The Connecticut Fire Academy Skill Sheet 21.2.1 Recruit Firefighter Program Wildland and Ground Fires Practical Skill Training

SKILL / TASK: Equipment Identification / Suppress and Overhaul INSTRUCTOR(S): 2 LOCATION: CFA East Side - Wooded Area EQUIPMENT: DEMO Brush/Wildland PPE 4 - Brush Fire Broom 4 – McLeod Tool 4 – Pulaski Tool 4 – Fire Rake 4 – Soft Pak Brush Pump 2 –Brush Fire Apparatus (requested) CFA UTV

DELIVERY TIME: Approximately 90 minutes REFERENCE:

Practical Skills Training Day 13:00 – 14:30 Presentation 16:15 – 16:30 Skill Station Clean-up Debriefing / Dismissal 14:45 – 15:15 Tools & Equipment 15:15 – 16:15 Suppress & Extinguish Return all Equipment at the Conclusion of Training

CFPC Skill Sheet Reference: 5.3.19A Donning Ground Cover PPE 5.3.19C Use of Tools and Appliances for Simple  Wears appropriate shirt and pants (or jump suit) Ground Cover Hose Lay  Helmet with chinstrap, headlamp, eye protection, hearing  * Wears appropriate equipment as directed protection  Identifies commonly used fittings and hose  Gloves  Demonstrates a simple hose lay  Boots and socks  Extends charged hose lay by properly clamping, crimping,  Equipment belt with fire shelter, canteen disconnecting, inserting, and recoupling hose  Neck shroud  Sets nozzle setting appropriately for the situation Complies with NFPA 1001 (2013)  Applies water in a manner consistent Complies with NFPA 1001 (2013) 5.3.19B Fill, Use and Maintain a Backpack Pump  Assembles backpack pump 5.3.19D Use of Hand Tools while Building a Fire  Maintains proper footing and stance Control Line  Maintains proper body position; carrying and lifting  * Wears appropriate equipment as directed  Fills backpack pump with clean or strained water  * Selects the appropriate tool  Demonstrates clearing a clogged nozzle  Inspects the tool before use  Demonstrates cleaning a quick connect, if dirty  Determines if the tool may be used safely Complies with NFPA 1001 (2013)  Determines the location of the control line  * Digs suppression line based on type of fuels and terrain Complies with NFPA 1001 (2013)

Set-Up: Position requested Fire Department Brush Apparatus on driveway next to CFA Administration Building. Procure and transport CFA Recruit Brush equipment to site, set up in grassy area next to Monument.

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Training Sequence: 1. Explain and demonstrate the use of common Brush Firefighting Equipment  Personal Protective Equipment specific to Brush/Wildland Firefighting Note: Most Connecticut Fire Departments use Structural Firefighting Protective Clothing during Brush/Wildland Fire Suppression. DEEP (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection), Naugatuck FD and other FD’s utilize PPE specific to Brush/Wildland Fires. o Helmet o Shirt o Boots o Pants o Gloves o Eye-Protection  CFA and FD Hand Tools o Brush Fire Broom o Pulaski Tool o McLeod Tool o Fire Rake  Soft Pak Brush Pump  Apparatus Brush Pumps Note: This is an overview; the Recruits will receive their FD (AHJ)procedures concerning the Operation of Apparatus specific to Brush/Wildland Fires. o Identify Start/Engage Pump o Pressurize/Depressurize Pump o Stopping/Disengaging Pump 2. Explain and Perform a Direct Attack on a Simulated Brush Fire: – A series of related actions to cool, drown, smother, starve, beat out, or otherwise extinguish the flames of a going fire. All control action is carried on directly against the fire edge.  Advance Booster or Brush Line to Fire o Awareness of Safety Zones & Escape Routes o Avoid Obstacles o Avoid/Eliminate Hot-Spots that threaten Hoseline o Maintain Communications o React to Fire Behavior Changes o Use fog pattern  Mop Up/Overhaul operations o Awareness of Fire Behavior o Find and Extinguish Hot Spots o Cut Fireline – Un-Burned Material to Burned Area o Maintain Communications o Monitor Fatigue and REHAB needs 3. Explain and Perform an Indirect Attack on a Simulated Brush Fire: – Control action conducted a variable distance from and usually parallel to the edge of a wildland fire in such a manner as to deprive the advancing fire of fuel thereby halt its further progress.  Flank and Cut a Fireline o Awareness of Fire Behavior o Awareness of Safety Zones & Escape Routes o Base Indirect Attack on an Anchor Point o Cut the Fireline down to the mineral soil o Cut the Fireline twice as wide as the Fuel Height o Use sufficient Foam or water “wet water/concentrate” o Maintain Communications

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Overview: Practical Skill Training Station 21.2.1 consists of using equipment found on the area fire department Brush units. Acting as a team, attack and extinguish the simulated brush/ground cover fire that you are confronted with at this station, using the tools and equipment available. Typically, the Connecticut ground or brush fire season is in the spring of each year and generally runs from late February through early April. The secondary season is in the fall of the year following the first heavy frost. These are the periods of time in Connecticut’s climate when the weather and fuel conditions are optimum for brush fire problems. The ground cover is typically dead or dying resulting in little moisture content, humidity levels are down, temperatures are up and wind conditions are erratic and typically higher than normal. The brush fire problem and wildland/urban interface, as it is called, in Connecticut is very unique. While most rural areas have vast acreages of open fields, wooded areas and marshes, suburban areas are somewhat different due to the rapid growth and development within these rural areas. Increasing population density causes more fires. It is a simple fact that fires occur, primarily due to human negligence. Where people reside, negligence follows. Secondarily, wildland/brush fires burning out of control in now endanger more homes, businesses and farm complexes than in years past due, again, to the urbanization of the rural area. Brush fires are generally handled by the local Fire Department or AHJ. Urban departments will respond with an Engine Company and may request the department’s specialized Brush Unit. Most fires are small in size, ranging from square feet to an acre or so. Rural departments may deploy their Brush Truck long with an Engine to most fires and request Mutual Aid from surrounding departments when manpower and the fire’s size become issues. DEEP (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) lead suppression of fires in the states forests and parks.

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