National Wildfire Coordinating Group

RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR)

Smoke: Knowing the Risks

RT-130 Decorative banner. Group of photos depicting wildland firefighters performing various duties.

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The chemical makeup of smoke, how it affects our bodies and what actions can be taken to reduce or avoid those affects.
Category: Hazards
Core Component(s): Incident Reviews and Lessons Learned;
Fire and Aviation Operational Safety
Estimated Delivery Time: 30 minutes; Video Length: 13:42

 

Intent

Raise awareness of the components of smoke, its physiological and mental effects, and ways to recognize, diminish, and recover from these effects.

Facilitator Preparation

  • Review the video and module tools.
  • Consider additional activities pertinent to the location and agency.

Facilitating the Discussion

  • Show the video.
  • Facilitate a small or large group discussion using the discussion questions.

Discussion Questions

  1. What are the harmful chemical components found in wildland fire smoke?
  2. Explain the physiological and mental effects that smoke has on firefighters.
  3. What are some indicators that someone may be experiencing the short or long term effects of smoke exposure?
  4. What fireline tactics and/or strategies lead to the highest potential smoke exposure?
  5. What are some of the ways to mitigate smoke exposure?

Resources

Additional Video Information

This video is also available as a download. (Size 44 MB)
Download the .srt file for closed captioning (you may need to right click and Save As). For information on how to add closed captioning to a video, see this how to page.

Note: For Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, right click the word download and select Save Link As; for IE, right click and select Save Target As.

 

 

Print This WFSTAR Module

 

 

 

Page Last Modified / Reviewed: 
2023-08-24

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