Establish and maintain situational awareness: Wildfires

Fire and rescue services should

• Consider developing wildfire fire plans
• Make wildfire fire plans and SSRI available to attending personnel
• Provide an effective communications network – see the LACES safety protocol

Incident commanders should

• Ensure that all personnel at the incident are situationally aware
• Develop, monitor and continually update a tactical plan
• Identify and monitor fire – location, size, intensity, direction and rate of firespread
• Identify and monitor topography – aspect, slope, the position of fire on the slope, topographical hazards
• Identify and monitor fuel – type, condition, moisture, arrangement
• Identify and monitor weather – recent, current and predicted temperature, humidity, wind direction/speed
• Identify presence and arrangement of ground fuels, smouldering fuels and aerial fuels
• Identify any risk to life, property, heritage, ecological assets and livestock
• Identify any quarries, bogs, marshes, shooting ranges, disused mines and barbed wire/electric fences
• Identify the location of electrical hazards, pylons, wind farms, substations, pipelines and other utilities
• Continually assess and review the developing incident
• Consider the following sources of information throughout the incident: Information as listed in the control measure knowledge for ‘Refer to wildfire fire plans’ Weather forecasts (for example, from the Met Office, Hazard Manager, FireMet or portable weather stations) Other agencies (e.g. environmental agencies, forestry organisations, national park authorities, etc.) Utility companies Local residents
• Make contact with land owners, land managers, gamekeepers, countryside and national park rangers
• Provide clear, concise and structured briefings to all personnel (refer to LACES safety protocol)
• Clearly define access, egress and escape routes to personnel and confirm their understanding
• Regularly communicate current situation and predicted fire behaviour and spread to all personnel