Wildland Fire Technology Training
The emergence of new technologies in recent years has vastly improved the ability of wildland fire agencies to gather scientific data for use in fire suppression activities, fuels management, prevention and overall strategic planning. Often, these technologies are deployed at the field level without adequate training in the utilization, maintenance and real world context of the information collection process. The use of the technologies requires an understanding of the hardware employed to collect the data and the data integration into various analytical systems which provide the basis for the decision making process. The successful application of technology also requires knowledge of potential limitations.
Some of the most important emerging technologies in wildland fire management include GPS (global positioning systems), GIS (geographic information systems), Internet Technology, RAWS (remote automatic weather staions) and fire behavior prediction systems such as the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) and BEHAVE.
Fire Management Concepts can provide standardized NWCG fire technology courses in a customized format, at your unit, utilizing the actual equipment and software you utilize in a "hands" on learning environment.
We offer two specialized fire training courses emphasizing integrated approaches to current technology:
1. GPS / GIS for Wildland Fire: 2 week course (80 hrs.) Maps and Compass - GPS technology - GIS / PC mappers. Ventura Tools
2. Wims - NFDRS - Fire Family Plus: 2 week course (80 hrs.) An integrated approach to understanding and applying fire weather data, NFDRS indices, Fire Family Plus outputs and their real world applications in relation to fire program operations.
This is link to a paper I prepared regarding my approach to the application of these technologies.
Integration of the National Fire Danger Rating System into Fire Management Planning