Lesson plan for fire departments

Subject: Making Your Home/Cottage FireSmart

Introduction:

This lesson plan will assist fire service personnel to present information on how to protect rural or wildland/urban interface homes and cottages to groups such as cottage associations, homeowners and the public. It is intended to introduce the public to:

• The concept of protecting rural and forest homes and cottages from wildfires.
• Terminology used in protecting property from wildfires.
• The identification of potential risks around a forest home or cottage.
• The identification of potential mitigation techniques to reduce the risk of loss or damage to property from wildfires

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will:

• Understand what is meant by wildland/urban interface or Intermix
• Identify why protecting property from the threat of wildfire is their own responsibility
• Identify ways to protect their forest homes and properties from wildfires.

Participants are expected to:

• Listen attentively
• Participate in group discussions
• Ask questions for clarification and understanding
• Answer instructor questions.

Additional Resources:

• Background information from Check Your Home Inside and Out lesson plan;
• www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/AFFM/;
• www.partnersinprotection.ab.ca;
• www.firewise.org.

Key Points and Terms

• Wildland/Urban Interface
• Forest fire behaviour terms (Fuel types; Ladder fuels; Ignition)
• Interface Priority Zones
• Home survivability
• Fire Risk Rating
• Site Hazards (Trees; Ladder fuels; Ground cover; Brush piles; Fuel storage; Ground slope)
• Structural Hazards (Roofing; Foundation; Exterior Walls; Decks/Overhangs; Windows

Student Learning Activity

• Listen
• Take notes
• Ask questions
• Observe
• Read booklet
• Listen
• Take notes
• Ask questions
• Observe

References and Resources

• FireSmart Home Owner Manual
• Videos (FireSmart; Preventing Home Ignitions)
• FireSmart Home Owner manual
• Additional photocopies of assessment checklist
• If not on location, pictures of interface structure with hazards and a similar structure without hazards

Trainer/Facilitator Activity

• Introduce yourself
• If appropriate, ask participants how many of them have homes/camps/cottages located in or near a forested area
• Explain fire behaviour, what forest fires need to grow, etc.
• Ask for examples of hazards that would increase the fire risk of a property if a wildfire approached
• Tell participants about fire risk ratings and what they mean
• Discuss what may make a particular building high or low risk
• List terms on flip chart
• Distribute booklet and risk assessment sheet
• Highlight key points in booklet, i.e. site selection, vegetation management
• Demonstrate how to use a risk assessment sheet
• For practical exercises there are 2 options:1. If at a location with an actual building in the interface go outside and conduct an assessment of property either individually or as a group; 2. If not at a suitable location, show pictures of an interface structure and have participants conduct an assessment based on the pictures.
• When the assessment is complete compare ratings.
• Discuss factors that increased the rating, didnt affect the rating, etc.
• Describe why certain factors affect the rating and others do not (see booklet)
• Have participants list the ways they can reduce the fire risk rating of their own property and prepare an action plan that might get them started.
• Discuss home and site evacuation plans.