Suppressing Wildfires

Your success as a firefighter all depends upon how well you understand the techniques of controlling and suppressing fires.  Being a goof prescribed burner, CBM, does not necessarily make a qualified or effective fire suppression person.  Fire suppression is different from fire fighting.  It is important for burn managers to understand these relationships and plan accordingly for contingencies.

The objective in fire control operations is to stop combustion by breaking the fire triangle.  The fire triangle is broken when heat, oxygen, or fuel is removed or altered so that combustion can no longer occur.

• Breaking the Fire Triangle
• Fireline Construction
• Review of the Nine Tragedy Fires
• Flame Length
• You, the Cautious Firefighter
• Escape Routes
• Ten Standard Firefighting Rules
• Survival Checklist
• Size Up: The Key Ingredient

Wildland Fire Suppression Training and the Incident Command System
Garner Westbrook, Student, School of Forestry and Wildlife, Sciences, Auburn University