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Can acceptable risk be defined in wildland firefighting?

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Risk is an ever-present challenge for fire agencies, fire managers, and firefighters, who must ensure that risks are managed at a level that is as low as reasonably practicable. This challenge provides a significant dilemma as there is no one prescriptive method for—or consensus on—defining "acceptable risk" in the field of firefighting. Risk assessment and determining what is the best course of action for dealing with risk are often weighed based on the potential benefits versus the potential costs or losses. It can be argued that it is impractical to define acceptable firefighting risks in many scenarios due to the unique and constantly changing environment. This paper discusses the factors involved in assessing wildland firefighting risks, reviews past models for defining and assessing acceptable risks, and describes a new approach to these complex topics.

Parent Publication

Citation

Clancy, David. 2011. Can acceptable risk be defined in wildland firefighting? In: McCaffrey, Sarah M.; Fisher, Cherie LeBlanc, eds. Proceedings of the second conference on the human dimensions of wildland fire. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-84. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 1-8.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/38510