suppression action on structure, vehicle, or dump fires. This policy will be reflected in suppression response plans.

Should firefighters encounter structure, vehicle, or dump fires during the performance of their normal wildland fire suppression duties, firefighting efforts will be limited to areas where the fire has spread onto agency protected lands. Structure protection will be limited to exterior efforts, and only when such actions can be accomplished safely and in accordance with established wildland fire operations standards.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Wildland Fire and Aviation Program Management and Operations Guide (2006), Chapter 12, includes the following policy guidance.

Structure Fires, Vehicle Fires, and Dump (Landfill) Fires
Structure, vehicle, and dump fire suppression is not a functional responsibility of BIA wildland fire resources. These fires have the potential to emit high levels of toxic gases, for which BIA wildland firefighters and neither trained nor equipped. BIA firefighters will not take direct suppression action on structure, vehicle, or dump fires. BIA firefighters will not be dispatched to structure, vehicle, or dump fires unless there is an immediate and significant threat to lands and resources that are under BIA protection. This policy will be reflected in suppression response plans.

Should BIA firefighters encounter structure, vehicle, or dump fires, firefighting efforts will be limited to areas where the fire has spread onto BIA protected lands, and only when such actions can be accomplished safely and with no exposure to smoke emitted from the fire. Structure protection will be limited to exterior efforts, and only when such actions can be accomplished safely and in accordance with established wildland fire operations standards.

BIA fire managers should avoid giving the appearance that their wildland fire resources are trained and equipped to perform structure and vehicle fire suppression.