Fire Specialists Research Articles

Factors Contributing to Increased Building Fire Incidents in Sri Lanka

Aim: Despite the existence of established fire codes, the frequency of building fires in Sri Lanka has been on the rise in recent years. The primary objective of building codes is to ensure minimum acceptable fire safety standards in buildings, but deviations from the code can increase fire risk factors and exacerbate the severity of fires. This study aims to identify and rank such risk factors in three stages, beginning with design and concluding with maintenance. Introduction: Metodologia tego badania obejmuje podejście jakościowe, które uwzględnia przegląd literatury, ankietę opartą na kwestionariuszu oraz częściowo ustrukturyzowane wywiady ze specjalistami z branży pożarniczej. Kwestionariusz został opracowany w kontekście Sri Lanki. Wykwalifikowany i doświadczony zespół specjalistów ds. pożarnictwa został poproszony o uszeregowanie przygotowanego kwestionariusza, który został podsumowany w dwunastu kategoriach ryzyka. Chociaż metod oceny ryzyka pożarowego jest niewiele, w niniejszym badaniu zastosowano metodę wskaźnika względnej istotności. Wyniki uzyskane z pięciostopniowej skali Likerta, gdzie „1” to najmniejszy poziom ryzyka, a „5” to najwyższy poziom ryzyka, zostały przekonwertowane w celu identyfikacji priorytetów z RII. Project and methods: The methodology of this research consists of a qualitative approach, which includes a literature review, a questionnaire-based survey, and semi-structured interviews with fire industry professionals. The questionnaire was developed in a Sri Lankan context following an extensive literature review that included the author's experience. The qualified and experienced panel of fire specialists was asked to rank the prepared questionnaire, which was summarized into twelve risk categories. Though there are few fire risk ranking methods, the relative importance index method was applied in this research as it is simple and easy to use for ranking the risk factors. The results obtained from the five-point Likert scale, where “1” is the least risk level and “5” is the highest risk level, were converted to identify priorities with RII. Results: In the Sri Lankan context, it was discovered that issues with design and the approval of inaccurate building plans are the first and second major isk factors, respectively, out of the twelve categories identified. Thus, it was evident that deviations made at the design stage are the most significant risk factors, according to the Sri Lankan setting. Most of the mistakes that are made at the design stage cannot be rectified at a later stage under normal conditions, as it could incur huge costs to change the building structures. Conclusions: The study summarizes twelve factors that contribute to fire-related incidents in Sri Lankan buildings. Among these factors, the survey data shows that incorrect building design and the approval of inaccurate building plans for construction are the primary contributors to the high frequency and severity of fire-related incidents. Despite the availability of comprehensive fire safety regulations in Sri Lanka, the research reveals a significant gap in their implementation, from design to maintenance. These findings stress the importance of incorporating fire and safety management criteria into the building design stage, covering both construction and subsequent maintenance, to prevent fire incidents in Sri Lanka. Keywords: prescriptive fire codes, fire risk factors, fire risk assessment, fire risk ranking, building fire safety

Short-term benefits of prescribed fire to bird communities of dry forests

BackgroundLow-severity prescribed fire is an important tool to manage fire-maintained forests across North America. In dry conifer forests of the western USA, prescribed fire is often used to reduce fuel loads in forests characterized historically by mixed- and low-severity fire regimes. Understanding the ecological effects of prescribed fire treatments is important for predicting the impacts of these management actions on wildlife communities. Few studies, however, have estimated small landbird responses to forest treatments at spatial scales relevant to their ecology or have examined potential differences in treatment effects applied within historically mixed- vs. low-severity fire regimes. Therefore, we evaluated prescribed fire treatment effects and relationships with burn severity for avian communities in dry conifer forests dominated by ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) located on seven national forests in the interior western USA. We surveyed birds for 1–4 years and 1–3 years before and after prescribed fire treatments at mixed- and low-severity fire regime locations, respectively, following a before-after, control-impact study design — 8 paired control-treatment units in mixed-severity locations (16 total study units with 320 survey points) and 4 paired control-treatment units in low-severity locations (10 total study units with 278 survey points). Using a Bayesian hierarchical multi-species occupancy model, we investigated responses to prescribed fire treatments by a community of 95 bird species.ResultsWe found statistically supported treatment effects and/or burn severity relationships for 33 species primarily in mixed-severity locations. The data supported positive treatment effects at mixed-severity locations for 9 species (American robin [Turdus migratorius], western bluebird [Sialia mexicana], hairy woodpecker [Dryobates villosus], black-backed woodpecker [Picoides arcticus], American three-toed woodpecker [Picoides dorsalis], house wren [Troglodytes aedon], dusky flycatcher [Empidonax oberholseri], western wood-pewee [Contopus sordidulus], gray flycatcher [Empidonax wrightii]), whose occupancy was more likely after treatment at the most severely burned units, and a negative effect for one species (ruby-crowned kinglet [Corthylio calendula]), whose occupancy was less likely after treatment at the most severely burned units. At low-severity locations, only two species exhibited treatment effects, both negative (red-faced warbler [Cardellina rubrifrons] and lark sparrow [Chondestes grammacus]). We also found supported occupancy relationships with burn severity post-treatment (i.e., regardless of species distribution before treatment) for 29 species, most of which were consistent with their life histories (e.g., patterns of positive relationships for cavity-nesting, bark insectivores and negative relationships for open-nesting, foliage insectivores). Stronger responses to prescribed fire treatments at mixed-severity locations were unexpected because prescribed fire applications were more similar to historical wildfires characteristic of low-severity fire regimes.ConclusionsBird populations in historically low-severity locations may be relatively unresponsive to prescribed fire because fire there is typically more frequent and regular. By comparison, fire events in forests characterized by a mixed-severity regime are less common, potentially eliciting more responses to an infrequent opportunity, even by species that are strongly associated with recently burned forests by wildfire. Our results suggest that fire management activities intended to reduce fuels and lower the risk of high-severity wildfire can also be effective in creating habitat for some fire specialists at least in the short term.

Avian Response to Wildfire Severity in a Northern Boreal Region

Research Highlights: The effects of fire on birds in the most northern parts of the boreal forest are understudied. We found distinct differences in bird communities with increasing fire severity in two vegetation types with naturally different burn severity. The highest severity burns tended to have communities dominated by generalist species, regardless of the original vegetation type. Background and Objectives: Wildfire is the primary natural disturbance in the boreal ecosystems of northwestern Canada. Increased wildfire frequency, extent, and severity are expected with climate change in this region. In particular, the proportion of burns that are high severity and the area of peatlands burned are increasing, and how this influences birds is poorly understood. Materials and Methods: We quantified the effects of burn severity (low, moderate, and high severity) in uplands and peatlands on occupancy, density, richness, community composition, and functional diversity using point counts (n = 1158) from the first two years post-fire for two large fires in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Results: Burn severity had a significant effect on the occupancy and density of 86% of our focal species (n = 20). Responses to burn severity depended on vegetation type for four of the 18 species using occupancy and seven of the 18 using density, but were typically in a similar direction. Species richness and functional diversity were lower in areas of high severity burns than unburned areas and low severity burns in peatlands. Richness was not related to severity in uplands, but functional diversity was. Peatlands had higher species richness than uplands in all burn severities, but as burn severity increased the upland and peatland communities became more similar. Conclusions: Our results suggest that high severity burns in both vegetation types support five generalist species and two fire specialists that may benefit from alterations in vegetation structure as a result of climate induced changes to fire regimes. However, eight species avoided burns, particularly birds preferring peatlands, and are likely to be more susceptible to fire-driven changes to their habitat caused by climate change. Understanding the long-term risks to these species from climate change requires additional efforts that link fire to bird populations.

Assessment of coarse woody debris following selective logging in Caspian forests: implications for conservation and management

Information on the amount, distribution, and characteristics of coarse woody debris (CWD) in forest ecosystems is highly demanded by wildlife biologists, fire specialists and ecologists. Owing to its important role in wildlife habitats, fuel loading, forest productivity, and carbon sequestration, coarse woody debris is an indicator of forest health. Two sampling methods including fixed-area plot and line intersect sampling were compared for accuracy and efficiency in measuring CWD. Data were selected from mature beech stands following selective logging in Caspian forests. Line intersect sampling consistently provided estimates similar to the results of a 100% survey (high accuracy). This method also took the least amount of time and effort to map the layout and field line location (high efficiency). Finally, line intersect sampling as an easy and fast survey method is suggested to monitor coarse woody debris (CWD) in Caspian forests.  

THE ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF SEVERE WILDFIRES: SOME LIKE IT HOT

Many scientists and forest land managers concur that past fire suppression, grazing, and timber harvesting practices have created unnatural and unhealthy conditions in the dry, ponderosa pine forests of the western United States. Specifically, such forests are said to carry higher fuel loads and experience fires that are more severe than those that occurred historically. It remains unclear, however, how far these generalizations can be extrapolated in time and space, and how well they apply to the more mesic ponderosa pine systems and to other forest systems within the western United States. I use data on the pattern of distribution of one bird species (Black-backed Woodpecker, Picoides arcticus) as derived from 16465 sample locations to show that, in western Montana, this bird species is extremely specialized on severely burned forests. Such specialization has profound implications because it suggests that the severe fires we see burning in many forests in the Intermountain West are not entirely "unnatural" or "unhealthy." Instead, severely burned forest conditions have probably occurred naturally across a broad range of forest types for millennia. These findings highlight the fact that severe fire provides an important ecological backdrop for fire specialists like the Black-backed Woodpecker, and that the presence and importance of severe fire may be much broader than commonly appreciated.

How many common reptile species are fire specialists? A replicated natural experiment highlights the predictive weakness of a fire succession model

Species with strong preferences for early or late successional stages after fire may be extinction prone under current fire regimes. However, the extent of specialisation to time since fire is poorly understood, and, for reptiles, succession models for predicting responses are in the development phase. In this study we tested predictions of a reptile succession model, and identified species that may be fire specialists. Reptiles were sampled in five burnt and unburnt mallee Eucalyptus woodlands, Australia. Two, 400 m transects within each burn treatment were sampled using 11 pairs of pitfall-traps that were opened for five weeks over two summers. A habitat accommodation model of succession that was previously developed for mallee reptiles correctly predicted the observed responses of three of 16 common reptile species. A further four species showed non-significant trends in the predicted direction. However, eight other species showed unexpected responses. One species showed a strong interaction between burn age and location, requiring a two-dimensional successional model in contrast with the usual linear models explaining reptile responses to fire. One third of common species were not affected by fire and so may not have increased risks of extinction due to the fire suppression/incineration cycle. However, approximately half to two-thirds of common reptiles did have a fire response, so the risk of deterministic extinction in small fragments may be substantial. Further model development is needed to better predict fire responses and to assist the design of fire mosaics that can accommodate early and late successional fire specialists.

Sampling coarse woody debris for multiple attributes in extensive resource inventories

Information on the amount, distribution, and characteristics of coarse woody debris (CWD) in forest ecosystems is in high demand by wildlife biologists, fire specialists, and ecologists. In its important role in wildlife habitat, fuel loading, forest productivity, and carbon sequestration, CWD is an indicator of forest health. Because of this, the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program recognized the need to collect data on CWD in their extensive resource inventories. This paper describes a sampling method, measurement protocols, and estimation procedures to collect and compile data on CWD attributes within FIA’s forest inventory. The line-intersect method was used to sample CWD inside the boundaries of the standard inventory field plot. Previously published equations were customized to allow for easy calculation of per-unit-area values, such as biomass and carbon per hectare, log density per hectare, or volume per hectare, for each plot. These estimates are associated with all other information recorded or calculated for an inventory plot. This allows for indepth analysis of CWD data in relation to stand level characteristics. The data on CWD can be used to address current, relevant issues such as criteria no. 5 outlined in the 1994 Montreal process and the 1995 Santiago declaration. This criteria assesses the contribution of forests to the global carbon cycle by measuring such indicators as CWD, live plant biomass, and soil carbon.