Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Fire Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Fire (ISSN 2571-6255). This special issue belongs to the section "Fire Research at the Science–Policy–Practitioner Interface".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 22195

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Fantina Tedim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Centre of Studies on Geography and Spatial Planning, Geography Department, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Porto, Via Panorâmica, 4150-564 Porto, Portugal
Interests: natural hazards; extreme wildfires; social dimensions of wildfires; resilience assessment; vulnerability assessment; wildfire risk reduction; fire smart territories; wildfire causes; wildfire science-policy interface
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wildfires are a world problem but the majority of the events remain small and low intensity while extreme wildfire events (high intensity, sudden, chaotic, and rapid progression of flames and spotting activity at high distance from the front) are a scant minority in the total number of fires (about 10%) but are responsible of 90% of losses and damage. Extreme wildfires are set to become more frequent, increasing by around 50% by the end of this century, according to a recent United Nations Report (2022), despite growing wildfire control budgets, improved coordination, better knowledge, equipment and technology, and trained workforce. Although firefighting systems cope quite well with small to medium fires, extreme wildfires are very difficult or impossible to control, since they largely exceed control capacity. In addition, frequent communication difficulties or even their collapse affect the correct use and efficiency of suppression means, strategies, and tactics.

Such a situation can only get worse, and this can happen not only in ill-equipped countries or not sufficiently trained to deal with this emerging problem but in all countries because, under the current technology conditions, control capacity is largely exceeded by extreme wildfires behavior.

This Special Issue aims to explore firefighting approaches and extreme wildfires, giving particular attention but not exclusively to:

Anatomy of extreme wildfires across the world;
Conditions favorable to the occurrence of extreme wildfires and prediction models;
Limits of firefighting activities and efficacy of different firefighting approaches;
The constraints in the use and efficiency of aerial means;
Personal safety of firefighters and training of coping skills and team building;
Evacuation procedures and experiences;
Firefighters risk perception;
Firefighting at wildland-urban interface;
Communities’ awareness, perception, and preparedness to prevent and cope with extreme wildfires;
Risk and emergency communication;
Governance models and policies approaches.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: social sciences, forestry science, political sciences, natural sciences.

Prof. Dr. Fantina Tedim
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fire is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

firefighting
control capacity
safety
modelling
science-policy-practitioner interactions
prevention
mitigation
preparedness
suppression
wildfire management

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (8 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

23 pages, 6824 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Influence of Expansion Ratio on the Effectiveness of Foam in Suppressing Forest Surface Fires

by Haiyan Wang, Junzhao Zhang, Hongbin Zhong and Lei Chen

Fire 2025, 8(5), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire8050171 - 28 Apr 2025

Viewed by 134

Abstract

Firefighting foam is widely recognized for its excellent fire suppression performance. However, research on the effect of foam expansion ratio on the suppression efficiency of forest surface fires remains limited. In this study, the expansion ratio was adjusted by varying the air-to-liquid ratio in a compressed air foam system, and laboratory-scale foam suppression experiments were conducted. Key performance indicators, including extinguishing coverage time, internal cooling rate, and resistance to reignition, were systematically measured. The effects of expansion ratio on the diffusion and penetration behavior of foam on the fuel bed surface were then investigated to understand how these characteristics influence suppression performance. The results indicate that both excessively low and high expansion ratios can weaken fire suppression effectiveness. Low-expansion foam, characterized by low viscosity and high water content, exhibits strong local penetration and cooling capabilities. However, it struggles to rapidly cover the fuel bed surface and isolate oxygen, thereby reducing the overall suppression efficiency. In contrast, high-expansion foam has greater viscosity, allowing it to spread across the fuel bed surface under pressure gradient forces and form a stable coverage layer, effectively limiting the oxygen supply required for combustion. However, its limited depth penetration and lower water content reduce internal cooling efficiency, increasing the risk of reignition. The optimal expansion ratio was determined to be 15.1. Additionally, increasing the liquid supply flow rate significantly improved suppression performance; however, this improvement plateaued when the flow rate exceeded 10 L/min. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 3108 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Evaluation of the Extinguishing Efficiency of Eco-Friendly Soap-Based Media Against Prolonged Simulated Peat Fires

by Takahide Kanyama, Kitso Kusin, Adi Jaya, Salampak Dohong, Kazuya Uezu and Takayoshi Kawahara

Fire 2025, 8(4), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire8040151 - 9 Apr 2025

Viewed by 291

Abstract

Peat fires generate significant greenhouse gas emissions, thereby posing considerable environmental challenges arising from smoke pollution, health hazards, and ecological impacts. Water alone is inefficient for extinguishing peat fires because it cannot immediately penetrate the soil. Therefore, firefighting agents with high penetrative capabilities are used. This study evaluated an environmentally friendly soap-based firefighting agent against peat fires in Palangka Raya, Indonesia. A 1.5 m × 1.5 m peat area was burned for 24 h to simulate a peat fire. The fire was then extinguished either with groundwater or a 1 vol.% soap-based firefighting agent solution. With groundwater, the volumes required to extinguish the fire were 16.0 and 23.9 L/m², whereas with the soap-based solution, the volumes used were 3.8 and 7.4 L/m². Furthermore, the time to extinguish the fire with the soap-based solution was approximately one-third of the requirement when using water alone. The soap-based firefighting agent was proven to be more effective against peat fires than water alone, reducing both the amount of agent used and the time required for extinguishing the fire. Given the increased severity of fires in recent years, this agent can facilitate the efficient management of peat fires. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

34 pages, 8806 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Target Firefighting Task Planning Strategy for Multiple UAVs Under Dynamic Forest Fire Environment

by Pei Zhu, Shize Jiang, Jiangao Zhang, Ziheng Xu, Zhi Sun and Quan Shao

Fire 2025, 8(2), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire8020061 - 2 Feb 2025

Viewed by 935

Abstract

The frequent occurrence of forest fires in mountainous regions has posed severe threats to both the ecological environment and human activities. This study proposed a multi-target firefighting task planning method of forest fires by multiple UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) integrating task allocation and path planning. The forest fire environment factors such high temperatures, dense smoke, and signal shielding zones were considered as the threats. The multi-UAVs task allocation and path planning model was established with the minimum of flight time, flight angle, altitude variance, and environmental threats. In this process, the study considers only the use of fire-extinguishing balls as the fire suppressant for the UAVs. The improved multi-population grey wolf optimization (MP–GWO) algorithm and non-Dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) were designed to solve the path planning and task allocation models, respectively. Both algorithms were validated compared with traditional algorithms through simulation experiments, and the sensitivity analysis of different scenarios were conducted. Results from benchmark tests and case studies indicate that the improved MP–GWO algorithm outperforms the grey wolf optimizer (GWO), pelican optimizer (POA), Harris hawks optimizer (HHO), coyote optimizer (CPO), and particle swarm optimizer (PSO) in solving more complex optimization problems, providing better average results, greater stability, and effectively reducing flight time and path cost. At the same scenario and benchmark tests, the improved NSGA-II demonstrates advantages in both solution quality and coverage compared to the original algorithm. Sensitivity analysis revealed that with the increase in UAV speed, the flight time in the completion of firefighting mission decreases, but the average number of remaining fire-extinguishing balls per UAV initially decreases and then rises with a minimum of 1.9 at 35 km/h. The increase in UAV load capacity results in a higher average of remaining fire-extinguishing balls per UAV. For example, a 20% increase in UAV load capacity can reduce the number of UAVs from 11 to 9 to complete firefighting tasks. Additionally, as the number of fire points increases, both the required number of UAVs and the total remaining fire-extinguishing balls increase. Therefore, the results in the current study can offer an effective solution for multiple UAVs firefighting task planning in forest fire scenarios. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 42885 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study and Application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Releasing Fire-Extinguishing Bomb on Transmission Line Wildfires

by Tejun Zhou, Yu Liu, Wei Wu and Tiannian Zhou

Fire 2024, 7(12), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire7120456 - 4 Dec 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1288

Abstract

Experimental studies on the application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to extinguish high-repeatability transmission line wildfires are not available. In this study, a scheme involving a UAV releasing a fire-extinguishing bomb at a high altitude for firefighting was proposed, and a simulated fire-extinguishing experimental platform was constructed to simulate a UAV releasing a fire-extinguishing bomb. In addition, the characteristics of water-based fire-extinguishing bombs of 5, 10, 20, and 50 kg as well as dry powder bombs of 25, 30, and 50 kg were investigated by changing parameters such as the type and mass of the fire-extinguishing agent carried by the bombs. It was noted that a 30 kg or more dry powder fire-extinguishing bomb could extinguish a fire in four 1A cribs at one time. The diffusion area of the fire-extinguishing medium was obtained from the perspective of the UAV. The diffusion area was 45–90 m² for the water-based fire-extinguishing bomb and 130–700 m² for the dry powder bomb. As calculated from the area of the fire scene extinguished by each fire-extinguishing bomb per unit mass, the utilization rate of a fire-extinguishing medium was highest with the 30 kg fire-extinguishing bomb, followed by the 50 kg bomb. In the high wildfire incidence period during the Qingming Festival in 2024, a UAV was used to release fire-extinguishing bombs to extinguish an incipient wildfire near a transmission line at a Hunan Power Grid site. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3761 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Forest Road Network Suitability in Relation to the Spatial Occurrence of Wildfires in Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems

by Mohsen Mostafa, Mario Elia, Vincenzo Giannico, Raffaele Lafortezza and Giovanni Sanesi

Fire 2024, 7(6), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire7060175 - 22 May 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1712

Abstract

Identifying the relationship between forest roads and wildfires in forest ecosystems is a crucial priority to integrate suppression and prevention within wildfire management. In various investigations, the interaction of these elements has been studied by using road density as one of the anthropogenic dependent variables. This study focused on the use of a broader set of metrics associated with forest road networks, such as road density, the number of links (edges), and access percentage based on two effect zones (road buffers of 75 m and 97 m). These metrics were employed as response variables to assess forest road network suitability in relation to wildfires, specifically the number and size of fires (2000–2021), using the Apulia region (Italy) as a case study. In addition, to enhance the comprehensive understanding of road networks in forest ecosystems in relation to wildfires, this study considered various affecting factors, including land-cover data (forest, maquis, natural grassland), geomorphology (slope, aspect), vegetation (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)), and morphometric indexes (Topographic Position Index (TPI), Terrain Ruggedness Index (TRI), Topographic Wetness Index (TWI)). We used geographically weighted regression (GWR) and ordinary least squares (OLS) to analyze the interaction between forest road metrics and dependent variables. Results showed that the GWR models outperformed the OLS models in term of statistical results such as R² and the Akaike Information Criterion (AICc). We found that among road metrics, road density and number of links do not effectively demonstrate the correlation between roads and wildfires as a singular criterion. However, they prove to be a beneficial supplementary variable when considered alongside access percentage, particularly within the 75-m buffer zone. Our findings are used to discuss implications for forest road network planning in a broader wildfire management analysis. Our findings demonstrate that forest roads are not one-dimensional and static infrastructure; rather, they are a multi-dimensional and dynamic structure. Hence, they need to be analyzed from various perspectives, including accessibility and ecological approaches, in order to obtain an integrated understating of their interaction with wildfire. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 2227 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Socio-Psychological, Economic and Environmental Effects of Forest Fires

by Stavros Kalogiannidis, Fotios Chatzitheodoridis, Dimitrios Kalfas, Christina Patitsa and Aristidis Papagrigoriou

Fire 2023, 6(7), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070280 - 21 Jul 2023

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 8736

Abstract

One of the most common forest disturbances, fire, has a significant influence on the people, societies, economies, and environment of countries all over the world. This study explores the different environmental and socioeconomic effects of forest fires to establish priorities for countries in battling and mitigating the harmful effects of forest fires based on data collected from 382 professionals working in Greece’s forestry and agriculture sectors. Secondary data, especially from Statista, were further utilized to enhance the analytical comparisons and conclusions of this study. Wildfires in Greece destroy agricultural land and greatly impact the rural economy and community. This study showed that forest fires have led to several economic costs, mainly affecting the incomes of different investors in the forest sector in Greece. It was revealed that the overall cost of a fire is determined by the direct and indirect expenditures as well as the price of fire control and preventative methods. Direct expenses are broken down into two categories: direct damage that occurs immediately and direct losses that are caused immediately after a fire. Governments should take the initiative to create and expand bilateral and/or multilateral cooperation and coordination, as well as exchange necessary financial resources, technology, and training, to reduce the effects of forest fires in a fragile international man-made and natural environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 370 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The 2017 Extreme Wildfires Events in Portugal through the Perceptions of Volunteer and Professional Firefighters

by Vittorio Leone, Mario Elia, Raffaella Lovreglio, Fernando Correia and Fantina Tedim

Fire 2023, 6(4), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6040133 - 24 Mar 2023

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5118

Abstract

This study aimed to explore differences in the perceptions of professional and voluntary firefighters regarding the extreme wildfire events that occurred in Portugal in 2017. We collected a sample of 185 participants, professional and voluntary firefighters, who directly participated in suppression activities for the Pedrógão Grande and October 2017 wildfires in Portugal. They were on duty in 149 fire stations in the Central Region of Portugal. A questionnaire was sent via Google Form to participants, based mainly on close-ended and two open-ended questions. It was structured into topics concerning the characteristics of wildfire events, the problems that occurred during the suppression activity, the emotional response of participants to the events, the lessons learned, and the consequences. We found significant differences between the two groups in their perception of wildfire characteristics and their perception of the worst fires they had ever experienced. Some differences were found in their discussion of the suppression phase and their emotional response to fires. On the contrary, the two groups appear to be homogeneous when it comes to no significant changes after the deadly 2017 experience in terms of the fight against rural fires, organization, training, prevention, and careers. The results underline the inadequacy of the suppression model vs. extreme wildfire events, and also its limits from the point of view of psychological reactions and the perception of management problems occurring in extreme and complex events. There is a research gap and no examples in Portugal about the perception of firefighters of the complex flow of activities that characterize the suppression operation of extreme wildfire events. Our research fills this gap. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires)

17 pages, 2382 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Volatile Oil in Pinus yunnanensis Potentially Contributes to Extreme Fire Behavior

by Feng Chen, Liqing Si, Fengjun Zhao and Mingyu Wang

Fire 2023, 6(3), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6030113 - 12 Mar 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2315

Abstract

Volatile oils in forest fuel can significantly affect forest fire behavior, especially extreme fire behavior, e.g., deflagration, fire storms, blowups, eruptive fires and crown fires. However, how these oils influence fire behavior remains unclear, as few qualitative studies have been performed globally. In the present study, we compared the volatile oil contents and components in live branches and surface dead fuel of Pinus yunnanensis Franch, which is widely distributed in Southwest China, to explore their potential effects on extreme fire behavior. Fifteen samples of live branches and fifteen samples of surface dead fuel were collected. Volatile oils were extracted from the samples using steam distillation, and their components were identified and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results show that the volatile oil content in live branches was as high as 8.28 mL·kg⁻¹ (dry weight) and was significantly higher than that in surface dead fuel (3.55 mL·kg⁻¹). The volatile oil content in the P. yunnanensis forest was 126.12 kg per hectare. The main volatile oil components were terpenoids, of which monoterpenes accounted for the highest proportion based on their content (62.63%), followed by sesquiterpenes (22.44%). The terpenoid compounds in live branches were more abundant than those in surface dead fuel. Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes in volatile oils in forest fuel have low boiling points, high calorific values and a lower explosion limit (LEL; 38.4 g·m⁻³), which are important characteristics in the manifestation of extreme fire behavior such as deflagration. The analysis results indicate that when heated, the oily gases from P. yunnanensis forest could fill 3284.26 m³ per hectare, with a gas concentration reaching the LEL. We conclude that volatile oil in P. yunnanensis has an important influence on the manifestation of extreme fire behavior, and live branches have a greater effect than surface dead fuel. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Firefighting Approaches and Extreme Wildfires

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (8 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI