Current research on wildland and urban interface fires provides resources and data that can help fire fighters respond to these events, including:
- Effectiveness of building codes in the wildland urban interface.
- Education of homeowners and the public on defensible open spaces and fuels management.
- Unifying and improving effectiveness (agency co-operation and coordination).
- Initial response staffing effectiveness and the value of funding appropriately.
- Effectiveness of firefighting tactics, PPE, physiological impact of wildland firefighting on fire fighters.
Risk Perceptions, Management Regimes, and Wildfire Mitigation Behavior in Wildland-Urban Interface Zones: A Cross-Case Analysis (2014)
Using data from interviews with fire managers, focus groups with residents, as well as fire mitigation planning documents, this research investigates the connections between information, local management regimes, and homeowner decisions regarding property mitigation in the face of wildfire risk.
Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety Report (2014)
This report, the 14th in a series, reviews activities related to MTDC’s project on wildland firefighter health and safety. The focus has been on work, rest, and fatigue; energy and nutrition; and fitness and work capacity. The focus now includes the psychosocial dimensions of human factors, such as conditions and circumstances that enhance or interfere with performance and health.
Smoke Exposure and Firefighter Risk in the Wildland Urban Interface (2013)
Collaborators with California State University San Marcos and the University Auxiliary Research Services Corporation worked in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, CAL FIRE, CAL FIRE Local 2881, the International Association of Fire Fighters, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to evaluate the physiological and working conditions of wildland firefighters and smoke exposure in the wildland urban interface (WUI). Funding for this work was provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Fire Prevention and Safety Program (FPS).
USDA Wildland Firefighter Smoke Exposure Study (2013)
This report discusses the preliminary findings from a 4-year assessment of exposure to smoke and respirable dust from wildland and prescribed fires and includes a discussion of the health and safety concerns associated with smoke inhalation.
Understanding and Improving Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety: Environmental Stress and Exposure – FEMA Development Proposal (2012)
A proposal for assistance from FEMA to conduct a comprehensive assessment of wildland firefighters. The purpose is to understand the relationship between diverse factors including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hazardous air pollutants, particulates, core body temperature, heat exposure, heart rate, respiration rate, and dehydration.
Initial Attack Effectiveness: Wildfire Staffing Study (2010)
This study concludes that by increasing the number of personnel on an individual hose lay, the efficiency, effectiveness and overall ability to potentially control a wildland fire are significantly increased, thus enhancing emergency response and increasing the ability to protect California from modern wildfires.