Executive Summary

This guide corresponds to the Deliverable 2.2. Guidelines on fire analysis competencies and skills for the fire analyst profile across Europe from Task 2.1. Harmonisation of fire analysis knowledge (WP2) of the Advanced Fire Analysis Network project (https://fireanalysisnetwork.eu/). Through its content it can help to identify fire analyst, capacities, knowledge and different other aspects of vegetation fire1 analysis to facilitate the creation of a common framework at European level.

The guide’s ambition is to contribute to build towards a shared European framework of fire analysis (or assessment) to identify current knowledge, existing gaps and opportunities. This action aims at building up fire analysis capacities, harmonizing existing fire assessment knowledge across Europe through a joint network of wildfire emergency responders and training centres willing to build capacities in that area. So, we identify the whole range of fire analysis competencies that firefighting organisations can develop in order to face key fire problems, focusing on paths to improve decision-making during the response phase.

Thus, we explore operational profiles, their skills and capabilities to be able to deploy operational strategies during wildfires and share wildfire knowledge amongst different members of the networks. This document includes a set of guidelines that can help to define the range of fire analysis skills and competencies when facing current and future wildfires in different European countries. Nevertheless, this Deliverable 2.2 is considered an initial work, a first step, offering a first contrasted vision based on real existing cases.

The aim of the guide is to contribute to create a common framework in which different organisations can be included and allow the existing network of forest fire analysts to be identified and visible. This framework should also make it possible to identify organisations expertise in certain thematic areas, to facilitate the exchange of knowledge,experience and needs, and to detect potential areas for growth.

This integration does not neglect the need to differentiate between forest fire analysis and analysis corresponding to other fields (e.g., GIS specialists, incident meteorologists, hazard/risk manager, etc.). The line between both is defined by the capacity to address all key elements (currently known) involved in the forest fire scenario, the monitoring and continuous re-assessment. They are both at the level of the processes that can occur in the fire as a phenomenon and considering the actions that can modify or modulate the phenomenon during the management of the emergency. Analysis from other fields can be of great use, expertise and quality but would address only one aspect of the whole forest fire analysis.

1 In this guide we will use the concept ‘vegetation fire’ instead of wildfire or ‘forest fire’ with the aim to be inclusive considering fires that can affect not only forests in wildland areas but also brush, croplands, etc. (See the Glossary).

For fire analysis to be useful, it needs to recognize and frame decisions on key fire problems (1.3 Insights), such as changing scenarios as fire regime shifts, unintended consequences such as the fire paradox, or building resiliency to avoid the collapse in safety or service capacity of firefighting organisations. In order to frame decisions, we need to understand the whole range of existent options, shifting from reacting to planning in front of anticipated risk to deciding in front uncertainties, but always focusing first on the changing fire at different scales.

Within the framework set out in AFAN project, the guide helps to detect general capabilities (3.2, 4.1, 4.2) and examples of tasks (4.3) of fire analysis scope. The guide includes the link detected between forest fire analysis and decision-making, as well as the responsibilities that may arise (3.2).

This framework aims to facilitate the identification, exchange and characterisation of current forest fire analysis. The next step would be to go down to the level of the specific needs of each organisation and territory. It should be borne in mind that this is not a closed process, as future needs and challenges may require the contents of this guide to be expanded, so this is an initial starting point.

The process of elaboration of the guide has included various feedbacks to produce suitable contents that contribute to the harmonised framework across different countries and doctrines. Therefore, this guide is the result of various contributions. The consultation process has been carried out both with partners of the project and its network. With the aim to have a vision of different European territories, contributions from different representative countries (UK, FR, NOR, PT, SP) have been obtained to include different singularities in terms of landscapes (Atlantic, Mediterranean, Nordic), organisational structures (Incident Command System, Gestion Opérationnelle et Commandement, adapted systems) and current needs and fires they are facing. Taking into account the short duration of the project, the pandemic situation COVID-19 and the need to have the guide available at M12 (December 2021), a first draft of the guide was prepared on the basis of on-line meetings and discussions (08/2021). Subsequently, the first version of the guide was presented online to the partners and several experts from different countries (meeting dates: 03/08/2021, 12/08/2021, and 13/09/2021) to initiate the validation and feedback process (August-December 2021). The same was done for the second version (meeting dates: 23/11/2021, 25/11/2021, and 15/12/2021). Additional to the dedicated meetings with experts, several gatherings have been used to collect and exchange useful information for the guidelines: the project’s webinar on Fire Analyst Competencies and Skills webinar2 (17/09/2021); 3 and second project workshops (21/04/2021 and 27/09/2021); and the meeting of Vegetation Fire Analysis and Planning Units from Spain (29/11/2021-02/12/2021) where AFAN was invited.

2 https://fireanalysisnetwork.eu/2021/10/05/conclusions-fire-analyst-competences-and-skills-webinar/ 3 https://fireanalysisnetwork.eu/case-categories/methodology-and-information-gathering-on-fire-analysiscapacities-across-europe/

This guide is targeted at an audience already initiated in the analysis of forest fires. For this reason, although some concepts and processes are explained, they are not explained in depth. This guide has been built from the perspective of analysts and for analysts (or future analysts). It describes a way of acting that is already operational in some agencies.

With the purpose of harmonising, this guide does not intend to define a unique and specific methodology to be followed to develop competencies in forest fire analysis, but rather to include different ways to achieve the same fire analysis action. This is why the reader should not expect D.2.2 to explain how to carry out a forest fire analysis or some basic concepts for fire analysis such as spread, regimes, fire generations or other information as operational structures mentioned in the document that is not explained either.