This document discusses training and exercises for wildfire preparedness. It recommends basic wildfire training covering suppression techniques, hazards, safety protocols like LACES, and predicting fire behavior. Training works best using a combination of methods like classroom, tabletop, field and simulation exercises. It also benefits from task-specific training and information sharing between agencies. Multiagency training helps ensure effective coordination.

1. E-Learning for Wildfires
Professionals

2. Wildfire Preparedness – Part 2:
How to train and exercise for
wildfires
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3. This is the second part of the module on wildfire preparedness and will
cover the following topics:
• Basic wildfire training
• LACES Safety Protocol
• Wildfire training delivery methods
• International exchanges
• Multiagency training and exercising
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Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (UK)

4. Training and exercising is another key element of preparedness for wildfires.
All those involved in suppressing wildfires must receive adequate training to ensure
they are competent to perform their role. This will help to ensure that all personnel
are:
• Safe
• Effective
• Efficient
Training should begin with initial training but this must also be complemented with
an ongoing training programme.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

5. Basic wildfire training should cover the following key elements:
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
• Knowledge about the wildfire environment
• Knowledge of suppression techniques and
tactics
• Knowledge of the hazards present at wildfire
incidents
• Instruction in implementing appropriate control
measures, including an appropriate safety
system or protocol
• Instruction in the correct use of PPE, equipment
and tools
• Appropriate first aid training

6. Importantly, wildfire training
should provide personnel
with the knowledge and tools
to understand when, where
and why there will be changes
in wildfire behaviour.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (UK)

7. … training should also provide personnel with the knowledge required
to predict and identify where extreme fire behaviour may occur.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: Junta de Andalucia (Spain)

8. … training should also provide personnel with the knowledge required
to predict and identify where extreme fire behaviour may occur.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Please note…
extreme fire
behaviour is
explained in more
detail within the
previous module on
wildfire prevention.
Source: Junta de Andalucia (Spain)

9. To develop and implement safe and effective suppression plans, personnel
also need to be trained to identify and use the following key concepts:
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Key concept Explanation
Windows of opportunity ‘A period of time or location on the landscape when/where it will be
particularly advantageous to adopt particular suppression tactics or actions.’*
Trigger points ‘A pre-designated point in time or place whereby a predicted change in fire
behaviour will influence tactical decision-making. For instance, if a wildfire
reaches a particular trigger point on the landscape, the Incident Commander
may decide it is necessary to adopt alternative tactics in order to maintain
safety and effectiveness.’*
Critical points ‘This is a point in time or space when/where there will be a significant
influence on fire spread, rate of spread and/or fire intensity.’*
* Definitions from the EUFOFINET Project’s European Glossary for Wildfires and Forest Fires (2012)

10. Wildfires can be dangerous and personnel need to know how to keep
themselves and their colleagues safe. Safety systems and protocols are
therefore of vital importance for all wildfire training programmes.
The video on the next page explains the 18 Watch Out Situations. The
Watch Out Situations have been developed in the USA over the course
of the last five or six decades and all wildland firefighters in the USA are
expected to know them. The 18 situations were all experienced at fires
where there was a fatality, entrapment or near miss incident. This list
provides a useful reminder of some of the hazardous situations that may
occur at a wildfire.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

11. There are different safety protocols in use around the world to help
mitigate hazards and keep firefighting personnel and members of the
public safe.
A number of countries currently implement the LACES Safety Protocol.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

12. There are different safety protocols in use around the world to help
mitigate hazards and keep firefighting personnel and members of the
public safe.
A number of countries currently implement the LACES Safety Protocol.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Interesting fact about the evolution of LACES: The protocol began as LCES.
However, a number of countries have now added the A to make LACES.

13. LACES is an acronym for:
L = LOOKOUTS
A = AWARENESS and/or ANCHOR POINT
C = COMMUNICATIONS
E = ESCAPE ROUTES
S = SAFETY ZONES
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

14. LACES is an acronym for:
L = LOOKOUTS
A = AWARENESS and/or ANCHOR POINT
C = COMMUNICATIONS
E = ESCAPE ROUTES
S = SAFETY ZONES
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
The individual
key elements of
LACES will now
be briefly
explained in turn.

15. Lookouts
Personnel tasked with
managing and maintaining
safety by observing and
monitoring the fire and
personnel.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: Junta de Andalucia (Spain)

16. Awareness and/or Anchor Point
All personnel should be responsible for establishing and maintaining
situational awareness at wildfire incidents.
All personnel should ensure they remain vigilant, continually evaluate
their surroundings and communicate any hazards through the
appropriate levels within the incident command system.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

17. Awareness and/or Anchor Point
The creation of an anchor point is sometimes a key element included
within the LACES safety protocol.
An anchor point is an advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire
spread, from which to begin constructing a control line.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

18. Communications
Establishing and maintaining effective
communication is vital for maintaining
safety at wildfire incidents.
Clear, concise briefings are a vital part of
the communication strategy for all wildfire
incidents. Good briefings ensure that all
personnel are situationally aware and that
personnel are deployed safely, effectively
and efficiently.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: Junta de Andalucia (Spain)

19. Communications
Establishing and maintaining effective
communication is vital for maintaining
safety at wildfire incidents.
Clear, concise briefings are a vital part of
the communication strategy for all wildfire
incidents. Good briefings ensure that all
personnel are situationally aware and that
personnel are deployed safely, effectively
and efficiently.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Remember: SMEAC briefings were
explained earlier in this module
and they can help provide a
structure for effective briefings.
Source: Junta de Andalucia (Spain)

20. Escape Routes
Escape routes are pre-planned routes to be used in an emergency
situation. They can be used by personnel to get away from danger to a
safety zone.
Escape routes should always be:
• Pre-planned to avoid confusion and panic
• Communicated to all personnel
• Monitored throughout the incident
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (UK)

21. Escape routes should also be:
• Established at the earliest opportunity
• Kept as simple as possible
• Upwind of the fire
• Downslope of the fire
Escape routes should also avoid re-entrants and saddle features
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

22. Safety Zones
The final key element of LACES is safety zones.
Safety zones are predetermined areas of safety where personnel can find
refuge from a wildfire.
Like escape routes, they should always be:
• Pre-planned to avoid confusion and panic
• Communicated to all personnel
• Monitored throughout the incident
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
SAFETY ZONE

23. Safety Zones should also be:
• Close enough to be effectively used
• Devoid of fuel (or contain the minimum of fuel)
• Upwind of the fire
• Downslope of the fire
As a general rule, safety zones should be able to accommodate all
personnel and provide a minimum separation of at least 4 times the
maximum flame length
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

24. Safety zones should never be:
• Beneath aerial fuels (tree canopy)
• Beneath or near overhead power lines, gas
pipelines or oil pipelines
• Located within re-entrants or saddle
features
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

25. The “black area” (i.e. area already burned by the fire) may be an
appropriate safety zone if:
• it satisfies the other previously mentioned criteria; and,
• there is no fuel remaining which might sustain the fire should it burn
back into the black area
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: Northumberland
Fire and Rescue Service
(UK)

26. To summarise, the key benefits of LACES are that:
• It is easily remembered
• It can be fully adjusted to different circumstances and scales of
incidents.
• When implemented correctly, it is clear, concise and easily understood
by all personnel.
These are some of the basic attributes of an effective safety protocol.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

27. IMPORTANT:
This short section has provided a
basic overview on LACES and is
not comprehensive. Before
attempting to implement LACES,
further research and training
should be completed.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

28. As a starting point, further information on LACES can be found in the
following places:
• National Wildfire Coordinating Group - USA
• Scottish Government’s (2013) Fire and Rescue Service Wildfire Operational
Guidance – see pages 180-208
• Canadian Forest Service Publication – LACES versus LCES
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Find out more about LACES

29. The videos on the next page also provide some further information
about the LCES Safety Protocol.
Please note the videos talk about LCES (and not LACES) because they
were produced in the USA. Even if you are considering implementing
the LACES Protocol (including the “A”), they still provide some useful
information and ideas to consider.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

30. The way that wildfire training delivered is also as important as the
content.
Different delivery methods of different advantages and disadvantages.
The learning outcomes of individual sessions and modules will dictate
the most effective training delivery method.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
As a general guide, wildfire training programmes are most effective if they
include a combination of some or all of the training delivery methods listed
on the next page.

31. Delivery method Explanation
Classroom sessions • Effective for teaching key theories and concepts
• Provide opportunities for reviewing real life case studies
Table top exercises • Effective for putting theory into practice
• Provide opportunities for problem solving
• Provide opportunities to confirm understanding of key theories and practice
Field exercises • Effective for putting theory into practice
• Provide opportunities for problem solving
• Provide opportunities to confirm understanding of key theories and practice
• Provide opportunities for familiarisation with the environment, real
procedures and real-time decision-making.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Wildfire Training Delivery Methods

32. Delivery method Explanation
Simulation exercises • Effective for putting theory into practice in a safe and controlled environment
• Provide opportunities for problem solving
• Provide opportunities to confirm understanding of key theories and practice
• Provide opportunities for familiarisation with real procedures and sometimes
with real-time decision-making
Task specific training • Ensure personnel are trained for specific tasks and roles
Information exchange and
secondment opportunities
• Provide opportunities to learn from specialists in other places and countries
• Provide opportunities to import knowledge and experience from others
• Provide opportunities to share good practice and learn new ways of doing
things
• Helps create an outward-looking ethos of continual development and
improvement for wildfire training
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Wildfire Training Delivery Methods

33. Delivery method
Simulation exercises
Task specific training
Information exchange and
secondment opportunities
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Wildfire Training Delivery Methods
The following training delivery
methods will be explained in a
little more detail on the
following pages.
We will also explain why
multiagency training can be
valuable.

34. Task Specific Training
Some roles may require personnel to
receive specific training.
For example, it is standard practice in most
countries that firefighters that may be
required to use helicopter transport during
a wildfire incident will need to successfully
complete training on how to embark and
disembark a helicopter safely. Without this
training, personnel are not permitted to
travel in a helicopter at an incident.
Task specific training may need to be
repeated at regular intervals to confirm
understanding and compliance over time.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: Junta de Andalucia (Spain)

35. Simulation training
Simulation is the imitation or representation of a real-world process.
In the context of wildfires, computer simulation software is now available on
the market to enable firefighting organisations to design and deliver realistic
incident command training for wildfire incidents.
This training can be delivered inside, within a training facility and has a
number of benefits.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

36. The key benefits include:
• Providing unlimited number of exercises with almost limitless realistic
scenarios.
• Exercises can be run in real-time or time can be adjusted to suit specific
requirements.
• Exercises can be adjusted by trainers, including making sudden changes
which prompt trainee to evaluate and potentially change tactics (i.e. change
in wind direction).
• Training can start at any point in the incident – i.e. training can commence
at the initial attack phase or later in the incident when more senior incident
commanders would arrive.
• Simulation training is a great way of training and exercising for the
coordination of ground and aerial resources.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

37. Other benefits of simulation training are:
• Numerous training exercises can be delivered without the financial
constraints of organising field exercises
• Training is not dependent upon the weather, unlike training in the field
with live fire
• The simulation tool can be used to reveal the behaviour and personality of
the trainee, which can help identify strengths and weaknesses.
• Simulation tools enable training exercises to be recorded and played back.
This is an extremely useful feedback tool that helps trainers explain to
trainees what they did well and what they could improve in future.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

38. e-Learning for the Prevention, Preparedness and Response to
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
ECASC in France has developed a highly advanced simulator for training
for wildfires.
The simulator has taken more than 10 years to develop and is used
extensively to deliver wildfire incident command training to French fire
officers at different levels of command. The simulator has also been
adapted to train fire officers from other countries.
The simulator consists of two key elements:
• Software which presents trainees with realistic, real-time images of
what they would see at a wildfire incident.
• A training space which is divided into a number of rooms (see right)
assigned to different functions, meaning that commanders only see their
area of the fire and are required to talk to each other via radios,
replicating what would happen in real life.
Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue
Service (UK)

39. e-Learning for the Prevention, Preparedness and Response to
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: ECASC (France)
The graphics used
within ECASC’s
simulator are
extremely realistic,
depicting different
vegetation (see left)

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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: ECASC (France)
The images on screen
show what is happening
in terms of the fire and
in terms of
personnel/resources
deployed.
As soon as a fire officer
moves his/her resources,
the image changes
accordingly. If a fire
starts burning in a
different direction, the
image changes
accordingly.

41. ECASC’s simulator also includes
modules which can be operated by
pilots of planes and helicopters.
This enables realistic simulation of
aerial attack, including time taken for
aircraft to refuel and reload. It also
enables safe and realistic training for
ground-air coordination.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (UK)

42. e-Learning for the Prevention, Preparedness and Response to
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You can find out more about
ECASC’s wildfire simulator
by clicking on the leaflet on
the right
(please note the information
is provided in French only)
Find out more about Simulation Training for
Wildfires
How to train and exercise for wildfires
Source: ECASC (France)

43. International exchanges
The potential benefits of international exchanges cannot be
underestimated.
International exchanges can provide valuable
opportunities to exchange:
• Knowledge
• Experience
• Good practice
• Ideas
They can also generate opportunities for joint training.
This can all help save time and money and enhance
effectiveness. If organisations work together across
international borders they can make significant advances
through collaborative working.
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Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (UK)
How to train and exercise for wildfires
French, British, Danish and Slovakian fire officers
visiting ECASC, France in September 2012 to
exchange knowledge and experience on wildfire
incident command.

44. It is imperative that all agencies
that attend wildfire incidents have
the opportunity to train and
exercise together to ensure
adequate preparedness for
wildfires.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires
Multiagency Training and Exercising
Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (UK)

45. Multiagency training should include some key basic elements, such as:
• Incident command:
• Roles and responsibilities
• Communication
• Safety systems and protocols
• Familiarisation with systems of work/Standard Operating Procedures
• Familiarisation with equipment and operators
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

46. In addition to ensuring knowledge and understanding and
interoperability, multi-agency exercises can form and strengthen
relationships between organisations and individuals.
Strong relationships are of significant importance in many areas of
work associated with wildfires – including activities associated with
wildfire prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

47. IMPORTANT – all wildfire training should be continually reviewed and
adapted to incorporate:
• Lessons learned from training exercises
• Lessons learned during wildfire incidents and debriefs
• New information as it becomes available
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How to train and exercise for wildfires

48. That concludes this part of the module. However, you may find it useful
to also learn more about different approaches to wildfire training
around the world:
• USA - National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)
• Europe - Pau Costa Foundation
• Eurofire Competency Standards
• UK – Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service
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Find out more about LACES

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End of Module Summary

50. We hope you enjoyed this
part of the module!
Please visit the next part
which covers the topic of
warning and informing the
public.
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End of Wildfire Preparedness: Part 2
Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (UK)

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