New Wildland Fire Assessment Program Resources Available

February 24, 2014

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has released a multitude of new resources as part of the Wildland Fire Assessment Program (WFAP). These resources are designed to help departments participate in WFAP and help prevent and mitigate damage caused by fire in the wildland-urban interface (WUI).

New resources that are now available include online training that covers understanding the WUI problem, identifying the zones, evaluating the home, and available resources; a toolkit provided in a train-the-trainer format that can be used to teach the fundamentals of performing a home assessment in the WUI; assessment tools such as the WFAP checklist and online data-tracking system; and sample documents for conducting and promoting a WFAP program in your community. Find all of these resources and more at www.nvfc.org/programs/wildland-fire-assessment-program.

WFAP is a partnership between the NVFC and the U.S. Forest Service to provide volunteer firefighters and non-operational personnel, such as Fire Corps members, with training on how to properly conduct assessments for homes located in the WUI. This is the first program targeted to volunteers that specifically prepares them to evaluate a home and provide residents with recommendations to protect their property from wildfires in order to become a more a fire-adapted community.