AFTER THE FIRE IS OUT
The final phase of the firefighting operation is called “Mop Up”, whereby firefighters use hand tools, water, and heat sensors to ensure that all burning material is fully extinguished.
Once the fire has been declared “Dead-Out”, a term used to state that there are no remaining burning embers, a number of post-fire activities are carried out.
a) Mapping: The perimeter of the fire is digitally mapped for veld age recording purposes, and will be used when future fires occur in the area. The area is also calculated, and where necessary, the costs for fighting the fire shared by the various landowners.
b) Erosion monitoring: In cases where untimely and / or very hot fires occurred, soil erosion monitoring needs to be done to establish if preventative measures should be undertaken to prevent further environmental damage.
c) Alien vegetation eradication: Many alien plants germinate after a fire, and are usually more successful in establishing themselves by out-competing the natural vegetation. In such cases, it is necessary to commence with the eradication of seedlings before they become too well established.
d) For purposes of recording post-fire recovery rates, vegetation and wildlife monitoring projects are occasionally undertaken to determine the trends that could assist with future management activities.
e) Repair of infrastructure: This could include roads damaged by heavy firefighting vehicles, wooden posts destroyed by the fire, and fences cut to allow access.
f) Completion of the fire report: The job ain’t over until the paperwork is done ….
