April 11, 2017
Ready, Set, Go! Wildland Fire Action Guide available at the Kansas Forest Service
Submitted by Jennifer Williams
Wildland fire is a real threat, as evidenced across the state this spring. The Kansas Forest Service has teamed up with K-State Research and Extension, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs to customize a Wildland Fire Action Guide specific to Kansas.
The guide was prepared by the IAFC’s Ready, Set, Go! Program, which works to develop and improve the dialogue between fire departments and the residents they serve. Launched nationally at the Wildland-Urban Interface Conference in 2011, the program helps fire departments teach individuals who live in high risk wildfire areas and the wildland-urban interface, how to best prepare themselves and their property against fire threats.
Engaging in this dialogue is particularly important because national studies have shown that firefighters are respected in their communities, and can project a trusted voice to the public preparedness appeal. They can also explain what fire resources are available during an event, and the role that individuals can play in preparedness and if called for, early evacuation, to increase the safety of residents and responding firefighters to a wildland fire.
The Ready, Set, Go! Program works in a complimentary and collaborative way with the Firewise Communities USA program and other existing wildland fire public education efforts. It amplifies their preparedness messages to better achieve the common goal of fire-adapted communities. In recent years, management of the Kansas prairie by naturally-occurring wildfires has given way to prescribed burning. However, data suggest that a majority of wildfires are now from human carelessness. An average of 110,000 acres are burned in accidental or uncontrolled fires every year in Kansas. The Kansas Forest Service is dedicated to helping landowners and managers continue to use fire as a tool to manage the land safely, while also providing homeowners assistance in protecting their homes if a wildfire should occur.
Paper copies of the Kansas Wildland Fire Action Guide are available at the Kansas Forest Service state office in Manhattan. The guide is also available online on the Kansas Forest Service fire prevention webpage: Kansasforests.org/fire_management/fireprevention.html. For more on the Ready, Set, Go! Program and its partners, visit WildlandfireRSG.org.