Emergency plan

The Emergency plan exists in case everything goes wrong. On a prescribed burn the usual result of initiating the Emergency plan is declaring the fire a wildfire. The plan should address what notifications need to be made at that point and who will make the notifications. Crew members should be familiar with actions to take to suppress the fire. The prescribed burn crew now becomes a suppression crew; there may not be any additional help available. This is another reason burn crews must be physically fit – at any time a fire could go from being prescribed to becoming a wildfire.

PACE plans should be a part of the written prescribed burn plan. It is essential that they be clearly understood by all involved on the burn. The most important benefit of PACE planning is that it helps create a culture that is constantly thinking of alternatives. What if this does not work? What if conditions change? What if something goes wrong? The burn crew that thinks in alternatives is prepared for the unexpected – and is positioned to take advantage of it.