Fire, Volume 8, Issue 3 (March 2025) – 34 articles

Some of the most catastrophic fire events that have occurred in the western US in recent decades, such as the 2018 Camp Fire in California, were ignited by electric utility infrastructure. As wildfires and fire seasons intensify across the western United States, policymakers and utilities alike are working to mitigate the risk of wildfire as it relates to utility infrastructure. We pose the following research question: Is there an association between risk factors such as wildfire hazard potential and social vulnerability, and the inclusion of various strategies in mitigation planning by public or cooperative electric utilities in Washington, such as PSPS provisions and non-expulsion fuse installation? By applying statistical tools including t-tests and logistic regression modeling to test these potential associations, our analysis reveals statistically significant relationships between risk factors and the inclusion of specific wildfire mitigation strategies. We find that the inclusion of PSPS provisions in mitigation planning is significantly and nonlinearly associated with wildfire hazard potential, while social and socioeconomic vulnerability in the utility service area are negatively associated. Additionally, the installation of non-expulsion fuses is negatively associated with socioeconomic vulnerability in service populations. Overall, understanding the factors associated with wildfire mitigation planning can assist policymakers and state agencies in the prioritization of resources and practical support for utilities that may have limited capacity to mitigate wildfire risk. Full article

For computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling of advanced combustion engines, the cylinder is usually considered a closed system in which the initial conditions are estimated based on the experimental data. Most of these approximations hinder observing the effect of design parameters on engine performance and emissions accurately, and most studies are limited to a few design parameters. An approach is proposed based on the combination of a 1D gas dynamic and a 3D CFD model to simulate the whole engine with as few simplifications as possible. The impact of changing the in-cylinder initial conditions, injection strategy (dual direct injection or multiple pulse injections), and piston bowl geometry on a reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) engine’s performance, emissions, and fuel stratification levels was investigated. It was found that applying the dual direct injection (DDI) strategy to the engine can be promising to reach higher load operations by reducing the pressure rise rate and causing stronger stratification levels. Increasing the number of injection pulses leads to lower Soot/NOx emissions. The best reduction in the pressure rise rate was found by the dual direct strategy (38.36% compared to the base experimental case) and higher exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) levels (41.83% reduction in comparison with the base experimental case). With the help of a novel piston bowl design, HC and CO emissions were reduced significantly. This resulted in a reduction of 54.58% in HC emissions and 80.22% in CO emissions. Full article

The effect of a surface coating with an aqueous solution containing a synthetic diammonium hydrogen phosphate fire retardant and vacuum pressure impregnation with a synthetic diammonium hydrogen phosphate fire retardant, potassium acetate, and a natural polymeric retardant, arabinogalactan, to improve the fire resistance and selected properties of structural fir (Abies alba L.) wood was investigated in this article. The combustion characteristics were investigated, and the heat of combustion reflects the effect of the presence of fire retardants. Changes in the content of cellulose, hemicelluloses, holocellulose, lignin, and extractives characterize the chemical changes in wood caused by these factors. The relationship between the combustion characteristics and chemical changes in chemically modified wood as a consequence of the presence of flame retardants were assessed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that the effectiveness of the fire retardants against ignition and burning when applied by vacuum pressure impregnation was always higher than in the case of surface coating, even when using impregnation solutions of low concentrations. In the case of diammonium hydrogen phosphate, a low 5% concentration of retardant was sufficient to provide suitable flame retardancy. Further, degradation by depolymerization of cellulose occurred only at temperatures between 460 and 470 °C. Low concentrations of retardant limit the loss to the environment and consequent ecological impact. Full article

To investigate the propagation of explosion shock waves within a ship’s engine room, a two-story engine room of a cargo ship was selected as the research object. The BlastFOAM solver in OpenFOAM-9 software was utilized to conduct numerical simulations of the explosion dynamics in the engine room. The results demonstrate that the explosion impact force escalates with the quantity of explosives. Following a liquefied natural gas (LNG) explosion, the shock waves exerted on the ventilation duct and control room are significantly stronger in terms of maximum pressure and intensity compared with those generated by a naphtha explosion. Comprehensive analyses of shock wave pressure distribution, structural damage, and energy absorption reveal that the centralized control room sustains the most severe damage from shock waves, while the ventilation ducts are also significantly impacted. The mechanical equipment absorbs the majority of the shock wave impact while reflecting a minor portion, leading to the intersection of direct and reflected waves. This study provides valuable insights for enhancing the explosion resistance of ship engine rooms, optimizing equipment layout within cabins, and improving the structural resilience of cabin designs. Full article

This study aimed to shorten firefighter search times during indoor fires, allowing more people to be rescued, by enhancing disaster-prevention capabilities using building technologies. In indoor fires, fatalities are often caused by the failure of firefighters to rescue individuals in a timely manner. The question of how to effectively increase the probability of survival while waiting for rescue behind closed doors warrants in-depth research and analysis. Therefore, to ensure that people live in safe environments, there is an urgent need to develop a building door panel material with an emergency call function to prevent such incidents from occurring. Utilizing the PRISMA method, we conducted a comprehensive review of the existing literature to identify the key issues and limitations associated with the current search-and-rescue techniques. Subsequently, the identified primary factors were analyzed using the TRIZ method to determine the key factors that influence the success of rescuing trapped individuals, and a notification system was designed to address this issue. Based on the premise that it is advisable to wait for rescue during a fire, we utilized a smartphone to scan a QR code and transmit the exact location information to the fire department. Through extensive participation and feedback from firefighters, we developed a rescue notification door panel and obtained a patent for it. This system can significantly reduce the time required for search-and-rescue operations in fire incidents. The experimental results show a reduction of one-third in search times. Full article

Wildfires pose severe threats to terrestrial ecosystems by causing loss of biodiversity, altering landscapes, compromising ecosystem services, and endangering human lives and infrastructure. Chile, with its diverse geography and climate, faces escalating wildfire frequency and intensity due to climate change. This study employs a spatial machine learning approach using a Random Forest algorithm to predict wildfire risk in Central and Southern Chile under current and future climatic scenarios. The model was trained on a time series dataset incorporating climatic, land use, and physiographic variables, with burned-area scars as the response variable. By applying this model to three projected climate scenarios, this study forecasts the spatial distribution of wildfire probabilities for multiple future periods. The model’s performance was high, achieving an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.91 for testing and 0.87 for validation. The accuracy, True Positive Rate (TPR), and True Negative Rate (TNR) values were 0.80, 0.87, and 0.73, respectively. Currently, the prediction of wildfire risk in Mediterranean-type climate areas and the central Araucanía are most at risk, particularly in agricultural zones and rural–urban interfaces. However, future projections indicate a southward expansion of wildfire risk, with an overall increase in probabilities as climate scenarios become more pessimistic. These findings offer a framework for policymakers, facilitating evidence-based strategies for adaptive land management and effective mitigation of wildfire risk. Full article

Firefighters are vulnerable to opioid misuse given the adverse effects their occupation has on mental and physical health. Yet there are limited data on opioid misuse within this population. This study examined the prevalence of illicit prescription opioid use among a nationally representative sample of U.S. firefighters and factors related to opioid misuse. Data were collected through reliable questionnaires from 617 firefighters prior to participating in an intervention designed to mitigate the negative impacts of trauma. The lifetime prevalence of illicit prescription opioid use was 14% compared to 13% in the general U.S. population. The most commonly misused opioids were hydrocodones with trade names Vicodin, Lortab, and Lorcet (72% of those illicitly using opioids). Illicit prescriptions opioid use was not significantly correlated with any demographics examined. However, firefighters who engaged in illicit opioid use exhibited poorer mental health, more alcohol-related problems, and an increased likelihood of misusing other prescription medications. In a regression analysis, alcohol consumption issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the illicit use of sedatives and tranquilizers emerged as significant predictors of illicit prescription opioid use. Illicit prescription opioid use by firefighters is a potential problem especially when considered along with other factors such as mental health. Longitudinal studies are needed to further deepen our knowledge about this issue. Full article

This study investigates the effectiveness of immersive audiovisual simulations in eliciting emotional responses and replicating the psychological and cognitive demands of high-risk operational environments, particularly in firefighting scenarios. Conducted in two successive phases, the research first employed a pilot study involving 90 participants (45 firefighters and 45 students) who were exposed to a controlled audiovisual simulation. Emotional responses were assessed using the Differential Emotion Scale (DES), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The second phase involved an immersive room experiment with 36 firefighters, where the same audiovisual stimulus was presented in a fully immersive environment, integrating interactive decision-making tasks to enhance ecological validity. The findings indicate that both methods effectively elicited the targeted emotional responses, including stress, fear, anger, and serenity, with firefighters exhibiting greater emotional regulation and adaptive coping strategies compared to students. The immersive room environment significantly amplified emotional engagement, resulting in stronger emotional responses from the first scene onward. These results underscore the potential of immersive training tools in preparing emergency responders for high-stress situations by strengthening psychological resilience, improving emotional regulation, and optimizing decision-making under pressure. The study contributes to advancing evidence-based training methodologies in emergency response, public safety, and crisis management, emphasizing the importance of integrating immersive technologies into professional training programs. Full article

Underground interconnected tunnels typically have a large curvature and multiple branching structures, which pose a higher fire risk than traditional single-tube tunnels. In this paper, experiments were performed on a reduced-scale tunnel to study the characteristics of temperature distribution and smoke propagation under coordinated ventilation. A total of 318 experimental cases were conducted, systematically varying fire location, ventilation scheme, and fire power. The results show that an increased heat release rate (HRR) significantly elevates both the maximum temperature ($\Delta T_{\max }$) and smoke spread range. The influence of ventilation on $\Delta T_{\max }$ and smoke spread varies depending on fire locations. When fire occurs at the intersection of two tunnel central axes, increasing the velocity in either the branch tunnel (v₁) or main tunnel (v₂) reduces $\Delta T_{\max }$ and smoke spread in tunnels. When fire occurs inside the branch tunnel, the main tunnel airflow obstructs downstream smoke movement, leading to a higher $\Delta T_{\max }$ and expanded smoke spread upstream of the branch tunnel. A prediction model for $\Delta T_{\max }$ under cooperative ventilation in underground interconnected tunnels was established, accounting for variations in fire position and the HRR. Meanwhile, the temperature distribution upstream of the branch tunnel was studied, revealing that the HRR has minimal impact on it. When fire occurs outside of the branch tunnel, v₂ significantly affects temperature attenuation within the branch tunnel. When fire occurs at the branch tunnel entrance or inside, v₂ has less effect. Combining the ventilation scheme and the HRR, dimensionless temperature decay models for different fire locations were proposed. These findings offer valuable insights for smoke control in underground interconnected tunnels. Full article

Wildfire activity in the western U.S. has highlighted the importance of effective management to address this growing threat. The Lookout Mountain Thinning and Fuels Reduction Study (LMS) is an operational-scale, long-term study of the effects of forest restoration and fuel reduction treatments in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) and mixed-conifer forests in central Oregon, U.S. The broad objectives of the LMS are to examine the effectiveness and longevity of treatments on wildfire risk and to assess the collateral effects. Treatments include four levels of overstory thinning followed by mastication of the understory vegetation and prescribed burning. Stands were thinned to residual densities of 50, 75, or 100% of the upper management zone (UMZ), which accounts for site differences as reflected by stand density relationships for specific plant communities. A fourth treatment combines the 75 UMZ with small gaps (~0.1 ha) to facilitate regeneration (75 UMZ + Gaps). A fifth treatment comprises an untreated control (UC). We examined the causes and levels of tree mortality that occurred 2–9 years after treatments. A total of 391,292 trees was inventoried, of which 2.3% (9084) died. Higher levels of tree mortality (all causes) occurred on the UC (7.1 ± 1.9%, mean ± SEM) than on the 50 UMZ (0.7 ± 0.1%). Mortality was attributed to several bark beetle species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) (4002 trees), unknown factors (2682 trees), wind (1958 trees), suppression (327 trees), snow breakage (61 trees), prescribed fire (19 trees), western gall rust (15 trees), cankers (8 trees), mechanical damage (5 trees), dwarf mistletoe (4 trees), and woodborers (3 trees). Among bark beetles, tree mortality was attributed to western pine beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte) (1631 trees), fir engraver (Scolytus ventralis LeConte) (1580 trees), mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) (526 trees), engraver beetles (Ips spp.) (169 trees), hemlock engraver (Scolytus tsugae (Swaine)) (77 trees), and Pityogenes spp. (19 trees). Higher levels of bark beetle-caused tree mortality occurred on the UC (2.9 ± 0.7%) than on the 50 UMZ (0.3 ± 0.1%) which, in general, was the relationship observed for individual bark beetle species. Higher levels of tree mortality were attributed to wind on the 100 UMZ (1.0 ± 0.2%) and UC (1.2 ± 1.5%) than on the 50 UMZ (0.2 ± 0.02%) and 75 UMZ (0.4 ± 0.1%). Higher levels of tree mortality were attributed to suppression on the UC (0.5 ± 0.3%) than on the 50 UMZ (0.003 ± 0.002%) and 75 UMZ + Gaps (0.0 ± 0.0%). Significant positive correlations were observed between measures of stand density and levels of tree mortality for most causal agents. Tree size (diameter at 1.37 m) frequently had a significant effect on tree mortality, but relationships varied by causal agent. The forest restoration and fuels reduction treatments implemented on the LMS increased resistance to multiple disturbances. The implications of these and other results to the management of fire-adapted forests are discussed. Full article

Ongoing climate change has intensified fire disturbances in boreal forests globally, posing significant risks to forest ecosystem structure and function, with the potential to trigger major regime shifts. Understanding how environmental factors regulate the resilience of key structural and functional parameters is critical for sustaining and enhancing ecosystem services under global change. This study analyzed the resilience of forest ecosystems following three representative extreme fires in the Greater Xing’an Mountains (GXM) via the temporal evolution of the leaf area index (LAI), net primary productivity (NPP), and evapotranspiration (ET) as key indicators. A comprehensive wall-to-wall assessment was conducted, integrating gradient boosting machine (GBM) modeling with Shapley Additive Explanation (SHAP) to identify the dominant factors influencing postfire resilience. The results revealed that NPP demonstrated stronger resilience than ET and LAI, suggesting the prioritization of functional restoration over structural recovery in the postfire landscape of the GXM. The GBM-SHAP model explained 45% to 69% of the variance in the resilience patterns of the three parameters. Among the regulatory factors, extreme precipitation and temperature during the growing season were found to exert more significant influences on resilience than landscape-scale factors, such as burn severity, topography, and prefire vegetation composition. The spatial asynchrony in resilience patterns between structural and functional parameters highlighted the complex interplay of climatic drivers and ecological processes during post-disturbance recovery. Our study emphasized the importance of prioritizing functional restoration in the short term to support ecosystem recovery processes and services. Despite the potential limitations imposed by the coarse spatial granularity of the input data, our findings provide valuable insights for postfire management strategies, enabling the effective allocation of resources to increase ecosystem resilience and facilitating long-term adaptation to changing fire regimes. Full article

This study investigates the buckling performance of built-up cold-formed steel (CFS) columns, with a focus on how different thermal exposures and cooling strategies influence their susceptibility to various failure mechanisms. Addressing the gap in the literature on the fire behavior of mild steel (MS)-based CFS columns, the research aims to provide new insights. Compression tests were conducted on MS-based CFS column specimens after they were exposed to fire, to assess their post-fire buckling strength. The columns were subjected to controlled fire conditions following standardized protocols and then allowed to cool to room temperature. The study examined axial load-bearing capacity and deformation characteristics under elevated temperatures. To improve fire resistance, protective coatings—gypsum, perlite, and vermiculite—were applied to certain specimens before testing, and their performance was compared to that of uncoated specimens. A comprehensive finite element analysis (FEA) was also performed to model the structural response under different thermal and cooling scenarios, providing a detailed comparison of the coating effectiveness, which was validated against experimental results. The findings revealed significant variations in axial strength and failure mechanisms based on the type of fire-resistant coating used, as well as the heating and cooling durations. Among the coated specimens, those treated with perlite showed the best performance. For example, the air-cooled perlite-coated column (MBC2AC) retained a load capacity of 277.9 kN after 60 min of heating, a reduction of only 6.0% compared to the unheated reference section (MBREF). This performance was superior to that of the gypsum-coated (MBC1AC) and vermiculite-coated (MBC3AC) specimens, which showed reductions of 3.6% and 7.9% more, respectively. These results highlight the potential of perlite coatings to enhance the fire resistance of CFS columns, offering valuable insights for structural fire design. Full article

An experimental study was carried out on the ignition and combustion processes of particles (100–200 µm in size) of coals of different degrees of metamorphism and biomass, as well as mixtures based on them, under conditions of conductive and convective heating, which correspond to the conditions of fuel ignition in boiler furnaces at grates and flaring combustion. The biomass contents in the composition of the coal-based fuel mixtures were 10, 20, and 30 wt.%. Under the conductive (at 700–1000 °C) and convective (at 500–800 °C) heating of fuel particles, ignition delay times were determined using a hardware–software complex for the high-speed video registration of fast processes. The ignition delay times were found to vary from 1 to 12.2 s for conductive heating and from 0.01 to 0.19 s for convective heating. The addition of 10–30 wt.% biomass to coals reduced the ignition delay times of fuel mixtures by up to 70%. An analysis of the flue gas composition during the combustion of solid fuels allowed us to establish the concentrations of the main anthropogenic emissions. The use of biomass as an additive (from 10 to 230 wt.%) to coal reduced NO_x and SO_x emissions by 19–42% and 24–39%, respectively. The propensity of fuels to cause slagging depending on their component composition was established. The use of up to 30 wt.% of biomass in the mixture composition did not affect the increase in the tendency to cause slagging on heating surfaces in the boiler furnace and did not pose a threat to the layer agglomeration during the layer combustion of the mixtures. Full article

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in buildings must comply with both electrotechnical standards for module safety and local building codes, which typically do not address their electrical nature. This regulatory gap creates challenges in assessing the fire performance of PV systems. This paper presents a procedure to adapt a common test method used in some building codes to assess external fire conditions for roofs, while maintaining operative PV modules. Two configurations were tested: an organic PV thin film on a metallic sandwich panel and a glass–glass-encapsulated organic PV module. The tests were conducted under high voltage and current conditions to simulate the systems’ behavior within a larger PV array. Significant electric arcs were observed during testing of the metallic sandwich panel configuration without glass protection when subjected to high voltages or currents. In these cases, total heat release increased by at least 30% compared to non-electrically loaded scenarios or glass-insulated PV modules, likely due to a greater damaged surface area. Electric arcs created new ignition sources, damaging whole PV modules, whereas in the case with no electrical load, propagation flames advanced toward both the upper edge and the corners of the sample, ultimately damaging the entire triangular area above the fire source. The results indicate that the electrical characteristics of PV systems can significantly impact external fire spread behavior. The study identifies challenges in maintaining system activity during testing and simulating real scenarios and proposes for future research directions. Full article

Owing to the demand for smoke and flame detection in natural scenes, this paper proposes a lightweight deep learning model, SF-YOLO (Smoke and Fire-YOLO), for video smoke and flame detection in such environments. Firstly, YOLOv11 is employed as the backbone network, combined with the C3k2 module based on a two-path residual attention mechanism, and a target detection head frame with an embedded attention mechanism. This combination enhances the response of the unobscured regions to compensate for the feature loss in occluded regions, thereby addressing the occlusion problem in dynamic backgrounds. Then, a two-channel loss function (W-SIoU) based on dynamic tuning and intelligent focusing is designed to enhance loss computation in the boundary regions, thus improving the YOLOv11 model’s ability to recognize targets with ambiguous boundaries. Finally, the algorithms proposed in this paper are experimentally validated using the self-generated dataset S-Firedata and the public smoke and flame virtual dataset M⁴SFWD. These datasets are derived from internet smoke and flame video frame extraction images and open-source smoke and flame dataset images, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate, compared with deep learning models such as YOLOv8, Gold-YOLO, and Faster-RCNN, the SF-YOLO model proposed in this paper is more lightweight and exhibits higher detection accuracy and robustness. The metrics mAP50 and mAP50-95 are improved by 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively, in the self-made dataset S-Firedata, and by 0.7% and 1.4%, respectively, in the publicly available dataset M⁴SFWD. The research presented in this paper provides practical methods for the automatic detection of smoke and flame in natural scenes, which can further enhance the effectiveness of fire monitoring systems. Full article

In this paper, the thermoelectric conversion characteristics of a device combining a TPCT and TGs are studied. The experimental devices consist of four parts: TPCT heat transfer module, cooling and heat dissipation module, thermoelectric power generation module, and data collection module. The effects of different heating powers (100 W, 200 W, 400 W, and 600 W) and different liquid filling rates of the TPCT (10%, 25%, 35%, and 45%) on the heat transfer performance and the power generation performance of the device are studied. The research indicates that the impact of the liquid filling rate on heat transfer and power generation performance is less significant than that of heating power. As the heating power increases, both the heat transfer and power generation performance of the device will improve and is finally in a relatively stable state. The thermal resistance at the liquid filling rate of 10% is the smallest, roughly around 0.11 °C/W. At a heating power of 200 W, the TPCT at the liquid filling rate of 10% has the largest heat transfer efficiency, which is 83.36%. The maximum values of power generation efficiency and net power generation efficiency are 2.27% and 3.10%, respectively. Full article

Many barriers prevent ranchers from supporting prescribed fire on grazing leases or their own land. Barriers include negative perceptions of fire resources limitations, and fear of liability. We surveyed ranching landowners around four National Grasslands in North and South Dakota—public grazinglands managed by the USDA Forest Service—to assess landowner attitudes towards prescribed fire and provide insight into the barriers to using prescribed burning on the National Grasslands. Respondents reported being motivated by an interest in stewardship and want managers to prioritize sound science in decision-making on the National Grasslands. But respondents generally had negative perceptions of fire and reported little awareness of potential benefits. With respect to prescribed fire, specifically, respondents reported their greatest degree of trust in prescribed fire activity and/or information of Pheasants Forever and county Extension, and their lowest trust in the USDA Forest Service. Despite their proximity to public grazingland, where the risk and resource barriers for prescribed burning would be borne by the USDA Forest Service, respondents disagreed that prescribed fire use on the Grasslands should be increased and stated a lack of readiness to conduct prescribed burns on their own ranches. As the primary barriers to prescribed fire use in these communities appear to be negative perceptions, educational materials from trusted sources and opportunities to engage with burning might help explain where and when prescribed fire use would be appropriate on the landscape and aid understanding between entities that would like to use prescribed fire and those who are concerned about prescribed fire use. Full article

The climatic conditions in southern Italy favor the occurrence and spread of forest fires, with severe long-lasting consequences on the local flora and fauna. On the one hand, biological and chemical in situ measurements are typically used to accurately investigate the evolution of the land affected by fires, with limited spatial coverage. On the other hand, Remote Sensing (RS) is a mature technology to complement the in situ campaigns on large regions with adequate revisit time. In this paper, we evaluate the capability of Sentinel-2 data to spatially and temporally extend post-fire in situ analysis on a fire-affected area. In particular, we estimate the soil quality index from Sentinel-2 data and achieve a remarkable coefficient of determination ($R^2=0.79$) and low relative error ($e_r=0.06$), highlighting the robustness of the proposed approach. Furthermore, the soil water content and the total iron (Fe) concentrations emerged as pertinent indicators detectable through Near-Infrared and Short-Wave Infrared Sentinel-2 bands. The obtained results prompted an investigation into the post-fire evolution of soil properties, thanks to RS data, in a large area covered by diverse vegetation types. The obtained results encourage a deeper synergic use of in situ and remotely observed data, enabling a comprehensive understanding of soil quality dynamics in fire-affected regions. Full article

The integration of geodiversity elements and contexts into fire management frameworks remains limited due to a lack of actionable tools for assessing geosite sensitivity. This study addresses this gap by developing and testing a mechanistic model to evaluate soil and lithological fire sensitivity, using a geodiversity database of Tasmanian geosites at various temperature thresholds. Initial results indicate the utility of the approach to distinguish between sensitive and robust geosites, providing a simple delineation between the relative sensitivities of in situ elements. A subsequent iterative approach applied modelled outputs to an existing geosite database, giving coarse indicators of sites with a propensity to be modified by fire. With static inventory, this approach allows decision-makers to develop new risk parameters for the management of burns and wildfires. Geographically complex environments have led to misalignments between geosite boundaries and broader processes, data inaccessibility for remote or offshore sites, and fire as both a destructive and formative agent; these must all be resolved. Future work should consider the necessity of incorporating values, recovery trajectories, and hydrological processes into fire sensitivity assessments. The study concludes with recommendations for refining the model to enhance its utility for fire managers, ultimately contributing to the integration of geodiversity into fire management strategies and geoconservation planning. Full article

Wildfires threaten human health, economies and the environment. Fuel management is a core activity of land managers to reduce the detrimental impacts of wildfires. Land managers also seek to conserve biodiversity within their fuel management programs. We sought to understand how fuel management could be implemented to achieve fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation in the same landscape. Specifically, we asked: (1) what vegetation attributes are desirable for wildfire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation, and are they compatible? and (2) what combinations of management actions could achieve both objectives? We used structured decision-making with 23 stakeholders from eight organisations to elicit means objectives and management actions for fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation in dry eucalypt forests and woodlands. Vegetation attributes identified as desirable to reduce fire risk were often compatible with those desired for biodiversity conservation, suggesting management actions could achieve both objectives in the same landscape. Workshop participants often selected prescribed burning as a management action, and specifically, mixed severity, patchy burns for biodiversity conservation. Predator control, habitat creation and revegetation were coupled with burning and mechanical treatments to improve outcomes for biodiversity. There was uncertainty around the likelihood of success for most management actions, highlighting the need for adaptive management to test and refine management over time. Overall, structured decision-making allowed for integration of a range of stakeholder perspectives into the development of multi-objective fuel management pathways. This approach forms a basis for designing more socially acceptable fuel management programs. Full article

Background: Inhalation of bushfire smoke is a risk to the health of firefighters, particularly across Australia where bushfires are becoming more frequent and intense. This study aimed to use real-time monitoring devices to assess the particle and chemical exposures of Western Australian firefighters during prescribed burns and bushfires. Methods: Participants included volunteer bushfire firefighters and forestry firefighters. Real-time gas and particulate monitors were used across nine unique fire events to evaluate the occupational exposures of firefighters. Findings: Firefighters (n = 40) were exposed to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM), particularly PM10, with concentrations varying widely between individuals and events. Exposures to carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were observed at elevated levels. No significant elevation in internal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was observed. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and the need for health monitoring programmes for firefighters. Prescribed burns appear reflective of exposures at bushfires and could serve as valuable experimental settings for refining firefighting strategies and protective practises. Full article

Older adults may experience worse wildfire fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) smoke-related health effects due to conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRDs). We evaluated whether wildfire PM_2.5 was associated with acute hospitalizations among older adults with ADRD, linking modeled daily wildfire PM_2.5 concentrations and circulatory, respiratory, anxiety, and depression hospitalizations from 2006 to 2016. We employed a case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression to estimate associations between lagged daily wildfire PM_2.5 and hospitalizations. Also, we stratified cause-specific models by age, sex, emergency hospitalization status, and zip code-level urbanicity and poverty. The 1,546,753 hospitalizations among Medicare enrollees with ADRD were most coded for circulatory (71.7%), followed by respiratory (43.6%), depression (2.9%), and anxiety (0.7%) endpoints. We observed null associations between wildfire PM_2.5 and circulatory, respiratory, and anxiety hospitalizations over the six days following exposure. Same-day wildfire PM_2.5 was associated with decreased depression hospitalizations (rate ratio = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.90, 0.99). We saw some effect measure modifications by emergency hospitalization status and urbanicity. There were some stratum-specific effects for age, but the results remained mostly null. Future studies should use improved methods to identify ADRD and examine recent years with higher wildfire concentrations. Full article

With the rising adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), fire-related issues have garnered significant attention, prompting extensive research efforts. This study investigates the dispersion of toxic gases generated during EV fires in confined spaces, such as underground parking garages, to enhance fire safety protocols. Using the fire dynamics simulator (FDS), simulations were conducted for 24 kWh, 53 kWh, and 99.8 kWh battery scenarios to assess the impact of increasing battery capacities on toxic gas emissions. The results indicate that hydrogen fluoride (HF) concentrations in poorly ventilated areas peaked at 488.2 ppm, significantly exceeding the Acute Exposure Guideline Level (AEGL-2) threshold of 12 ppm. The exposure time exceeding AEGL-2 (30 min) was recorded as 53 min and 49 s for the 99.8 kWh scenario, highlighting a substantial risk to occupants and emergency responders. Additionally, the fractional effective dose (FED) for asphyxiant gases and the fractional effective concentration (FEC) for irritant gases were analyzed, revealing that larger battery capacities and proximity to the fire source reduced tenability time by up to 47% compared to smaller batteries. These findings provide critical insights into fire safety measures, emphasizing the necessity of early fire detection systems, enhanced ventilation strategies, and battery-specific fire suppression technologies in confined environments. Full article

With the rising frequency and severity of wildfires that cause significant threats to ecosystems, public health and livelihoods, it is essential to have tools for evaluating and monitoring their impacts and the effectiveness of policy initiatives. This paper presents the development and implementation of a new calculation pipeline integrated with a web-based platform designed to provide georeferenced data on the burn severity of wildfires in mainland Portugal. The platform integrates a modular architecture that comprises a module in R and Google Earth Engine to compute standardized satellite-derived datasets on observed/historical severity for burned areas, integrated with a web portal module to facilitate the access, search, visualization, and downloading of the generated data. The platform provides open-access, multisource data from satellite missions, including MODIS, Landsat-5, -7, and -8, and Sentinel-2. It offers multitemporal burn severity products, covering up to 12 months post-fire, and incorporates three severity indicators, the delta NBR, relative difference NBR, and relativized burn ratio, derived from Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) quarterly median composites. The platform’s modular and scalable framework also allows the integration of more spectral indices, burn severity indicators, and other wildfire perimeter databases. These design features also enable the platform to adapt to other contexts or regions beyond its current scope and regularly update burn severity products. Results from exploratory data analyses revealed the ability of satellite-based severity products to diagnose trends, assess interannual variability, and enable regional comparisons of burn severity, providing a basis for further research. In the face of climate change and societal challenges, the platform aims to support decision-making processes by providing authorities with standardized and updated information while promoting public awareness of wildfire challenges and, ultimately, contributing to the sustainability of rural landscapes. Full article

The growing intensity and frequency of bushfires across the globe pose serious threats to building safety when it comes to the vulnerability of glass windows. During bushfires, extreme heat can cause significant damage to these windows, creating openings that allow embers, radiant heat, and flames to enter buildings. This study investigated the effectiveness of various construction materials, including thin steel sheets, glass fibre blankets, aluminium foil layers, and intumescent layers on glass fibre blankets, as bushfire-resistant shutters for protecting windows in bushfire-prone areas. The shutters were tested under two scenarios of radiant heat exposure: rapid and prolonged exposures of 11 and 47 min, respectively. Heat transfer models of the tested shutters were developed and validated using fire test results, and then comparisons of the performance of materials were made through parametric studies for bushfire radiant heat exposure. The results show that a 0.4 mm glass fibre blanket with aluminium foil performed best, with very low glass temperatures and ambient heat fluxes due to the reflective properties of the foil. Similarly, a thin steel sheet (1.2 mm) also effectively maintained low glass temperatures and ambient heat fluxes. Additionally, graphite-based intumescent coating on a glass fibre blanket reduced the ambient heat flux. These results highlight the importance of bushfire-resistant shutters and provide valuable insights for improving their design and performance. Full article

Frequent and intense grassland fires represent a significant threat to the stability and sustainability of grassland ecosystems. Therefore, understanding the driving factors of grassland fire and the occurrence of fire is key to formulating effective fire management policies and management plans. Based on the fire dataset (manually recorded data, satellite remote sensing data) from 2001 to 2022, this study uses six models to analyze the differences in grassland fire driving factors in different regions and fire prevention periods in the study area, determine the relative importance of fire driving factors, and draw a probability map of grassland fire. The results show that both types of data selected the Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) model as the optimal model for predicting grassland fires in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Meteorological factors are the main driving factors of grassland fire in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and topographic factors and socio-economic factors are important factors. The number and probability of fires gradually decreased from east to west, and fires were mainly concentrated in the northeast and middle of the study area. Therefore, our study functioned to explore the spatio-temporal pattern of grassland fire, accurately predict the probability of grassland fire at different scales, and provide a scientific basis for the rational allocation of grassland fire prevention resources in the study area. Full article

The intensity of wildfires has increased dramatically in recent decades; thus, better understanding the impact of land-management efforts in biodiversity conservation on post-wildfire recovery could highlight the value of these interventions. Field assessments are often costly; therefore, monitoring the effectiveness of applied conservation practices using remote sensing tools is critical. The main goal of this study is to develop and apply a remote sensing framework to assess the impact of conservation practices on post-fire recovery. We focused on a study area in northern California and southern Oregon, a region with diverse conservation practices and increased wildfire activity in the past decade. The proposed framework uses the MODIS dataset to identify fire burn events and Landsat to analyze the time series of an area-aggregated vegetation index, the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR). Using the remote sensing framework, we confirmed our hypothesis that in areas lacking conservation protection practices, post-fire recovery is slower and more lingering. The median 5-year dNBR recovery for unprotected burn events was around 27%, compared to 37% across all other burn areas. Along with our primary goal of recovery analysis, we also examined fire severity across different conservation practices to identify moderate-to-severe fire events and to capture differences in fire characteristics for the areas under different conversation practices. This analysis revealed that unprotected areas experienced more severe fire events. We also investigated the impact of conservation practices across three dominant forest types in our study area: Dry-Mesic Conifer, Mesic Conifer, and Evergreen Forests. The disparity in post-wildfire recovery between protected and non-protected areas was most pronounced in burn areas dominated by Evergreen Forests. Using the proposed aggregated remote sensing framework, this study highlights the importance of conservation practices in wildfire recovery. This approach could provide a cost-efficient tool for assessing the effectiveness of land-management practices on wildfire recovery across the globe. Full article

In Mediterranean regions, fires are a key ecological factor, altering soil properties, biodiversity, and landscape dynamics. Post-fire recovery varies based on vegetation type, fire severity, and climate conditions. However, the specific relationship between post-fire vegetation recovery and soil temperature regimes remains poorly investigated. This study investigates this relationship in an area severely affected by a megafire. Three plots (unburned, low-severity fire, and high-severity fire) were monitored for species richness, vegetation cover and height, and soil temperature, with data from 2021 to 2024 analyzed. Vegetation surveys revealed that fire severity influenced species richness and vegetation cover and height. Particularly, burned areas showed a higher proliferation of pioneer and herbaceous species three years post-fire. Moreover, after the same period, burned areas showed consistently higher soil temperatures than the unburned ones, reflecting altered microclimatic conditions. This could be because the presence of more pioneer and herbaceous species is insufficient to mitigate the air temperatures. Our results show the impact of fires on soil and vegetation, highlighting the critical role of vegetation in modeling soil temperature. However, long-term monitoring is necessary to assess the real effect of vegetation type on soil temperature. Full article

Flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) is extensively applied in multiple applications, including automotive, construction, furniture cushioning, and transportation seating, due to its outstanding mechanical properties, sound absorption, breathable characteristics, and versatility. However, FPUF is highly flammable and releases significant quantities of smoke and harmful gases when burned, which presents considerable safety hazards and has led to extensive research into flame retardant solutions. This review covers the development of both conventional and bio-based flame-retardant agents, including reactive-type and additive-type FRs, and surface coating methods, with a focus on their preparation, characterization methods, and underlying flame retardant mechanisms. Additionally, innovative flame retardant technologies, particularly surface coatings, are discussed in terms of their impact on thermal stability, mechanical performance, and smoke toxicity reduction in the resulting FPUFs. The review also highlights future research priorities and significant challenges, including environmental concerns, cost-effectiveness, and durability. Future research will need to focus on improving flame retardant efficiency while also considering the environmental impact and recyclability of materials, aiming for the green and sustainable development of FPUFs. Full article

This research presents a scientifically grounded model designed to enhance the safety protocols for firefighting teams during fire intervention scenarios. The model estimates the maximum allowable exposure duration based on ambient temperature and radiant heat, employing data captured by thermal imaging cameras, which provide real-time measurements of infrared radiation emitted by fire-affected zones. Utilising the Stefan–Boltzmann law to quantify radiative heat transfer and Probit vulnerability analysis to assess thermal risk, critical temperature thresholds and corresponding exposure durations were determined. The results indicate that the maximum permissible ambient temperature for firefighting interventions is 263 °C, with a safe exposure duration of 26 s under these thermal conditions. This approach underscores the significance of ambient temperature as a pivotal parameter in risk assessment and intervention strategy development. Furthermore, the model’s applicability extends to other high-risk environments, including industrial operations, providing a robust and versatile framework for safety management. These findings contribute to advancing evidence-based protocols that mitigate injury risks, safeguard firefighting personnel, and optimise operational decision-making during emergencies. Full article