Habitat Safety – Part 2: Prescribed Fire Safety | #34

Habitat University

Prescribed fire is crucial for managing fire-adapted ecosystems worldwide. To ensure this tool remains effective, the safety of those who use it and those nearby is essential too. In this episode, Adam talks with Jennifer Fawcett from North Carolina State University. Jennifer is the Prescribed Fire Work Group Coordinator for the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) and a forestry educator at NCSU. She assists landowners and foresters in the Southeast and beyond in managing their properties using fire. Listen along as Jennifer outlines practices and considerations to make sure you can keep using fire as the critical tool it is for years to come!

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Resources mentioned in the show:

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group is the main resource for agency professionals doing prescribed fire. You can check out their website here: https://www.nwcg.gov/

· Watchout Situations: https://www.nwcg.gov/publications/pms118/18-watch-out-situations-pms-118

· Incident response pocket guide (IRPG) - https://www.nwcg.gov/publications/pms461

o You can buy one here: https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/p/49218/39770/incident-response-pocket-guide?%26itemnum=

Asynchronous Online courses to learn about prescribed fire:

· eFIRE Equipment Videos – The eFIRE site guides prospective burners through the process of planning, conducting, and evaluating prescribed fire. The Equipment site includes videos about options for various parts of PPE.

· Online course: https://campus.extension.org/ (search “prescribed fire”)

· Rx Fire Training online course: https://ifas-cesrxfire.catalog.instructure.com/courses/wildland-fire-training

Learn more about prescribed burn associations here: https://go.ncsu.edu/pba

Guidebook for Prescribed Burning in the Southern Region has tips for planning, implementing, and follow up on a prescribed burn that applies nationwide: https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1560&title=guidebook-for-prescribed-burning-in-the-southern-region

Smoke Management Guidebook for Prescribed Burning in the Southern Region: https://bugwoodcloud.org/resource/files/18519.pdf

Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Prescribed Burn Equipment Fact Sheet summarizes the different parts of prescribed burn equipment, including PPE: https://ucanr.edu/sites/forestry/files/283877.pdf

3-part blog post series on “Prescribed Fire PPE: Practical Options for Landowners”

o Part 1: The first post in this series highlights practical personal protective equipment (PPE) pant and shirt options for landowners conducting prescribed fires. https://sites.cnr.ncsu.edu/southeast-fire-update/2019/09/09/ppe-for-landowners-practical-clothing-options/

o Part 2: This post discusses options for other PPE items including head coverings, face coverings, and eye protection. https://sites.cnr.ncsu.edu/southeast-fire-update/2021/06/11/ppe-for-landowners-practical-clothing-options-part-two/

o Part 3: This post addresses boots and shoes, gloves, and overall considerations for choosing PPE items.https://sites.cnr.ncsu.edu/southeast-fire-update/2021/06/29/prescribed-fire-ppe-practical-options-for-landowners-part-three/

Kestrel tool to take weather readings on site for a safe burn: https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/p/89574/38050/kestrel-3500fw-fire-weather-meter

Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center: https://lessons.fs2c.usda.gov/

Nebraska Prescribed Fire Council has a bunch of resources on fire, including a nice practitioner-contributed section on “Lessons Learned” that are available on their website: https://www.nefirecouncil.org/