NFPA Journal - May/June 2017 - 86

Wildfire by Lucian Deaton

THE VIEW
FROM NFPA'S
WILDFIRE DIVISION

Stepping Up
VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND THE
CHALLENGE OF WILDFIRE

n March, a newspaper
The public has stepped up and done this
in Kansas reported on
before. In the 1970s, emergency medical
the challenges that the
services increasingly became an integral
state's fire service faced
part of what the public expected fire departas grass fires swept across
ments to deliver. The public's demand for
the region-a challenge that was largely
the fire service to provide medical services
confronted by volunteers. As is the case
drove local departments to change and
in many rural states, about 90 percent
adapt to meet this new challenge. To aid
of Kansas's fire departments are staffed
the effort, local communities paid for the
solely by volunteers.
required training and resources. A simi"It's always a struggle, all of it, but if
lar awareness and dynamic needs to take
volunteers don't step up and take care of
place if the public continues to expect local
things, who will?" Darren Grow, a volundepartments to take on more of the wildAccording to a
teer fire chief in Butler County, Kansas,
land firefighting burden.
recent NFPA survey,
told The Wichita Eagle. "It's up to us."
States must acknowledge that adethe greatest need
Like Butler County, many fire departquate local fire department response is
for training in fire
ments in the United States have been
not a luxury reserved for towns with high
departments
that
asked to take on larger roles in responding
tax bases, but a necessity that should be
protect populations
to wildfires. It is yet another responsibility
funded for everyone. If states are going
less than 2,500 is
in a long line of threats that communito rely on volunteers for response in WUI
traffic control and
ties rely on their fire departments to
areas, they also must increase resources to
wildland firefighting.
confront, further squeezing their already
those departments. State laws must also
limited time and resources. Despite the
be passed to ensure that volunteer personchallenges, these departments have met
nel are not punished by their employers
the call, extinguishing 98 percent of
or docked pay if they respond to fire calls.
unwanted wildfires at initial attack.
At the national level, support for incident
But they need help. According to NFPA's recently published management teams and federal wildfire response must also be
"Fourth Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service," a compre- strengthened. At a hyper-local level, residents need to play their
hensive survey of the nation's fire departments, "the greatest part by making sure their properties are Firewise compliant and
need for training in smaller fire departments protecting popula- safe for responders.
tions less than 2,500 is traffic control and wildland firefighting."
Several current and upcoming resources help frame the issue.
Fighting wildfire safely and effectively requires proper The recent needs assessment (nfpa.org/4thneeds), as well as the
training, specialized equipment, proper personal protective report "Wildland/Urban Interface: Fire Department Wildfire
equipment, and an understanding of wildfire science in the Preparedness Readiness Capabilities Final Report" (available
wildland/urban interface (WUI). All of that takes time and online at nfpa.org/wuireadinessreport), both explore the needs
resources, both in short supply in today's firehouses. When of fire departments and their response capabilities to WUI
Grow said "it's up to us," he was talking about himself and fires. Additionally, the 2017 NFPA Conference & Expo in Boston
his fellow volunteer firefighters. In truth, though, tackling this (online at nfpa.org/conference) includes a robust wildfire track
problem should be up to all of us. Not everyone needs to put on illuminating these and other current issues, all of which will be
gear and go fight a wildfire, but the public does need to ensure available as audio recordings online following the conference.
that its local fire department has the ability, time, and resources
to succeed as new and emerging challenges are placed before it. LUCIAN DEATON is a project manager in NFPA's Wildfire Division.

86 | NFPA JOURNAL * M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 7

MICHAEL HOEWELER

http://www.nfpa.org/4thneeds http://www.nfpa.org/wuireadinessreport http://www.nfpa.org/conference

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - May/June 2017