Colorado Wildfire Case Study

At 6:34pm Incident Commander number two orders a head count and finds out two firefighters are currently missing which was last contacted via radio on the fourth floor. At 6:41pm the incident commander number two makes an announcement to all fire personal to use extreme caution because the building was dangerous and activated the third alarm and demand to clear radio communication for emergencies due to the missing firefighters stuck on certain floors where they heard emergency transmissions from victims in rescue 1 asking for help and that they were lost and out of air. And at 6:54pm the Incident commander orders the fourth alarm be struck and asked the location of the missing firefighters who were stuck in the building and tells them to activate there PASS alarms at 6:57pm one of the victims stated that their alarms were activated. With the other engines and support showed up for the third alarm they were prepared to do a search and rescue operation for the lost firefighters and while they go in after them they unfortunately could not reach the lost victims and by searching they lost all visibility and ran out of air and was

It was around 7 miles away from Glenwood Springs, Colorado, and could be seen from Interstate 70. The fire initially was one of many small fires that had been started by the storm. It was in a remote area and wasn’t a concern. With several other fires burning, the BLM District started setting priorities for initial attack. Highest priority assigned to fires threatening lives, residences, structures,

First off I am going to talk about the B.C Wildfires. The wildfires aren’t a good matter for B.C. In 2012 they made a deal with the government giving registration services for the people in the fires. The Province of B.C strongly encourages all evacuees to register with the Canadian Red Cross, even if aid is not required. Given the current wildfire situation. Red Cross is bringing in additional resources when and as needed to ensure pub

On June 30, 2013, 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) of 20 elite firefighters, lost their lives battling the Yarnell Hill Fire near Yarnell, Arizona. An initial investigation conducted by the Arizona State Forestry Division (ASFD) found some communication problems but overall declared the Yarnell Hill Fire a no-fault tragedy, focusing largely on the actions of the Granite Mountain Hotshots who, according to the investigation, made an unknown and last-minute decision to move from a safety zone to an area closer to the wildfire (leading to their deaths).

The Mentor Fire Department has not been able to meet the goals of annual pre-fire planning. By not meeting these goals we could be placing firefighters at risk because they may not have the information necessary to safely, efficiently and effectively handle the fire emergency presented. The issues seem to affect each emergency incident differently. If the incident commander had knowledge of the building and how to use the preplan information that might be available, the situation was handled safely, efficiently and effectively. If the incident commander lacked knowledge of the building, and did not know how to acquire any preplan information, the incident was handled, but might not have been handled as safely, efficiently and effectively as possible.

For years if not decades, firefighters have responded to a reported structure fire that turned out to be a fully involved single room. This fire scenario requires a core set of fire tactics and skills to control and extinguished the fire, but is it this simple? Perhaps twenty years it may have been, but new dangers are lurking in every scenario and may have detrimental outcomes for unsuspecting and unaware firefighters and victims. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) agency along with the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) have been conducting research to understand fire behavior and fire dynamics. This research is providing firefighters with new information about how and why

As fall began in 1970, California had experienced practically no rainfall for many months, humidity levels dropped to being practically non existent, and the earth was scored from the raging summer heat (Rowley, n.d.). These conditions provided ample fuel for a wildfire that would burn for 13 days before being beaten back and extinguished by firefighters. Initially, it appeared controlling the fire spread would be done easily and quickly. However, multiple fires spawned rapidly into large fires that overwhelmed the local resources. Lack of communication, communication and application of skill became quickly evident as a major flaw in the control and command of such a large event. Prior to 1970 the Incident Command Systems did not exist, but

“Wildfires Devastate California,” a nonfiction article from Scholastic News by Sean Price, describes the dozens of wildfires in California that are affecting lots of Californians by forcing them to evacuate. The main cause of all this is the four-year drought making a lot of the forests and fields very dry and easier to burn. The current wildfires started when lightning struck the dry fields and forests. There are about 1,200 more fires now in 2015 than in the same period in 2014 -- that is a huge difference for just one year! Currently, California has 23 wildfires with 10,000 firefighters risking their lives to protect us and to put the fires out. The worst of all fires is the Rocky Fire which has destroyed 28 structures and caused 6,000

A natural disaster is an event that causes great damage. Such as floods, hurricanes, or a loss of life. Speaking this there was a Wildfire in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In fact, there was a wild fire that occurred on June 23, 2012. Only four miles Southwest of Colorado Springs. Therefore, there were several locations that needed to be evacuated. Even though there was 18,247 acres burnt, the fire was 100 percent contained on July 10, 2012. All in all, 346 homes were burnt. Due to that fact, two families lost a loved one. Eventually the mystery of this wildfire, is still unknown.

The problems that became evident during the response effort to these wildfires, leading to the eventual development of the ICS, were duplication of efforts and lack of coordination between the agencies involved, as well as communication issues which hindered the response. (Haddow, Bullock, & Coppola, 2017)

This issue needs to be addressed to homeowners and renter across Colorado. As action must be taken before this wildfire gets out of control. As houses begin to feel more like a construction site rather home, walking in every night seeing another problem

Fire Investigators have been around for many years dedicated to discovering the origin of fires and explosions. Back in the days, fires were easily fueled by many flammable decorations and building materials used in the common household or building. Most of these fires were caused by the carelessness of people, flammable objects, broken rules, poor installment of wiring, and most importantly, arson. Today, many fire investigation teams have been formed, determined to discover the causes of a fire; with an extension of law enforcement, who help track down suspected arsonists who first began these devastating fires.

An unusually devastating series of Colorado wildfires, including several separate fires that occurred throughout June, July, and August 2012. At least 34,500 residents were evacuated in June. With record insured losses, and the evacuation of 32,000 residents in the northwestern quadrant of Colorado Springs where 347 homes were destroyed in the Waldo Canyon Fire, the largest number in state history.These fires destroyed more than 648 structures, killed six civilians, burned more than 384,803 acres and have caused at least $538 million in property losses,” according to a preliminary report on the season by the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.

In the last 26 years we have nationally lost 440 firefighter lives to entrapments, accidents, heart attacks, and heat related injuries. The Yarnell Hill fire represented the largest single loss of life in the wildfire history of Arizona at 19 deaths, preceded by the Dude fire in 1990 with 6 deaths. Fire commanders do their best to try and predict the path and behavior of a wildfire, but as stated earlier, they are dangerous. Areas are frequently evacuated in advance of the fire to reduce the danger to human life with little or no prior notice. Residents flee their homes leaving behind all their possessions and unfortunately their pets and livestock. I have spent many days burying pets that were left behind to fend for themselves in the hope that their owners would not be faced with the task on their return. An Arizona strike team was deployed to the Rice Fire in Fallbrook, California to provided structure protection following a mandatory evacuation. It was a surreal sight to see streetlights changing, newspapers blowing across the street, and playground equipment moving in the wind without a soul in town. When we traveled outside the evacuation perimeter, people that had camped out in parking lots came forward to heard of any news of their homes. I could not help but think that this might have been

Thousands of fires occur on a yearly basis throughout the United States. Whether it is forest fires, house fires, or any other event that involves uncontrollable flames, the outcome will always be the same; high amounts of destruction and physical damage. When fire emergencies occur, responding to the incident may not be much of a complication as apposed to determining the source from where the fire started or what triggered its behavior, which is truly the challenge. In order to do so, a fire investigator has to be present at the scene of the fire after it has been eliminated. The investigator, after reviewing any possible marks or behavior trails, will conclude if the incident was indeed an accident or intentional, thus making it an act