Fire in the Lab

By Samantha Gleissner

Battling wildfires can be a hazardous business. Wildfires are unpredictable and fast spreading; a single change in wind direction or fuel densities can alter the fires nature drastically. The best way to safely battle fires is to be able to understand how they function and even be able to predict the path that the fire may take.  If you are wondering how on earth it is possible to predict the unpredictable, or understand something that is by definition wild?  Fire science is how! Many scientists are now dedicating their work to learning how to understand and predict wildfire movement and alterations with wind changes. By studying fire in the controlled setting of a lab, fire scientists are learning how to more safely manage and defend against wildfires.

In a fire lab you might find mock structures, fabricated forests, and even wind gust chambers! Models are used to perform controlled fire experiments in order to record and analyze fire movement, combustion rates, and even the point at which a burned home or forest is salvageable. Fire Science is an incredibly important field of study that is necessary to give Firefighter every advantage possible when working the fireline.

When battling a fire, firefighters have to consider the path and trajectory of the burn in order to determine whether a fire crew can safely enter an area to battle flames, if a structure is unsalvageable or unstable a firefighter needs to know when it is safe to enter a structure and when it is beyond saving. Combustion rates can determine how quickly and at what temperatures a structure will become consumed. Having a solid understanding of these statistics, backed by scientific research can help in the estimation of periods for safe entry of a structure, or can help fire crews decide when it is best to allow a forest or area to burn out verses putting the effort into putting a wildfire out entirely. In other words, fire research, can literally provide the basis for life and death decisions.

Fire science in the lab isn’t only about the flames; experiments are done to help determine contribution of wildfires to greenhouse gasses, and potential health hazards such as heavy smoke inhalation. Fire science labs can help determine what levels of smoke are dangerous and what levels they are just an irritant. Fire labs determine the amount of carbon monoxide that is dangerous for humans and then use that data to come up with CO detectors that can detect levels of carbon monoxide before they reach lethal levels. Smoke detectors and fire sprinklers have all been products of fire lab experiments, and are just a few lifesaving tools we can be grateful to fire scientists for inventing.

If you enjoy the idea of safely playing with fire in a controlled setting and experimenting with different settings to asses fire dangers to help protect people and homes from those dangers you might want to consider a career in fire science!

Some fire science resources:

http://www.firelab.org/facilities-a-resources/102-smoke-sampling

http://www.firescience.gov

Rethinking Firescaping

by Samantha Gleissner

Firescaping is a landscaping technique used to reduce fire risks to your home in the event of a wildfire. Firescaping is a method of arranging your property into zones, which are determined by distance from your home and level of risk from wildfire. Within each zone the landscape materials are selected to create the best possible defensible space, this means creating lowest risk spaces near your home by adding fire breaks such as rock or paths in each zone that are non-flammable and help obstruct and even prevent fire from reaching your home. By using firescaping you can minimize your losses and help firefighters do their job more easily by reducing the number of homes at high risk.  Although firescaping is highly beneficial to homeowners in wildfire area’s not everybody is keen to the idea of firescaping on their property. Here I will talk about some of the biggest reasons that people can be resistant to firescaping and I will explain why even if you have considered firescaping before and decided against it, it may be wise to reconsider your reasons and your fire risks.

A big reason people decide against firescaping is brush reduction, many people enjoy the beauty of nature in their backyard and have difficulty understanding how firescaping can still be beautiful when you are removing fuel sources like plants. While firescaping does mean reducing underbrush and plant litter around your home it does not necessarily mean you can’t take the opportunity to redesign your landscape for beauty as well as safety. It is important to reduce the amount of potential fire fuels and paths that wildfires can take to your home; think about using non-flammable landscaping materials like decorative rock and high moisture content yard plants which will be less likely to catch fire.

Another reason some might not want to do firescaping is the amount of maintenance work. Once you decide on firescaping you might think that when it’s done you won’t have to worry about it again. Truth is unless you maintain your firescaping it won’t be as effective in protecting your home, it’s vital to do maintenance on your firescape to keep brush and litter to a minimum and your fire safety to it’s maximum. You might think that it’s a lot of work to maintain your firescaping, but when it comes to protecting your family and home it is well worth the work. Plus by reducing the underbrush and leaf litter your yard and plants will look cleaner, grow better, and be easier to maintain in the long run.

Wildlife landscaping is becoming more popular and many people enjoy the idea of having a wildlife friendly yard. It may seem to many as if removing brush and undergrowth can discourage the appearance of wildlife that you want to see in your yard, but if done right firescaping can be wildlife friendly and can even make it easier to view the wildlife when it does pay you a visit. Not only can firescaping be wildlife friendly and beautiful, but it can help protect wildlife should a fire ever breakout by creating a buffer zone and making it easier for firefighters to focus on fighting the fire. By reducing the chances of the fire reaching your home it can allow firefighters to focus on stopping the spread of the fire rather than protecting home structures that are at high risk. Human safety is the priority, so by helping protect your own home with firescaping you can reduce the load for firefighters and help protect the forests and wildlife in your area.

Finally while many people are willing to consider Firewise landscaping, they may not know how to get started. While zoning laws and property regulations can be tricky, firescaping is an important safety step if you live anywhere that could be at risk of wildfires. Check into Firewise resources in your area and find out what Firewise can do to help you. If you are unsure how firescaping works clarification is only a click, call, or visit away. Firewise has all the resources you need to figure out your landscaping and can help you find service providers and Firewise landscapers in your area.

It’s important to realize that good Firewise landscaping can protect you, your home, your family, firefighters, wildlife and your peace of mind in the event of a wildfire. Take a look at your reasons for putting off firescaping and then take a look at Firewise resources and the benefits of having a Firewise home, it could be the best thing you do for your home!

http://www.firewise.org/~/media/Firewise/Files/Pdfs/Newsletters/FirewiseNewsletterSpring07.pdf