The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released Phase One of its first Local Fire Department Wildfire Preparedness and Readiness Capabilities Study. The study takes a look at current preparedness and readiness levels of local wildland/urban interface (WUI) fire departments that have experienced a significant wildfire event in recent years, and identifies the most important elements in a WUI fire protection program, including response and community risk reduction efforts. The study also highlights how fire departments have overcome barriers and have adapted to risk given their available resources.
To maximize the survey’s impact, NFPA collaborated with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) in addition to the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Division, Bentley University and Brandeis University to collectively identify what questions needed to be asked in the survey, and to ensure that it accurately describes the needs of local WUI fire departments throughout the United States.
The study included telephone interviews with fire chiefs and senior fire officers from local fire departments who had experienced a major wildfire within the last five years, and looked at key themes including equipment, dispatch protocols, training, communicating with the public, community risk reduction efforts, relationship building, and cooperation.