My Firefighter Nation
Wildland Fire Task Force
When weather conditions are just right for wildland fires (brush,field or woods), would your area dispatch system dispatch a task force instead of the local fire station.
Being in a urban area outside a major city, we have had times where they will dispatch a number of off road units plus engines and tankers on the first alarm and will notify state forestry if they will be need.
Our county off road units consits of 4x4 (3/4 or 1 ton) pickup trucks with skid units or mini pumpers (200 or 300 gal) Engines would be just regular structure units (500 to 1000 gal) and tankers 2000 or 3000 gal.
Jay Nicholson
Urban area. During a 'High Wildland Response' we will empty the barn. You get a full 1st alarm of brush rigs and a full first alarm structural protection response plus a copter. Other times during a 'No Special Response' level you will get a couple of engines.
If a station is cross manning an engine/brush unit and is 1st due, they will respond with the engine. Structural protection being the priority.
Mar 12, 2012
ashfire
The way most of our calls for a wildland fire would go it would be a local alarm for the station in the area of the call. A engine will respond. If the station has a off road unit it will go with the engine.
After arriving on scene if the unit officer determs a need for more units and advise communications.
This will then a special alarm for additional units. They could have a number of special alarms to equal box alarms.
The county then decided to have task force operations during times of fire danger weather so a number of units will respond at the same time instead of waiting for units to come from stations.
Our county had one day where everything hit the fan for 24 hours from major brush fires to building fires some started by the brush fires. This also required the county to recall all career and volunteer personnel.
We had depts from around the state and the next state and commerical fire tankers from two states away.
One interstate highway was closed due to a mutch fire which jumped the highway. This was where the commerical tankers came in because of the company that owned the mutch company.
Our county not only had to handle these but medical and other regular calls using mutual aid depts and county units that were not on the street because of a incident and the number of county units was few.
Mar 13, 2012
Derek J Sinesi
In our area they tone out that districts department. The chief will call for any mutual aid that may be needed. Dispatch also reports the call to NYSDEC at the same time. Whether it is a wild fire or a garbage fire. In New York it is illegal to burn garbage and any brush fire or camp can only be 3 feet by 3 feet so DEC gets dispatched also.
Mar 13, 2012