The long, hot summers of Texas as well as the dry vegetation and low humidity all contribute to hazardous fire conditions. After a 2010 year of plentiful rain, their was an extreme drought in 2011 that turned the vegetation into dry tinder which creates the ideal circumstance for a brush fire.  A brush fire is an uncontrolled wildfire that burns in low-growing shrubs. Brush fires can quickly escalate into a full-fledged wildfire as soon as it reaches a wooded area, making it much harder to contain and suppress.

Three factors create the right circumstances for a fire. First, heat is responsible for the initial ignition of the fire, and important to maintaining the fire. Second, fuel is required to sustain the fire. The most common type of fuel is wood from trees, dry twigs, and shrubbery. Third, oxygen is required both to start a fire and to continue. Combustion, or the initiation of a fire, occurs when all these factors are combined in such a way as to create the perfect conditions for a fire.

Active prevention tactics can reduce the number of accidental fires started by people. Between 87 and 96 percent of brush, grass and forest fires are caused by people, according to statistics collected by the National Interagency Fire Center and the National Fire Incident Reporting System. Although approximately twenty percent of all such fires are intentionally set, most human-caused fires are accidental and annually related to careless disposal of hot embers, ash or cigarettes.

Please stay safe and take precaution when dealing with fires. Pay attention to county burn bans, and do not toss any items with open flames into the wilderness. For more prevention tips, please visit http://www.txwildfirerelief.org/about/fire-prevention-tips/.

Since 1929, The Annual Municipal Fire School at the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s (TEEX) Brayton Field has provided training to firefighters and emergency responders. Nowhere else can volunteer emergency responders find more comprehensive firefighter training and emergency services instruction than at this 280-acre training field, the largest in the United States.

During the 83^rd Annual Municipal Fire School at the Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station, the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association hosted their annual Legislative Day. Guests who attended acquainted themselves with the rigorous training required of volunteer firefighters and became informed on the operations of the Texas Forest Service and TEEX. The legislators and staff were given a tour of the field and the opportunity to suit up and participate in a live fire exercise.

Brayton Field includes full-scale buildings, towers, oil tankers, industrial plant structures and a full scale battleship that are used during life-like controlled training simulations. Other training aids are used for classes in high-rise rescue, aircraft firefighting, passenger train emergency response, structural collapse/heavy rescue and other mass-casualty emergencies.

Adjacent to Brayton Field, sits Disaster City, a place where tragedy and training meet. This 52-acre training facility allows emergency responders to climb into the mangled steel and glass that was once a bustling passenger train and use canines to sift through a building’s rubble left from a terrorist attack or natural disaster. This allows emergency responders to practice finding survivors beneath several tons of steel beams and debris.

The many features of TEEX make it a world-class attraction for more than 180,450 people a year from all 50 states, five U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, and 73 countries. The Annual Municipal Fire School and TEEX present a unique opportunity for volunteer firefighters to train with state-of-the-art equipment and resources that would not be available to them otherwise.  Help support volunteer firefighters by donating to the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund today.

When firefighters are risking their lives protecting communities, they should be wearing the safest possible gear. The Texas Wildfire Relief Fund has been working to ensure gear is of the safest and most durable materials.

Currently, many firefighters are using structural gear, but requests have come in for new Wildland gear. “Some firefighters wear structural gear while fighting the wildfires, the heat factor of the gear when used for long periods of time can cause the suits to get too hot,” said Tony Fox, Assistant Fire Chief of the Petrolia Volunteer Fire Department, near Wichita Falls.

Structural Gear, also referred to as “Bunker Gear” is the usual protective clothing worn by a firefighter when fighting structural (building) fires, or performing rescues. The heavily insulated structural gear can be uncomfortably hot to wear, but keep the extreme temperatures of a fire away from the firefighter’s body.

Structural gear will fail at approximately 1200°F (650°C), so even when protected with all of this clothing it is important to stay low.  Fighting wildfires can get very hot very quickly, and wildfires often last longer than a typical structure fire. Wildland gear helps to keep firefighters cooler on the fire line, even while under the hot sun.

Wildland gear is designed to protect, but will also keep the firefighter cool, by allowing body heat to escape, so it isn’t insulated the same way as structural gear. Wildland firefighting (woods, brush and grass fires, etc.) requires a lot of exercise and activity: digging, chopping, shoveling and lugging hoses, so the gear needs to be flexible and breathable.

For the most up to date information about the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association and the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund, please “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SFFMA or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/SFFMA.

About The Texas Wildfire Relief Fund:
The Texas Wildfire Relief Fund is the non-profit 501(c)3 fundraising arm of the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association. It is the only organization actively committed to generating awareness and garnering support for Texas volunteer firefighters. We must come together as a state to help provide volunteer firefighters with the equipment and gear they need to ensure that Texas is prepared for future wildfire disaster relief.

Sources:
“Protective Clothing: Structural Turnouts”: http://www.sccfd.org/clothing_turnouts.html
“Protective Clothing: Wildland Gear”: http://www.sccfd.org/clothing_wildland.html

Wildfire continues to threaten people and property across Texas. Rapid population growth into Wildland Urban Interface areas and an increasing frequency of elevated fire weather conditions represent major concerns moving forward into the future. Heightened awareness of wildfire risk, prevention and mitigation are becoming increasingly important to ensure safety. The Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal provides access to information that describes wildfire risk statewide.

Learn more at http://www.texaswildfirerisk.com/

Meet Sally.

As a volunteer fire fighter in Edinburg, she spends her time at work protecting families all over Hildalgo County. At home, she is a mother to her six year old daughter, where she provides support and protection to her family.

This Mother’s Day, we would like to thank all volunteer firefighters, particularly the mothers, not only in the fire stations, but also in the home who work hard every day to help serve their families and ours. We are thankful for their service and commitment to their community. Your continued support of the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund will help to ensure that our state’s volunteer firefighters have the resources they need as the next wildfire season begins.

Thank you and Happy Mother’s Day!

Chris Barron
Executive Director
State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association

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12 Days of Charitable Giving: Texas Wildfire Relief Fund

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