The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) recently hosted its first Wildland Fire Assessment Program (WFAP) Advocate train-the-trainer event for a new network of regional representatives that will teach the WFAP curriculum and advocate for mitigation and safety in wildfire-prone areas across the U.S.
The WFAP is a joint effort by the U.S. Forest Service and the NVFC to provide fire service volunteers with training and resources to conduct safety assessments for homes located in the wildland-urban interface. The WFAP teaches volunteers to evaluate a home and provide residents with recommendations to protect their property from wildfire. Training, an award-winning toolkit, and supplemental resources are available to help implement the program at the grassroots level.
Volunteer fire department
Advocates started the two-day event with an overview of the WFAP program
13 Regional Advocates from across the U.S. – California to Massachusetts – attended the training, which was hosted at the Utah Fire and Rescue Academy (UFRA) in Provo, UT, on March 8-9. These Advocates are qualified and skilled individuals with backgrounds in wildfire mitigation, safety, and instruction and have worked with or are part of a volunteer fire department.
Advocates started the two-day event with an overview of the WFAP program and resources available to support them in this role. They were provided with training on best practices for reaching a target audience, specifically through teaching and learning techniques. Attendees were also given an overview of the WFAP curriculum and performed a mock assessment at residencies in a Provo neighborhood to help put knowledge gained into practice.
“We’re extremely excited about the new WFAP Advocate Network,” said WFAP lead instructor and NVFC wildland committee chair Chief Steve McClintock. “This group contains a variety of experienced and knowledgeable individuals that are passionate about protecting our communities from wildfires, and their leadership and skills will help us grow this invaluable initiative. We are grateful to the UFRA for being such a gracious host and to the U.S. Forest Service for its continuous support of the program.”