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WARDEN and DEPUTY WARDEN TRAINING. LAW OVERVIEW and WARDEN / DEPUTY WARDEN RESPONSIBILITIES. TRAINING OBJECTIVES. Review Roles and Responsibilities of Wardens and Deputy Wardens Review the process for issuing permits and handling illegal fires Review fire safety, weather and equipment
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WARDEN and DEPUTY WARDEN TRAINING LAW OVERVIEW and WARDEN / DEPUTY WARDEN RESPONSIBILITIES
TRAINING OBJECTIVES • Review Roles and Responsibilities of Wardens and Deputy Wardens • Review the process for issuing permits and handling illegal fires • Review fire safety, weather and equipment • This training is set up in Question/Answer form and requires group interaction
FIRE STATISTICS TEN YEAR AVERAGE 2002 – 2011 IN THE PAST TEN YEARS…. WHICH COUNTY HAD THE MOST FIRES? HILLSBOROUGH – 790 FIRES WHICH COUNTY BURNED THE MOST ACREAGE? HILLSBOROUGH & ROCKINGHAM – 275 ACRES WHICH COUNTY HAD THE MOST ACREAGE BURNED IN ONE YEAR? COOS – 104 ACRES IN 2006 GRAFTON – 78 ACRES IN 2004 HILLSBOROUGH – 75 ACRES IN 2006
FIRE STATISTICS TEN YEAR AVERAGE 2002 – 2011 IN THE PAST TEN YEARS…. WHAT WAS THE NUMBER 1 CAUSE OF FIRES? • DEBRIS BURNING – 176 FIRES PER YEAR • MISCELLANEOUS – 134 / YR. • CAMPFIRES – 29 / YR. • SMOKING – 28 / YR. • CHILDREN – 17 / YR. • ARSON – 11 / YR. • LIGHTNING – 7 / YR. • EQUIPMENT – 6 / YR. • RAILROADS – 2 / YR.
FOREST FIRE WARDEN The Warden’s job has four main duties NAME TWO... FIRE PREVENTION FIRE PREPAREDNESS FIRE SUPPRESSION FIRE REPORTS & BILLS
FOREST FIRE DEPUTY WARDEN The Deputy Warden’s job has four main duties NAME TWO... FIRE PREVENTION FIRE PREPAREDNESS FIRE SUPPRESSION RECORDS
? WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Driving down the road and this catches your eye… • The picture shows a fire, this is a snapshot in time that does not show the entire situation. • Are there any problems? • What laws or rules are in violation? • From what you can see, What would you do? SUGGESTED ANSWERS… ON NEXT SLIDE
? WHAT DID YOU DO? SUGGESTED ANSWER • Stop and investigate • If individual is around, ask for permit • Have Fire Department Respond to extinguish fire • Advise Forest Ranger of situation
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES PREVENTION NAME TWO PREVENTION ITEMS THE WARDEN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR. • Requiring & Issuing Fire Permits • Enforcing Forest Fire Laws • Following up on all known violations • Educating the public – posting law posters, direct contact etc… • Informing the Forest Ranger of active timber sales, slash violations and potential fire situations
WHY WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TIMBER HARVESTS FOREST RANGERS INSPECT TIMBER HARVEST OPERATIONS FOR: • Proper filing of intent to cut form • Posting of certificate or; Posting of copy of intent signed by assessing officials • Verification of volumes on report of wood cut • Basal Area • Wetlands • Slash • Contract & Deceptive Forestry • Trespass IF A TIMBER HARVEST DOES NOT HAVE AN INTENT TO CUT OR CERTIFICATE POSTED – LET US KNOW
RSA 227-J:10CARE OF SLASH AND MILL RESIDUE SLASH DEFINED: Branches, bark, tops, chunks, tops, cull logs, uprooted stumps, and broken and uprooted brush and trees left on the ground after logging or other cutting operations.
Forest Rangers inspect timber harvest operations to ensure compliance with the slash law. Specific requirements are displayed on this diagram. RSA 227-J:10CARE OF SLASH AND MILL RESIDUE
WE ALSO NEED HELP WITH THE FIREWOOD QUARANTINE • Effective July 2011 • Anyone transporting firewood into New Hampshire needs a Compliance Agreement • Firewood dealers need to contact Forests & Lands for a compliance agreement • Homeowners can get one online • Quarantine is to stop the spread of invasive insects • Let us know about out of state firewood dealers in your area
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Backyard fire with Category III Permit to burn brush ? • The picture shows a fire, this is a snapshot in time that does not show the entire situation. • Are there any problems? • What laws or rules are in violation? • From what you can see, What would you do? SUGGESTED ANSWERS… ON NEXT SLIDE
WHAT DID YOU DO? ? SUGGESTED ANSWER • Stop and investigate • If individual is around, ask for permit • Have Fire Department Respond to extinguish fire • If the violation is small and the individual is cooperative, you may issue a Written Warning (if you are authorized by your Warden). • Advise Forest Ranger of situation
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES PREVENTION NAME TWO PREVENTION ITEMS THE DEPUTY WARDEN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR. • Check on all burning noticed. If a required permit has not been obtained, order the fire extinguished and inform the Warden • Assist the Warden with educating the public • Inform the Warden of potential fire situations
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES FIRE PREPAREDNESS WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING IS NOT A REQUIREMENT UNDER YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION? • Attend Warden Association Meetings, but you are encouraged to. • Association Meetings are a great place for Wardens and Deputies from different towns in the area to share information and ideas. Forest Rangers attend the meetings to give updates on fire activity and opportunities statewide, such as grants and upcoming training. It is important for Wardens and Deputies to attend these meetings. • Attend forest fire training • Preplanning forest fire hazards • Know the fire hazards in your town, as well as sources of water, roads and trails • Obtaining suppression tools and equipment and maintaining them • Attend Warden Association Meetings
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES WHO IS IN COMMAND OF THE FIRE SCENE IF THE WARDEN IS NOT PRESENT? FIRE SUPPRESSION • When arriving as the first official on scene, a Deputy Warden will assume command. • The Warden will assume command from the Deputy Warden when they arrive on scene. • The Warden and Fire Chief should work in unified command. • The Forest Ranger will join unified command when on scene. • It is best to establish command protocols before an incident occurs.
? WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Friday, late morning. Toned by Dispatch for a smoke investigation and you find… • The picture shows a fire, this is a snapshot in time that does not show the entire situation. • Are there any problems? • What laws or rules are in violation? • From what you can see, What would you do? SUGGESTED ANSWERS… ON NEXT SLIDE
? WHAT DID YOU DO? SUGGESTED ANSWER • Stop and investigate • If individual is around, ask for permit • Have Fire Department Respond to extinguish fire • Advise Forest Ranger of situation
FOREST FIRE DEPUTY WARDEN What Records are Deputy Warden’s responsible for? • Names of personnel assigned to them • Time of assigned personnel • Any Fire Information they have – area of origin, suppression actions, witnesses, responsible party, etc…
FIRE REPORTING The Warden shall prepare a full and accurate fire report and send it to the district Forest Ranger within ? hours of a fire. 48 Hours The BLUE portion of the Fire Bill meets this requirement, if a Fire Bill is not going to be submitted, the Warden needs to call or email the Ranger
FIRE REPORTING Maintaining accurate records and reporting them nationally is very important to us. We provide this information to towns working on Community Wildfire Protection Plan’s and use it when awarding VFA Grants. What is the minimum information the Warden needs to provide their Ranger with for EVERY fire in their town? • Date of Fire • Location • Size • Cause (name of person responsible) • Type (Wildfire or Non-permit/illegal fire) When you are not filling out a Fire Bill – You can call or EMAIL the information to your Ranger – It is important that we get it.
? WHAT WOULD YOU DO? You drive this road every day to work, Monday morning you see this… • The picture shows a fire, this is a snapshot in time that does not show the entire situation. • Are there any problems? • What laws or rules are in violation? • From what you can see, What would you do? SUGGESTED ANSWERS… ON NEXT SLIDE
? WHAT DID YOU DO? SUGGESTED ANSWER • Check with Warden, Deputies and Fire Department to see if anyone knows about the incident • Find out who the landowner is, Warden and/or Fire Chief should obtain preliminary information • Notify Forest Ranger of situation
FIRE REPORTING How many days after a fire do you have to submit the bill? 60 days
TRUE or FALSE You can suspend a Fire Permit and order a fire to be extinguished if you determine the smoke to be causing a nuisance. The definition of “nuisance smoke” was through DES. They have removed this definition from their rules; therefore, smoke from a fire can no longer be defined as a nuisance. FALSE
TRUE or FALSE When mutual aid departments respond to your town for a fire, their firefighters go on your Fire Bill. • The process for Fire Bills is the same for every fire, every time, for every town. • ALWAYS: • Fill out Fire Bill for YOUR firefighters • YOUR town pays YOUR firefighters • Send Fire Bill to your Forest Ranger • If it was a fire with mutual aid, the Ranger will organize all of the bills for delivery to the town which had the fire. FALSE
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CAMPGROUNDS Before receiving a seasonal permit, campgrounds must meet four additional requirements for site preparation. Name two of the four additional requirements. • Be on an area cleaned to mineral soil at least 8 feet across • Have at least 6 inches of sand or gravel under the fire for any fire built on the ground • Have no limbs or other burnable material to a height of 10 feet above the fire area • Have a ring of fire resistive material constructed so it cannot be moved from the mineral soil area.
? WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Saturday, early evening. PD responds to a noise complaint, they call you because there is a fire as well. When you arrive you find that the owner has a category I permit. PD asks if you can suspend the permit. • The picture shows a fire, this is a snapshot in time that does not show the entire situation. • Are there any problems? • What laws or rules are in violation? • From what you can see, What would you do? SUGGESTED ANSWERS… ON NEXT SLIDE
? WHAT DID YOU DO? SUGGESTED ANSWER • Look over area for any violations • If there are any violations, illegal material etc… suspend the permit • If there are no violations, you cannot suspend the permit
ISSUING AGENTS Where do Issuing Agents get their authority to write fire permits? • STATUTE: RSA 227-G:4,IX directs the Commissioner of DRED to create rules regarding the issuance of burning permits. • RULE: RES 5601.03 (a) Except as provided in this section, no person other than a forest fire warden shall issue fire permits. • The director shall authorize others to issue fire permits after recommendation by the forest fire warden. The A.G.’s Office has determined that this covers the appointment of Issuing Agents.
CATEGORY IV PERMITS Res 5601.05 The Forest Ranger & Warden must sign the Category IV Permit. If the Warden is not available, a person authorized to issue permits, may sign along with the Forest Ranger. Who has the authority to issue a Category IV Permit? Steven Sherman Maynard Farr Monroe
CATEGORY IV PERMITS • Category IV Permits are commonly issued to: • Transfer Stations • Land Clearing Companies • This is allowed because: • Individuals are usually not working after 5:00pm • Equipment is on site to control a fire • Other means of disposal would be difficult Who are Category IV Permits commonly issued to? Why?
CATEGORY IV PERMITS Res 5601.05 Category IV Permits are not different than any other permit, the only material allowed to be burned is: Clean, untreated wood or brush less than 5 inches in diameter and meets applicable air resource regulations. Clean, untreated wood or brush, no greater than 5 inches in diameter What materials can be burned with a Category IV (“Commercial”) burn permit?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Neighbor Complaint. A contractor has made this pile and the neighbor thinks it may be burned soon ? • The picture shows a fire, this is a snapshot in time that does not show the entire situation. • Are there any problems? • What laws or rules are in violation? • From what you can see, What would you do? SUGGESTED ANSWERS… ON NEXT SLIDE
WHAT DID YOU DO? ? SUGGESTED ANSWER • There is no violation of the permit law at this point, so you are limited in what you can do • Use as an educational opportunity and talk with the contractor about the permit laws • Keep an eye on the pile
FIRE PERMIT Res 5601.04 Category I fires can be burned anytime of day What is wrong with this Fire Permit?
DOCUMENTED VIOLATIONS How many DOCUMENTED violations must a person have before you can deny them a permit? 3rd Offense, 3 years after 2nd Offense 2nd Offense, 2 years later 7 years from 1st Offense 1st Offense Permits DENIED for 2 Years 7 Years 3 within a 7 year period
FIRE PERMIT Res 5601.01 & RSA 227-L:17 The Permittee is not the Landowner and must have Written Permission from the Landowner What additional information would you ask for before issuing this permit?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? 1300 Hours, Saturday. Individual has a Category III permit. It has been raining all morning, but the sun is now coming out. ? • The picture shows a fire, this is a snapshot in time that does not show the entire situation. • Are there any problems? • What laws or rules are in violation? • From what you can see, What would you do? SUGGESTED ANSWERS… ON NEXT SLIDE
WHAT DID YOU DO? ? SUGGESTED ANSWER • Stop and investigate • If individual is around, ask for permit • Since this fire is in the middle of the day and it is no longer raining, it will need to be extinguished; if the individual is able to do so, have them put the fire out, otherwise have the Fire Department Respond to extinguish fire • You can issue a Written Warning to document the violation • Advise Forest Ranger of the fire
FIRE PERMITS How far must snow be extending from the base of a fire to be considered “adequate snow cover” 100 Feet 100’ FROZEN PRECIPITATION FROZEN PRECIPITATION 100’ 100’ 100’ FROZEN PRECIPITATION FROZEN PRECIPITATION
FIRE PERMIT Res 5601.04 (a)(5) Category III fires should not be issued for long periods of time because it is not possible to predict favorable weather conditions to prevent the spread or escape of the fire What is wrong with this Fire Permit?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Monday morning, no one on site… ? • The picture shows a fire, this is a snapshot in time that does not show the entire situation. • Are there any problems? • What laws or rules are in violation? • From what you can see, What would you do? SUGGESTED ANSWERS… ON NEXT SLIDE
WHAT DID YOU DO? ? SUGGESTED ANSWER • Stop and investigate, take photographs (cell phones work well for this) • If individual returns, ask for permit • Have Fire Department Respond to extinguish fire • Advise Forest Ranger of situation
FIRE BEHAVIOR What factor influences fire spread more than any other? A. Fire Behavior B. Wind C. Topography D. Relative Humidity WIND
Why are Category II and III fires only allowed to be burned between 5:00 pm and 9:00 am? • As the day progresses from morning to afternoon the environment changes and makes fire control more difficult. • The temperature increases in the afternoon and the surface fuels on the ground are pre-heated. • The relative humidity decreases in the afternoon and small fuels such as grasses, leaves and twigs dry out. • Winds pick up allowing sparks and embers to travel away from the fire, making control more difficult.
L.C.E.S LCES is the minimum level of hazard control that must be in place before making the decision to engage a fire. L LOOKOUTS C What does “C” stand for? E ESCAPE ROUTES S SAFETY ZONES L LOOKOUTS C COMMUNICATIONS E ESCAPE ROUTES S SAFETY ZONES
? WHAT WOULD YOU DO? You notice this pile Sunday afternoon… • The picture shows a fire, this is a snapshot in time that does not show the entire situation. • Are there any problems? • What laws or rules are in violation? • From what you can see, What would you do? SUGGESTED ANSWERS… ON NEXT SLIDE