Certification

Prescribed fire has been used in the Southern States from the early part of the last century by European settlers. Prior to that fire was used extensively by early Asian immigrants to North America commonly referred to as Native Americans or Indians. Steven Pyne in his book, Fire in America, discusses early fire use. It has been referred to as Indian burning or light burning.

Low intensity fires were seen to improve the habitat for wildlife and reducing the volume of fuel in stands of southern pine. Its’ use however, was on a very small scale. Forest resource managers were hesitant to use due to the wildfire problem, lack of equipment and lack of knowledge. Wildlife managers began to research the use of fire and developing the techniques needed for its’ safe use. One of the early European advocates of the use of fire was Herbert Stoddard. He felt fire was essential for maintaining Bob White quail habitat.

As the fire plow came into use and the acres burned by wildfire were reduced, techniques for using fire were developed and its use became widespread. Today, it is one of the major tools used in managing the various resources of the pine forest in the South.

In the last few years, many States began to pass legislation recognizing prescribed fire as being essential in the management of the southern forests and that it was a landowner’s right to use it. Since it is a complex science and its use can have dire consequences, they also set voluntary standards for a person to be qualified as a " Certified Prescribed Burn Manager" and minimum standards for the use of prescribed fire.

This Article may be cited as the "Alabama Prescribed Burning Act." (Acts 1995, No. 95-609,§ 1.)

(b) The Legislative hereby finds and declares that the application of prescribed burning is a landowner property right and a land management tool that benefits the safety of the public, the environment, the natural resources, and the economy of Alabama. Therefore, the Legislature finds that:

(1) Prescribed burning reduces naturally occurring vegetative fuels within wildland areas. The reduction of the fuel load reduces the risk and severity of major catastrophic wildfire, thereby reducing the threat of loss of life and property, particularly in urbanizing areas.

(2) Many of Alabama's natural communities require periodic fire for maintenance of their ecological integrity. Prescribed burning is essential to the perpetuation, restoration, and management of many plant and animal communities. Significant loss of the state's biological diversity will occur if fire is excluded from fire-dependent ecosystems.

(3) Forest lands constitute significant economic, biological, and aesthetic resources of statewide importance. Prescribed burning on forest land prepares sites for reforestation, removes undesirable competing vegetation, improves wildlife habitat, expedites nutrient cycling, and controls or eliminates certain forest pathogens.

(4) The state manages hundreds of thousands of acres of land for parks, wildlife management areas, forests and other public purposes. The use of prescribed burning for management of public lands is essential to maintain the specific resource values for which these lands were acquired.

(5) Proper training in the use of prescribed burning is necessary to ensure maximum benefits and protection for the public.

(6) As the population of Alabama continues to grow, pressures from liability issues and nuisance complaints inhibit the use of prescribed burning.

(c) The purpose of this article is to authorized and promote the continued use of prescribed burning for ecological, silvicultural, agricultural, and wildlife management purposes. (Acts 1995, No. 95-609, § 2.)

(1)Certified Prescribed Burn, Manager. An individual who successfully completes a certification program approved by the Alabama Forestry Commission.

(2)Prescribed Burning. The controlled application of fire to naturally occurring vegetative fuels for ecological, silvicultural, agricultural and wildlife management purposes under the specified environmental conditions and the following of appropriate precautionary measures which cause the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and accomplishes the planned land management objectives.

(3)Prescription. A written plan for starting and controlling a prescribed burn to accomplish the ecological, silvicultural, and wildlife management objectives. (Acts 1995, No. 95-609, § 3.)

§ 9-13-273. Liability for damage caused by fire; requirements; rules and guidelines; fees for certification or training.

(a) No property owner or his or her agent, conducting a prescribed burn in compliance with this article, shall be liable for damage or injury caused by fire or resulting smoke unless it is shown that the property owner or his or her agent failed to act within that degree of care required of others similarly situated.

(b) Prescribed burning conducted in compliance with this article shall be considered in the public interest if it meets all the following requirements:

(1) It is accomplished only when at least one Certified Prescribed Burn Manager is supervising the burn or burns that are being conducted.

(2) A written prescription is prepared and witnessed or notarized prior to prescribed burning.

(4) It is conducted pursuant to state law rules applicable to prescribed burning.

(c) The Alabama Forestry Commission may promulgate rules for the certification of prescribed burn managers and guidelines for a prescribed burn prescription.

(d) The Alabama Forestry Commission may charge and collect fees and other payments from persons applying for certification or training as a prescribed burn manager as may be necessary to provide training required for certification as a Prescribed Burn Manager and to carry out other administrative aspects of this article; however the expenditure of any fees charged by the Forestry Commission under this subsection shall be budgeted and allotted pursuant to the Budget Management Act and Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41. (Acts 1995, No. 95-609, § 4.)

§ 9-13-274. No certification as prescribed burn manager required in certain circumstances.

Nothing in this article shall be construed as requiring certification as a prescribed burn manager in order to conduct burning operations on one's own property or on the lands of another with the landowner's permission as long as applicable state laws and rules relating to prescribed burning are complied with (Acts 1995, No. 95-609, § 5.)

The primary purpose of the law is to reduce the liability associated with prescribed burning if the burner chooses to become certified and follows the requirements of the law.

Section Four (4)of the law states: "No property owner or his or her agent, conducting a prescribed burn in compliance with this act, shall be liable for damages or injury caused by fire or resulting smoke unless it is shown that the property owner or his or her agent failed to act within that degree of care required of others similarly situated."

Section Two of the law provides that: "The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the application of prescribed burning is a landowner property right and a land management tool that benefits the safety of the public, the environment, the natural resources, and the economy of Alabama."

Use of this law is voluntary. Section Five provides that: "Nothing in this act shall be construed as requiring certification as a prescribed burn manager in order to conduct burning operation on one's own property or on the land of another with the landowner's permission as long as applicable state laws and rules relating to prescribed burning are complied with."

Section 5 (c) and (d) provide that: "The Alabama Forestry Commission may promulgate rules for the certification of prescribed burn managers and guidelines for a prescribed burn prescription" and that "The Alabama Forestry Commission may charge and collect fees and other payments from persons applying for certification or training as a prescribe burn manager as may be necessary to provide training required for certification as a prescribed burn manager and to carry out other administrative aspects of this act;"

A two-track training program was established to meet the training requirements of the Prescribed Burning Act. Actual burning experience will dictate which training is required for certification. Both tracks will require that Fire Behavior, equivalent to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Course S-290, be done self-study prior to attending the training course. Since that time the experienced burner certification course has been dropped and all new certifications and re-certifications require the thirty hour course. In addition a continuing education requirement of 6 prescribed fire continuing education hours, credits, is required every five years in order to maintain certification.

Training Session	Topics	Length	Experience Requirements
Prescribed Burning for New Burners	Introduction Legal Aspects Fire Behavior Prescribed Burning Smoke Management Field Tour Exam *Plus Fire Behavior Self-Study	4 days	None
Prescribed Burning for Experienced Burners	Introduction Legal Aspects Prescribed Burning Smoke management Exam *Plus Fire Behavior Self-Study	1.5 days	2 years Experience as a prescribed burner supervising at least 5 burns

The Alabama Forestry Commission, AFC, sponsors Certified Burn Managers Certification course annually. The schedule is posted on the AFC web site, http://www.forestry.alabama.gov .

The Auburn University School of Forestry will teach a Prescribed Burning Courses that will meet the requirements of this act. Cost of this training will be determined by Auburn University.

Submit an Application for Prescribed Burning Certification along with proof of training and a non-refundable $50 processing fee to:

Alabama Forestry Commission
ATTN: Prescribed Burn Certification Program
P.O. Box 302550
Montgomery, AL 36130-2550

Several other States have similar prescribed burning laws and requirements. Certified prescribe burners who live in the States of Mississippi, Florida, and Georgia can be certified in Alabama by submitting an Application for Prescribed Burning Certification, proof of certification in the other state, and the $50 processing fee to:

Alabama Forestry Commission
ATTN: Prescribed Burn Certification Program
P.O. Box 302550
Montgomery, AL 36130-2550

Certification

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi have Prescribed Burn Manager Certification programs. Other Southern states may have programs as well. These programs, laws, may be explained more fully on the State’s forestry agency web site. See the segment on links.