Media Training in S.D. Educates the Public on Wildfires

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(TNS) – As the summer fire season peaks around the corner Black Hills National Forest and South Dakota Wildland Fire Division band together to educate the public about wildfire safety.

Leading the training session on Tuesday was BHNF Public Affairs Officer Scott Jacobson and SDWFD Fire Management Officer Cody Griffee.

“This training is really about helping you get information on fires. We want you to be safe while you’re out there,” Jacobson said.

Some of the topics spoken at the session were how to identify basic fire behavior, staying safe around wildfires and how to receive updated information of fires in the local area.

To get information on evacuations, how to contact an incident management team and update on recent fires, the public can access the Great Plains Fire Information blog at http://gpfireinfo.blogspot.com/ or text ‘GPFire’ to 85511.

Updates will also be posted on their Twitter profile @GPFireInfo. To look over incident reports from your local dispatch center go to http://www.wildcad.net/WildCADWeb.asp.

Information about fires are divided by an intensity scale, with one being the most intense and five being as low as a single tree being struck by lightning.

Depending on the severity of the fire, there will be more resources produced to give the public accurate and readily available information.

Attendees of the event were able to put their training into practice, by learning how to deploy a fire shelter incase of entrapment — a life-threatening situation where emergency personnel cannot escape the fire and have no escape routes or safety zones.

The practice included participants facing away from the simulated fire to quickly pull out their fire shelters. The shelters include a three layered aluminum foil and silica cover to protect occupants from the blaze.

Because a significant amount of firefighting is done from the air, Griffee warned that there shouldn’t be any other devices in the air when a wildfire is in progress. He said it is a federal crime if the public are found flying their own drones over the fire while personnel work to extinguish the blaze.

Griffee said firefighters often go through this training. He said it is essential to know the basics when facing a wildfire.

You can contact Madison at mwillis@rapidcityjournal.com

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