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23 February 2024
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Collaboration in Europe: forest camp provides exchange of fire-management knowledge
By Ciaran Nugent, Jan Kaczmorowski and Alex Held
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In late May 2023 more than 130 participants from 22 countries gathered in the sunny forests of Western Poland at Gubin, close to the German border, to attend the third Association of National Forest Experts (known as SNEP) Forest Camp. This event was funded by the European Forest Institute ́s WKR project (Waldbrand-Klima-Resilienz) and supported by both the International Association of Wildland Fire and the Pau Costa Foundation. Now in its second year, Forest Camp provides a basis not only for learning but also a focal point for the development of the forest fire community across Europe, at a time when co-operation and mutual assistance have never been more important.
Relationships come before actions, as the saying goes, and fire outcomes are often determined by relationships among communities and their activities on the land long before a fire ever starts. In Europe, it is already recognised that the forest fire community consists of more than just the people who actually fight fires. Forest Camp not only provides direct training but also an opportunity to create real teamwork among participants from different disciplines, as well as different countries and stages of development around fire issues.
The basic concept of Forest Camp is the provision of hands-on training, delivered through a series of live and simulated scenarios in the field. Being embedded in a fire camp with long hiking, orienteering and physical and mental challenges creates the ideal environment to forge trusting relationships and teamwork. Nine instructors from South Africa, the United States, Spain, Ireland, Wales and Germany with significant experience in fire management and capacity building facilitated training workshops and provided participants hands-on tactics, crew safety, techniques, fire behaviour, and the effective use of hand tools in realistic wildfire scenarios. Participants also had an opportunity to try out the latest in fire-pack and wildland-fire technology courtesy of Mystery Ranch and Vallfirest brands. While the action takes place, in the background the SNEP team facilitates the training experience, providing all technical equipment (including fire apparatus), monitoring progress and ensuring smooth communication among the instructors and teams. The SNEP team includes 2023 IAWF Firebreak Award Winner Jan Kaczmorowski, of the Polish Forest Service.
Teams from 22 countries participated, including Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Lebanon, Croatia, and the United States. There was even one Australian! Participants were assigned into eight teams of 10 people. Team leaders were assigned and were briefed and prepared for the main camp day, where a variety of real fire scenarios and learning experiences awaited, under the guidance of the instructors.
The exercises ranged from live fire suppression to portable pump operation, progressive hose lay, pump-and-roll techniques, fire line constructions, innovative technologies, entrapment prevention, fire shelter deployment, emergency medical scenarios and the use of new hand tools. To add to the challenge, participants were required to navigate significant distances on foot through the forest environment between work stations, replicating the real-world requirements of wildland firefighting.
As the day progressed, crews needed to overcome increasing fatigue to complete the various work tasks, training goals were achieved and teams and enduring friendships were formed. Some crews covered close to 30 kilometres on foot during the exercise, spurred by team spirit, grit and thoughts of the fine Polish food and hospitality that awaited them at the end of the long trail.
The sharing of experiences, skills and knowledge is something significantly natural for the fire management community. Not only are lessexperienced participants and newcomers welcomed but the culture of knowledge and skills sharing is also imparted. Participants leave knowing that the knowledge they have gained has to be shared and passed on to the future generation of wildland fire and forest managers.
Exchanges like this in all its forms – TREX, EoE, Flamework – increasingly fuel the progress of international networks and frameworks for knowledge sharing and informal mutual assistance. These approaches can help a growing number of stakeholders and communities engage with the fire management community, better prepare for fire events and allow for more holistic training approaches required by integrated fire management. There is much more to these exchanges than just firefighting; the mix of disciplines, inter-regional exposure to wildfire and wildfire training and development are natural precursors to genuine integrated fire management across borders, across disciplines and across cultures.
The international yet close collaboration among so many countries is inspiring and beneficial; it has been another great experience and next year’s event is already in the planning pipeline. Mark your calendar: the next edition is 7 to 10 June 2024, in Bardo, Poland. If you are interested, please contact SNEP directly via [email protected].
Alexander Held holds MSc in Forest Science from Freiburg University, Germany. He started as a fire ecologist at the fire ecology working group of the Max-Planck Society and earned a number of operational qualifications in the United States and South Africa. Held moved from fire ecology to fire management and worked with the Global Fire Monitoring Centre GFMC in Europe and Southern Africa. Later, Held worked with the South African Working on Fire Programme, from its beginnings until 2012 when he joined EFI. At EFI, Held works on the current project Waldbrand-Klima-Resilienz, where the exchange of expertise and knowledge, mutual assistance and cooperation in Europe is the tool to create more resilient landscapes and better-informed fire management for Germany. His expertise is in fire management, silviculture and deer management for resilient forests.
Jan Kaczmarowski is a forester from Poland. He works at the General Directorate of State Forests as a senior specialist in the forest protection department. His main task is the co-ordination of the forest fire protection system at the national level. He is also a lecturer at the Fire Academy, where he teaches in the postgraduate program titled Forest Fire Protection. Kaczmarowski is a lobbyist for the implementation of controlled burning in Poland and a co-founder and main forest trainer at the Association of Independent Fire Experts ( SNEP). He also gained experience in fire management abroad. For his actions so far, he was awarded the IAWF Firebreak Award for Excellence in Wildland Fire Management for outstanding achievements in fire prevention.
Ciaran Nugent is from Ireland and graduated from University College Dublin with a degree in forestry in 1996 and a master’s degree in forest engineering in 2004. He joined the Forest Service as a district forestry inspector in 2000 and currently leads on forest engineering within Forest Service. He has extensive experience in land management and land-use policy development with a focus on forest infrastructure and forest protection. Since 2010, Nugent has led fire management development in Ireland, including the adaptation of FAO fire management guidance to Irish conditions and development of prescribed burning guidance and improved fire danger rating systems for use in the Irish forestry sector.
Source: International Association of Wildland Fire
Relationships come before actions, as the saying goes, and fire outcomes are often determined by relationships among communities and their activities on the land long before a fire ever starts. In Europe, it is already recognised that the forest fire community consists of more than just the people who actually fight fires. Forest Camp not only provides direct training but also an opportunity to create real teamwork among participants from different disciplines, as well as different countries and stages of development around fire issues.
The basic concept of Forest Camp is the provision of hands-on training, delivered through a series of live and simulated scenarios in the field. Being embedded in a fire camp with long hiking, orienteering and physical and mental challenges creates the ideal environment to forge trusting relationships and teamwork. Nine instructors from South Africa, the United States, Spain, Ireland, Wales and Germany with significant experience in fire management and capacity building facilitated training workshops and provided participants hands-on tactics, crew safety, techniques, fire behaviour, and the effective use of hand tools in realistic wildfire scenarios. Participants also had an opportunity to try out the latest in fire-pack and wildland-fire technology courtesy of Mystery Ranch and Vallfirest brands. While the action takes place, in the background the SNEP team facilitates the training experience, providing all technical equipment (including fire apparatus), monitoring progress and ensuring smooth communication among the instructors and teams. The SNEP team includes 2023 IAWF Firebreak Award Winner Jan Kaczmorowski, of the Polish Forest Service.
Teams from 22 countries participated, including Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Lebanon, Croatia, and the United States. There was even one Australian! Participants were assigned into eight teams of 10 people. Team leaders were assigned and were briefed and prepared for the main camp day, where a variety of real fire scenarios and learning experiences awaited, under the guidance of the instructors.
The exercises ranged from live fire suppression to portable pump operation, progressive hose lay, pump-and-roll techniques, fire line constructions, innovative technologies, entrapment prevention, fire shelter deployment, emergency medical scenarios and the use of new hand tools. To add to the challenge, participants were required to navigate significant distances on foot through the forest environment between work stations, replicating the real-world requirements of wildland firefighting.
As the day progressed, crews needed to overcome increasing fatigue to complete the various work tasks, training goals were achieved and teams and enduring friendships were formed. Some crews covered close to 30 kilometres on foot during the exercise, spurred by team spirit, grit and thoughts of the fine Polish food and hospitality that awaited them at the end of the long trail.
The sharing of experiences, skills and knowledge is something significantly natural for the fire management community. Not only are lessexperienced participants and newcomers welcomed but the culture of knowledge and skills sharing is also imparted. Participants leave knowing that the knowledge they have gained has to be shared and passed on to the future generation of wildland fire and forest managers.
Exchanges like this in all its forms – TREX, EoE, Flamework – increasingly fuel the progress of international networks and frameworks for knowledge sharing and informal mutual assistance. These approaches can help a growing number of stakeholders and communities engage with the fire management community, better prepare for fire events and allow for more holistic training approaches required by integrated fire management. There is much more to these exchanges than just firefighting; the mix of disciplines, inter-regional exposure to wildfire and wildfire training and development are natural precursors to genuine integrated fire management across borders, across disciplines and across cultures.
The international yet close collaboration among so many countries is inspiring and beneficial; it has been another great experience and next year’s event is already in the planning pipeline. Mark your calendar: the next edition is 7 to 10 June 2024, in Bardo, Poland. If you are interested, please contact SNEP directly via [email protected].
Alexander Held holds MSc in Forest Science from Freiburg University, Germany. He started as a fire ecologist at the fire ecology working group of the Max-Planck Society and earned a number of operational qualifications in the United States and South Africa. Held moved from fire ecology to fire management and worked with the Global Fire Monitoring Centre GFMC in Europe and Southern Africa. Later, Held worked with the South African Working on Fire Programme, from its beginnings until 2012 when he joined EFI. At EFI, Held works on the current project Waldbrand-Klima-Resilienz, where the exchange of expertise and knowledge, mutual assistance and cooperation in Europe is the tool to create more resilient landscapes and better-informed fire management for Germany. His expertise is in fire management, silviculture and deer management for resilient forests.
Jan Kaczmarowski is a forester from Poland. He works at the General Directorate of State Forests as a senior specialist in the forest protection department. His main task is the co-ordination of the forest fire protection system at the national level. He is also a lecturer at the Fire Academy, where he teaches in the postgraduate program titled Forest Fire Protection. Kaczmarowski is a lobbyist for the implementation of controlled burning in Poland and a co-founder and main forest trainer at the Association of Independent Fire Experts ( SNEP). He also gained experience in fire management abroad. For his actions so far, he was awarded the IAWF Firebreak Award for Excellence in Wildland Fire Management for outstanding achievements in fire prevention.
Ciaran Nugent is from Ireland and graduated from University College Dublin with a degree in forestry in 1996 and a master’s degree in forest engineering in 2004. He joined the Forest Service as a district forestry inspector in 2000 and currently leads on forest engineering within Forest Service. He has extensive experience in land management and land-use policy development with a focus on forest infrastructure and forest protection. Since 2010, Nugent has led fire management development in Ireland, including the adaptation of FAO fire management guidance to Irish conditions and development of prescribed burning guidance and improved fire danger rating systems for use in the Irish forestry sector.
Source: International Association of Wildland Fire
