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Brush and Wildland Fires: The Surprising Facts You Need to Know
Track(s): Fire & Emergency Services, Public Education

Marty Ahrens and Michele Steinberg, NFPA

Audio Sample:




Recently published NFPA research reveals surprising facts about brush, grass, and forest fires in the U.S. and local fire department response. Major Western wildfires that burn down homes (also known as wildland/urban interface fires) have been making headlines, but smaller brush, grass, and forest fires present problems throughout the U.S. From 2004 to 2008, local fire departments responded to nearly 1,000 such fires every day. While three-quarters of these fires burned an area of less than an acre, they also affected an average of 4,800 homes each year. Find out more about the causes, circumstances, and geographic distribution of these fires, the significant threat to life and structures that they pose, and techniques that can make people and property safer.

Marty Ahrens came to NFPA in 1997 after a decade at the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal's Office. She has authored reports on a variety of topics, including home fires, candle fires, vehicle fires, cooking fires, and smoke alarms, as well as chapters in NFPA's Fire Protection Handbook. Her MSW from Boston University contributed to her interest in making statistics understandable and available to people who can use them to make change.

Michele Steinberg is NFPA's Firewise Communities Program manager. She oversees the national Firewise Communities/USA® Recognition Program, reaching 600 wildfire-prone communities in 39 states. She has worked since 1989 on natural hazards and land use planning, and disaster safety marketing and outreach. She has written numerous articles and documents on disaster safety and mitigation planning, and holds a BA in English from Brandeis University and an MA in urban planning from Boston University