The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) manages multiple wildland-fire programs to address challenges faced by its members and other stake-holders in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The fire risk in the WUI is one of the fastest growing problems in the United States and as commercial and residential development progresses in at-risk areas, the challenges continue to grow.

Through its wildland programs, the IAFC is com-mitted to raising awareness about wildland fire risks by educating members, residents, land owners and managers, local officials and planners and support local outreach and serve as the voice for local gov-ernment on a national level.

IAFC is a partner in the Fire Adapted Communities Coalition (FAC Coalition), and works with other or-

ganizations and departments that are committed to helping people in the WUI and in areas at-risk. The coalition helps communities understand the threat and adapt while reducing their risk for damage, without compromising responder or civilian safety. Working in cooperation with these partners allows for the promotion of a unified message ensures all IAFC wildland programs offer the most accurate, in-novative and useful information.

The Wildland Fire Policy Committee, Community Wildfire Readiness, the Ready, Set, Go! Program, Fire Department Exchange and the annual Wildland-Urban Interface conference provide the voice, guid-ance, education, support and platforms to help achieve behavioral change in the face of wildland fire.

IAFC’s wildland programs stem from the instrumen-tal efforts of its Wildland Fire Policy Committee (WFPC). The WFPC continuously works to support and advance solutions to the challenges outlined in the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy; managing vegetation and fuels; protecting homes, communities and other values at-risk; man-aging human-caused ignitions; and effectively and efficiently responding to wildfire.

As local, state and federal governments attempt to address fuel modification in the interface and meet social resistance to a balanced fuels reduction plan, the WFPC serves as the voice of the local fire ser-vice. They promote nationwide efforts to reduce wildfire threats through aggressive prevention, pub-lic information and education, mitigation, and prep-

aration and response efforts. To do so, the com-mittee keeps abreast of emerging wildland and WUI issues facing the fire service and responds accord-ingly.

As subject-matter experts who represent the IAFC on national wildland fire leadership groups, com-mittee members also provide oversight to the asso-ciation’s wildland programs.

For more information about WFPC efforts, visit www.iafc.org/wildland.

Wildland Programs

Formally introduced in 2015 as an outgrowth of the IAFC Ready, Set, Go! (RSG) and fire-adapted community efforts, the IAFC’s Community Wildfire Readiness (CWR) program addresses a key component of the National Wildland Fire

Cohesive Strategy. It supports local fire department initiatives, establishing and enhancing local fire-adapted efforts. CWR provides the fire service, residents and other community stakeholders with the tools, resources, guidance and support to prepare for the threat of wildfire.

CWR is host to a broad audience and promotes like-messaging and the shared goals in the Fire Adapted Communities Coalition. Creating and maintaining

productive partnerships with those who share common objectives is invaluable, especially in effecting large-scale behavioral change starting at the local level.

CWR resources help community members create a fire-ready community, including mitigating and working to establish a community coalition. This can take place by promoting wildfire readiness through education and providing the community with proper resources to raise awareness on the steps needed to create a fire-adapted community. Through CWR, the IAFC is committed to providing the tools local fire departments, their partners, and residents need to make their communities more fire-adapted.

For more information on the Community Wildfire Readiness program go to www.iafc.org/CWR.

The Ready, Set, Go! Program (RSG) seeks to develop and improve the dialogue between the fire service and the residents they serve. The program helps the fire service teach individuals who live in high-risk wildland fire areas and the WUI how to best prepare themselves, their families and their properties against outdoor fire threats. The customizable

resources allow members to incorporate some familiarity within the program, creating increased buy-in from their local audiences.

Through the trusted voice of the fire service, the program and program resources encourage residents/property owners to be Ready by taking personal responsibility and action—preparing long

before the threat of a wildland fire. RSG provides tips on creating defensible space, assembling emergency supplies, planning escape routes and identifying safety zones. RSG educates audiences how to be Set with situational awareness by staying up to date on the latest news and information about the fire and the ability to receive local emergency notifications. The program also encourages those in threatened areas to Go and act early following their Personal Wildland Fire Action Plan. Promoting cooperation and early action not only supports the safety of community members, but allows fire and emergency response agencies to utilize their resources where they are most needed.

More information on the RSG! Program can be found at www.wildlandfireRSG.org.

The Fire Department Exchange (FDX) is based on a successful face-to-face exchange event and web-based network stemming from the FAC Learning Network which is cooperatively managed by The Watershed Research and Training Center and The Nature Conservancy. The FDX program will facili-tate face-to-face and host web-based exchanges for fire departments facing wildland-urban inter-face outreach and mitigation challenges.

The core focus is to encourage exchanges among departments in order to broaden their knowledge-

base, consider alterna-tive measures, create new solutions and im-prove overall practices and procedures within their wildland fire edu-cational outreach and mitigation programs.

A select group of fire department representatives who have shown success with their community preparedness outreach and approach to improv-ing wildland fire mitigation efforts has been as-sembled to further develop this new program.

Photo credit: J. McAdams

The IAFC produces premier conferences and exhi-bitions for the broader fire and emergency service to bring together thousands of the world’s leading decision makers and experts. One of the most in-valuable wildland-focused of these conferences is the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) conference. WUI provides an exemplary platform for wildland firefighters, federal and state-agency personnel and land-use community planners to collaborate on the emerging issues in wildland fire manage-

ment. Attendees can learn about innovative pro-grams and operational considerations, and connect with all levels of wildland fire personnel to share practices and ideas.

To learn more about WUI go to www.iafc.org/WUI

Learn more about the WFPC, wildland programs, conferences, and how you can

make a difference in your community. Visit www.iafc.org/wildland,

www.IAFC.org/WUI, www.IAFC.org/CWR and www.wildlandfireRSG.org.

Wildland Programs

Photo credit: J. McAdams Photo credit: J. McAdams