California Wildfire Study: Staffing Affects Efficiency

August 13, 2010 -- A study conducted by San Diego State University on wildfire fire fighting and staffing shows that lower levels of staffing result in higher physical stress and significantly lower efficiencies for initial attack effectiveness. The most dramatic gains in efficiency - by as much as 50 percent - occurred when the number of personnel on a hose lay was increased from two to three fire fighters. Additional increases were observed when comparing three- to four-person crews.

Since the 1970s, there has been a nationwide increase in wildfire intensity, rising from an average of three million to seven million acres burned each year, with further increases projected. In California, half of the 20 largest documented fires in the state's history occurred since 2000. This trend has placed a considerable demand on emergency responders.

The availability of adequate resources and staffing to combat wildfires also has a direct impact on meeting fire suppression goals. Suppression failures generally happen when the resources available for an initial attack response are ineffective or insufficient at controlling the fire.

What this study suggests is that the efficiency and safety of fire fighters requires a minimum increase in year-round staffing from three to four.

Click here to read the full report.

Earlier this year, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) completed a similar staffing study focused in residential structure fires. This study also demonstrates that four-person crews operate 25-30 percent faster that lesser staffed crews.

Both studies conclude that two-person crews are simply inefficient and dangerous when compared to higher staffing levels.