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14 November 2025
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Featured FRI Magazine article: So, who is responsible for managing veldfires in the urban interface? Preventing and protecting can minimise lamenting! by Zane Erasmus
In the VUI, all activities have to be coordinated between the different authorities
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The sooner a fire is detected, the sooner authorities can respond
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Mobile skid units can be rapidly deployed on both on-road and off-road situations
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Water remains the most important resource for fire suppression
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This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: So, who is responsible for managing veldfires in the urban interface? Preventing and protecting can minimise lamenting! Part three written by Zane Erasmus, independent environmental consultant (FRI Vol 3 no 9). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
So, who is responsible for managing veldfires in the urban interface?
Preventing and protecting can minimise lamenting!
Part three
By Zane Erasmus, independent environmental consultant
In the previous section of this series we looked at prevention plans. Now, we take a look at the second part of an integrated veldfire management plan (IVMP), the fire protection plan.
Fire protection plans for the urban interface
Fire protection is a reference to all the activities that are designed to safeguard property and people when the inevitable wildfires do occur in the veldfire urban interface. There are a range of activities in the veldfire urban interface (VUI) that fire managers will have to conduct but most importantly, bear in mind that in the VUI, all activities have to be coordinated between the different authorities. In this way, duplication should be avoided and activities can be undertaken in the most cost efficient manner.
The following activities have been highlighted as being relevant in a VUI and fire managers can adopt them as and when relevant.
Fire detection systems
All fires, irrespective of the conditions when they are ignited, are small when they start. The sooner a fire is detected, the sooner authorities can respond. If fire fighters can get to a fire rapidly, there is a better chance that it will be small and easier to suppress, thereby restricting damage and saving extensive suppression costs.
The public are always the first line of communication in a VUI and managers would have in their fire awareness programmes, made sure that the correct emergency fire contact numbers are clearly conveyed to all members of the community. This communication can make use of all media types both printed and electronic ie local newspapers and local radio stations. Materials, such as pamphlets and brochures that are distributed during the fire awareness campaigns, should always include the relevant contact details. Notice boards, posters and bill boards should also not be displayed unless they have applicable telephone numbers.
Rewards should not be offered for information, as this may encourage some people to start fires so that they can claim the reward. Also as explained earlier, communities should take responsibility and be accountable for the management of fires in their own areas. Managers should where possible consider the possibility of listing a toll free number for the community to call so that they do not have to pay themselves. This is particularly important in informal settlements or other impoverished areas.
Conventional fire lookouts can work very well in the VUI. Staff who is trained to keep a lookout for fires, can also keep a lookout for criminal activities such as poaching and theft.
Human activity needs to be monitored at all times but most particularly during a wildfire. Lookout personnel may have to advise managers of people in the vicinity who may be at risk or indeed, may even have some knowledge of how a wildfire started.
In some areas a lookout may not be economically feasible and managers will need to consider alternatives. In this case it may be advisable to appoint a ‘contingency lookout’. This trained lookout is assigned to monitor an urban interface during times of extreme high fire danger. This may be when a berg wind is blowing or over a festive season when the risk of negligent fires increases. Alcohol abuse and fireworks have started many fires in the past. It is important that the lookout be situated in a space that affords the best view of the urban interface. They should also be equipped with two way radios and cell phones.
Detection patrols are also effective in the urban interface in two important ways. Firstly, the presence of visible personnel can modify reckless behaviour. Public interaction with uniformed staff in a positive way can reduce wildfire incidents. Secondly, trained and equipped fire fighters can respond to a wildfire incident in the vicinity.
Perhaps the most effective means of fire detection in the urban interface remains a camera lookout. Municipalities in urban interface environments are best equipped to install the cameras and to monitor the screens in a central disaster management centre. As in a conventional lookout, the cameras can be used to observe for all emergency incidents and not only fire. While effective, this is the most expensive option, as it requires full time monitoring. If all the parties involved in an urban interface, however, are prepared to contribute to the cost and management, then it can be practical and effective.
Firefighting tools and equipment
Managers responsible for an urban interface will, as they do in any fire prone environment, have to ensure that they have an adequate supply of firefighting tools and equipment in store and at hand in case of emergency. These tools would be used not only for firefighting purposes but also for fire management activities such as the preparation of firebreaks and controlled burns.
The old adage, “it is much better to have too much equipment at the fire than too little” rings true for the VUI as it does for any veld fire environment.
Wildfires in the urban interface present a unique set of challenges to the wildfire manager.
It is these challenges that make it necessary for the fire manager to rely on mechanical equipment more than hand tools. Fortunately in most urban interface environments there is usually a good network of roads and water sources allowing close access to firelines and buildings. The fire engines and tenders utilised would depend entirely on the VUI but can be expected to represent the full range of types. There would be a dependence on mobile skid units that can be rapidly deployed on both hard roads and off-road situations.
The hand tools normally used by fire managers in managing wildfires would also be utilised in the urban interface. A dominance of heavy fuels and the ease with which they can be transported, would favour the use of tools such as rake hoes, drag forks and mattocks.
Water sources
Water remains the most important resource for fire suppression. It is the best way of reducing heat on flames and for bringing a wildfire under control. A fire protection plan should include a map of all available water sources in the urban interface that can be used to fill fire tenders, bakkie sakkies and even ruck sack pumps. Water sources commonly found in the urban interface may include the following:
Road systems
VUIs generally have a network of roads providing access to the buildings and communities living in the area. These roads could be clearly identified in the protection plan and mapped for future reference. Roads should be constructed to afford rapid access to areas that have a historic record of wildfire ignitions. Roads to water sources are essential and it should be seen that these roads are in good condition and therefore maintained frequently.
It is important that road signs are installed identifying each road as well as buildings and where possible, individual house numbers. Signs indicating access routes to water tanks and refilling sites are useful during suppression operations. Road signs should be reflective to ensure visibility in the evening as well as in severe smoke conditions when visibility is reduced.
Firefighting personnel
Wildfires in the urban interface are likely to have both fire types to contend with ie structural fires in buildings and veld fires in the veld. The expertise and equipment to manage these two fire types is quite distinct from each other. Structural fires require very heavy protective gear and tools that allow fire fighters to get access to burning buildings, while veld fire fighters carry lighter hand tools designed only and specifically for dealing with vegetation fires. The training required for each fire type is also quite distinct from the other. It stands to reason thus that a fire fighter trained in structural firefighting should not get involved in veld fires and obviously vice versa applies as well.
As a rule, the municipal fire brigades are all equipped and trained to deal with structural fires. More recently, municipalities and particularly the district municipalities have started to equip and train fire fighters for wildfires as well.
Any wildfire in the urban interface is going to have teams from both disciplines involved on the fireline. The fire suppression operations will always be joint operations (sometimes also called combined operations). Planning and exercising these joint operations is an essential aspect of the prevention plan. Joint operations are only successful if robust incident command systems (ICS) are in place. All role players in the urban interface need to understand the principles of ICS and need to undertake training to at least the standard levels ie IS 100, 200 and 400.
Most wildfire managers will manage staff who have other responsibilities in the region and may only get involved in firefighting when required. It is critical, therefore, that managers ensure staff receive adequate firefighting training as prescribed in terms of the national standards set by the Forestry Industry Education and Training Authority (FIETA).
Pre-fire season audits
Being prepared for the fire season is one of the fire manager’s key responsibilities. Most organisations conduct ‘pre-fire season audits’ to ensure that management units are prepared. Preferably these audits should be conducted well before the start of the season to ensure that discrepancies can be addressed before the fire season actually starts. Managers should not see the audits as a witch-hunt but rather as an opportunity to get things in order. The managers can use the audit forms themselves as a checklist to carry out their own inspections before the audits take place.
Following are some points that can be placed on a checklist. These are not conclusive but can be added to by managers depending on their own circumstances and conditions:
The urban interface integrated veldfire management plan should also allow for role players to hold pre fire season meetings. Agenda items will include:
In the next section we will discuss the preparation of the final section of the integrated veldfire management plan, the fire suppression plans for the urban interface. By this stage we should be closer to answering the answering the interminable question posed at the beginning of the series.
So, who is responsible for managing veldfires in the urban interface?
Preventing and protecting can minimise lamenting!
Part three
By Zane Erasmus, independent environmental consultant
In the previous section of this series we looked at prevention plans. Now, we take a look at the second part of an integrated veldfire management plan (IVMP), the fire protection plan.
Fire protection plans for the urban interface
Fire protection is a reference to all the activities that are designed to safeguard property and people when the inevitable wildfires do occur in the veldfire urban interface. There are a range of activities in the veldfire urban interface (VUI) that fire managers will have to conduct but most importantly, bear in mind that in the VUI, all activities have to be coordinated between the different authorities. In this way, duplication should be avoided and activities can be undertaken in the most cost efficient manner.
The following activities have been highlighted as being relevant in a VUI and fire managers can adopt them as and when relevant.
Fire detection systems
All fires, irrespective of the conditions when they are ignited, are small when they start. The sooner a fire is detected, the sooner authorities can respond. If fire fighters can get to a fire rapidly, there is a better chance that it will be small and easier to suppress, thereby restricting damage and saving extensive suppression costs.
The public are always the first line of communication in a VUI and managers would have in their fire awareness programmes, made sure that the correct emergency fire contact numbers are clearly conveyed to all members of the community. This communication can make use of all media types both printed and electronic ie local newspapers and local radio stations. Materials, such as pamphlets and brochures that are distributed during the fire awareness campaigns, should always include the relevant contact details. Notice boards, posters and bill boards should also not be displayed unless they have applicable telephone numbers.
Rewards should not be offered for information, as this may encourage some people to start fires so that they can claim the reward. Also as explained earlier, communities should take responsibility and be accountable for the management of fires in their own areas. Managers should where possible consider the possibility of listing a toll free number for the community to call so that they do not have to pay themselves. This is particularly important in informal settlements or other impoverished areas.
Conventional fire lookouts can work very well in the VUI. Staff who is trained to keep a lookout for fires, can also keep a lookout for criminal activities such as poaching and theft.
Human activity needs to be monitored at all times but most particularly during a wildfire. Lookout personnel may have to advise managers of people in the vicinity who may be at risk or indeed, may even have some knowledge of how a wildfire started.
In some areas a lookout may not be economically feasible and managers will need to consider alternatives. In this case it may be advisable to appoint a ‘contingency lookout’. This trained lookout is assigned to monitor an urban interface during times of extreme high fire danger. This may be when a berg wind is blowing or over a festive season when the risk of negligent fires increases. Alcohol abuse and fireworks have started many fires in the past. It is important that the lookout be situated in a space that affords the best view of the urban interface. They should also be equipped with two way radios and cell phones.
Detection patrols are also effective in the urban interface in two important ways. Firstly, the presence of visible personnel can modify reckless behaviour. Public interaction with uniformed staff in a positive way can reduce wildfire incidents. Secondly, trained and equipped fire fighters can respond to a wildfire incident in the vicinity.
Perhaps the most effective means of fire detection in the urban interface remains a camera lookout. Municipalities in urban interface environments are best equipped to install the cameras and to monitor the screens in a central disaster management centre. As in a conventional lookout, the cameras can be used to observe for all emergency incidents and not only fire. While effective, this is the most expensive option, as it requires full time monitoring. If all the parties involved in an urban interface, however, are prepared to contribute to the cost and management, then it can be practical and effective.
Firefighting tools and equipment
Managers responsible for an urban interface will, as they do in any fire prone environment, have to ensure that they have an adequate supply of firefighting tools and equipment in store and at hand in case of emergency. These tools would be used not only for firefighting purposes but also for fire management activities such as the preparation of firebreaks and controlled burns.
The old adage, “it is much better to have too much equipment at the fire than too little” rings true for the VUI as it does for any veld fire environment.
Wildfires in the urban interface present a unique set of challenges to the wildfire manager.
- The VUI landscape is dominated by woody plant species in gardens and plantations that ultimately increase the intensity of the wildfire.
- Building structure fires also burn very intensely and tend to affect fire spread in extreme conditions. Structural fires can only be controlled by specifically trained, certified and equipped structural fire fighters.
- VUIs are inhabited by communities that are constantly at risk from not only the fire itself but also the vast smoke plumes that originate from wildfires.
It is these challenges that make it necessary for the fire manager to rely on mechanical equipment more than hand tools. Fortunately in most urban interface environments there is usually a good network of roads and water sources allowing close access to firelines and buildings. The fire engines and tenders utilised would depend entirely on the VUI but can be expected to represent the full range of types. There would be a dependence on mobile skid units that can be rapidly deployed on both hard roads and off-road situations.
The hand tools normally used by fire managers in managing wildfires would also be utilised in the urban interface. A dominance of heavy fuels and the ease with which they can be transported, would favour the use of tools such as rake hoes, drag forks and mattocks.
Water sources
Water remains the most important resource for fire suppression. It is the best way of reducing heat on flames and for bringing a wildfire under control. A fire protection plan should include a map of all available water sources in the urban interface that can be used to fill fire tenders, bakkie sakkies and even ruck sack pumps. Water sources commonly found in the urban interface may include the following:
- Small weirs or dams, sometimes constructed in small streams and rivers by municipalities to measure stream volume
- Roadside fire hydrants installed in many municipalities for use by the fire brigades
- Dams constructed for drinking water by municipalities
- Dams and tanks specially constructed for fire management should be installed in strategic areas. Where possible tanks should allow for a gravitational feed into fire tenders, as this is the quickest and cheapest method of refilling
Road systems
VUIs generally have a network of roads providing access to the buildings and communities living in the area. These roads could be clearly identified in the protection plan and mapped for future reference. Roads should be constructed to afford rapid access to areas that have a historic record of wildfire ignitions. Roads to water sources are essential and it should be seen that these roads are in good condition and therefore maintained frequently.
It is important that road signs are installed identifying each road as well as buildings and where possible, individual house numbers. Signs indicating access routes to water tanks and refilling sites are useful during suppression operations. Road signs should be reflective to ensure visibility in the evening as well as in severe smoke conditions when visibility is reduced.
Firefighting personnel
Wildfires in the urban interface are likely to have both fire types to contend with ie structural fires in buildings and veld fires in the veld. The expertise and equipment to manage these two fire types is quite distinct from each other. Structural fires require very heavy protective gear and tools that allow fire fighters to get access to burning buildings, while veld fire fighters carry lighter hand tools designed only and specifically for dealing with vegetation fires. The training required for each fire type is also quite distinct from the other. It stands to reason thus that a fire fighter trained in structural firefighting should not get involved in veld fires and obviously vice versa applies as well.
As a rule, the municipal fire brigades are all equipped and trained to deal with structural fires. More recently, municipalities and particularly the district municipalities have started to equip and train fire fighters for wildfires as well.
Any wildfire in the urban interface is going to have teams from both disciplines involved on the fireline. The fire suppression operations will always be joint operations (sometimes also called combined operations). Planning and exercising these joint operations is an essential aspect of the prevention plan. Joint operations are only successful if robust incident command systems (ICS) are in place. All role players in the urban interface need to understand the principles of ICS and need to undertake training to at least the standard levels ie IS 100, 200 and 400.
Most wildfire managers will manage staff who have other responsibilities in the region and may only get involved in firefighting when required. It is critical, therefore, that managers ensure staff receive adequate firefighting training as prescribed in terms of the national standards set by the Forestry Industry Education and Training Authority (FIETA).
Pre-fire season audits
Being prepared for the fire season is one of the fire manager’s key responsibilities. Most organisations conduct ‘pre-fire season audits’ to ensure that management units are prepared. Preferably these audits should be conducted well before the start of the season to ensure that discrepancies can be addressed before the fire season actually starts. Managers should not see the audits as a witch-hunt but rather as an opportunity to get things in order. The managers can use the audit forms themselves as a checklist to carry out their own inspections before the audits take place.
Following are some points that can be placed on a checklist. These are not conclusive but can be added to by managers depending on their own circumstances and conditions:
- Conduct a fire risk and hazard assessment (or audit) at all vulnerable structures
- Ensure that all staff training is up to date and current. For this purpose many managers maintain a register keeping a record of all staff members training
- Check all powerlines that may be threatened by trees or branches. Ensure that vegetation below lines has been cleared
- Conduct inspections at all water points. Make sure tanks are filled and all piping is operational
- Inspect all fire tenders and bakkie sakkies to ensure that vehicles are mechanically sound and serviced. Check tanks and hosing. Run pumps and test operation
- Make sure that all firebelts and firebreaks are complete and safe
- All access roads need to be in good condition. Make sure that turnaround points are clear and negotiable
- Make sure that all maps are up to date and that a vegetation map, preferably showing veld type and age, is in place
- Check all communications. Telephone lines and radio networks
- Make sure that lookouts are operational and staff properly trained
- Inspect all firefighting hand tools for serviceability and placement;
- Staff duty rosters need to be updated, and contact details confirmed
- Make sure that fire suppression agreements with neighbours, where required, are in place and signed off.
The urban interface integrated veldfire management plan should also allow for role players to hold pre fire season meetings. Agenda items will include:
- Exchange staff duty roster information
- Identify extreme fire hazards
- Confirm emergency fire response
- Confirm ICS arrangements
- Confirm joint operating protocols
- Confirm resources available to each organisation ie tools, equipment, trained staff and aerial fire fighting aircraft
- Confirm standard operating procedures
- Arrange for post fire investigations
In the next section we will discuss the preparation of the final section of the integrated veldfire management plan, the fire suppression plans for the urban interface. By this stage we should be closer to answering the answering the interminable question posed at the beginning of the series.