Firefighter Nation

SAN DIEGO - San Diego's Union Tribune reported this week on research done by the San Diego State University on the effectiveness of wildfire firefighter staffing.


Similar to the NIST research on crew size effects released this spring, the SDSU research investigated wildland crew size and their impact in controlling a fire.

Under the premise that an engine staffed with four firefighters is more effective than one staffed with three, the research also addressed injury costs incurred by minimal staffed units.

Funded by the California Department of Forestry firefighter's union, and under the direction of SDSU director Matt Rubin, the research tested the effectiveness of crew sizes in hose line stretches. For eight months, CalFire firefighters ran drills stretching hoses in 100-feet, 1,000-feet and 2,000-feet lengths.

Following a typical wildfire incident, experiments left one crew member to operate the apparatus and direct the scene while the remainder began laying out hoselines.

Test results determined that the efficiency of a four-man crew increased 50-percent over a three-man crew.

According to Rahn, the fast response time translates to success in a fire attack. Research of the economic impact of the 2003 fires in San Diego County revealed that by reducing the fire size by one percent would have saved millions. Supporting what area fire leaders have known, the effectiveness of increased crew size translates to economic savings as well.

The Union Tribune also reported that San Diego Fire-Rescue leaders are combining the wildland staffing report with the NIST crew size study, in an effort to keep four firefighters on their apparatus.