The SFPE Educational & Scientific Foundation (SFPE Foundation) is proud to announce a number of initiatives and the availability of resources to address fires in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI).
Updated and Expanded WUI Virtual Handbook, 2nd Edition:
The Foundation is pleased to release the Second Edition of the Wildland-Urban Interface Virtual Handbook for Fire Risk Assessment & Mitigation, on August 19th. Developed with funding from a Fiscal Year 2022 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency Fire Prevention & Safety Grant, the WUI Virtual Handbook broadens the initial edition published in 2023 to include community-level mitigation, in addition to revising and expanding parcel-level assessment and mitigation recommendations.
This new edition of the WUI Virtual Handbook is a flexible tool that can be utilized for a wider range of needs, including (1) training property inspectors, (2) conducting WUI property assessments, (3) engaging with homeowners regarding WUI risks and mitigation activities, and (4) engaging community leaders and stakeholders in understanding WUI fire risks and potential mitigation activities. It has been designed to meet the needs of both more- and less-experienced fire departments and to empower fire service personnel to reduce community risk. Notably, it is not intended to replace any existing tools or programs that departments or communities may already have in place. Instead, we hope that it will be adopted as an open-access companion tool or supplementary guidance wherever needed.
“With more and more areas becoming prone to wildfires, having the WUI Virtual Handbook available free to the fire service is an invaluable resource in addressing this hazard,” stated Assistant Fire Chief Brad Cronin, Chair, SFPE Fire Service Subcommittee and Project Advisory Panel Member. “This versatile reference can be used by departments that have no experience with WUI risk assessments to quickly evaluate areas of their jurisdiction or by those departments that are well-versed in the topic to dial in their methods.”
In addition to expanding parcel-level and community-level content and images, this updated edition includes a website with four videos explaining how to use and share the Handbook, educational flyers, and a basic Parcel-Scale Wildland Risk Assessment Checklist that fire departments (and other stakeholders) can use as a starting point for property fire risk assessment and mitigation in the absence of other similar tools.
It is our intent that use of the WUI Virtual Handbook will result in communities better prepared to assess and address the fire risks associated with living in the wildland-urban interface. The Wildland-Urban Interface Virtual Handbook for Fire Risk Assessment & Mitigation, 2nd Edition can be accessed online or downloaded as a PDF on August 19th at: https://www.sfpe.org/wuihandbook/home
“It is important to promote the 2nd Edition of the SFPE WUI Handbook for Fire Risk Assessment & Mitigation to fire services located in the WUI and with little to no WUI expertise,” concluded Hubert Biteau, Ph.D., P.E., Senior Technical Advisor, Code Red Consultants and Engineering Risk Consultant Team Lead. “It is equally important to identify WUI locations where wildland fires are not currently a threat but may become a challenge in the near future to proactively educate communities on the identification of the foreseen hazards, adequate prevention and mitigation.”
The SFPE Foundation will host a free informational webinar at 12 p.m. ET on August 19th, “Bringing in the Community: Announcing the WUI Virtual Handbook, 2nd Edition”. The free webinar co-hosted by the SFPE Fire Service Subcommittee and the SFPE Foundation, will introduce the expanded content in the virtual handbook and provide guidance for conducting home and community risk assessments in the WUI. The webinar will be presented live and recorded for on-demand viewing. Register to attend the webinar at: https://www.pathlms.com/sfpe/courses/111114
The updated WUI Virtual Handbook is the result of the collaborative efforts of three project teams, a Project Advisory Panel including fire engineering industry and fire service experts, and four pilots hosted by fire departments to evaluate the content and functionality of the WUI Virtual Handbook.
The three project teams developing the Handbook’s 2nd Edition were:
Engineering Technical Consultant team from Jensen Hughes, led by Darlene Rini, P.E.
Engineering Risk Consultant Team from Code Red Consultants, LLC., led by Hubert Biteau, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI
Web Design & Creative Consultant Team from Engineered Fire Systems, Inc. and Bareknuckle Branding, co-led by Daniel Price, P.E., and Bill M. West
Piloting Advanced WUI Training for the Fire Service:
The SFPE Foundation is also pleased that with the support of a Fiscal Year 2023 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency Fire Prevention & Safety Grant, the SFPE Foundation will host a series of in-person and virtual pilots over the next nine months to validate proposed advanced WUI training content for the fire service. Participants in the pilots will provide the SFPE Foundation and its project team with feedback on three course modules covering WUI fire dynamics, WUI fire modeling, and human behavior in WUI fires. Two sessions of an online pilot of the advanced WUI fire engineering training will be hosted in September 2025 and early 2026. Information on how fire service members can volunteer to participate in the online pilots will be shared during the August 19th webinar. In addition, an opportunity to provide feedback on the course curriculum is available as a free, pre-conference seminar at the SFPE 2025 Annual Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Tuesday, October 21st.
New White Paper Published:
In July, the SFPE Foundation published The Contributions of Fire Engineering in Addressing the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Problem [White Paper]. Written by Dr. Pascale Vacca, co-lead of the SFPE Foundation WUI Working Group Initiative, the white paper introduces the work performed by volunteers from around the globe who participated in the SFPE Foundation’s WUI Working Group, culminating in a virtual WUI Summit in 2023. Within the White Paper, the WUI fire problem is analyzed, focusing on how fire engineering can contribute to addressing the issues, knowledge gaps, and informational needs related to WUI fire risks. The White Paper can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.64167/x5h6-75nw.
New Online Library of WUI Resources:
In support of these expanding WUI initiatives, the SFPE Foundation is actively curating an online library of WUI fire engineering research and resources at https://www.sfpe.org/foundation/wildland-urban-interface/wuiresearch. Focusing on research, published articles, and resources that highlight the nexus between the fire engineering profession and WUI research and practice, the collection includes WUI research funded by the SFPE Foundation through the Grand Challenges Initiative and Student Research Grants. The SFPE Foundation anticipates that this dynamic collection of WUI fire engineering research and resources will continue to evolve to serve the needs of the WUI fire engineering community. If you would like to have your open access research or tools included in the collection, please contact Lisa VanBuskirk, P.E., WUI Program Manager, SFPE Foundation.
“Over the last few years, the SFPE Foundation has greatly expanded our efforts to bring fire engineering expertise and resources to addressing the growing wildland-urban interface fire problem, both in the United States and around the world,” said Leslie Marshall, Ph.D., Director, SFPE Foundation. “With the announcement of the Second Edition of the WUI Virtual Handbook, our efforts to develop advanced WUI training modules for the U.S. Fire Service, the publication of a white paper on WUI Fire Engineering, and our efforts to promote and publicize a growing body of global WUI research and resources through our new online library, we hope to demonstrate that fire engineers have a unique and important role to play in this ecosystem, and that we are committed to working alongside our partners — like the U.S. Fire Service, among others — to develop tools, education, research, and resources that fill critical knowledge gaps.”
