Spaniards Pick Up Firefighting Tips

The flames in Spain burn about the same--but techniques for fighting them might be improved after Spanish firefighters visited Ventura County earlier this week.

Seven battalion chiefs from Catalonia, the region including Barcelona, came to Ojai for three days of seminars, training and tours of burnt areas with a focus on learning the specifics of a controlled-burning program, pioneered by county officials 10 years ago.

“We are showing them how we attack fires,” said Joe Luna, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. “They are looking at our training center, helicopters, what we use to plan for controlled burns. Basically our department can be like a blueprint for them.”

Widely used in the United States, controlled burning is the systematic, intentional setting of blazes to keep the amount of flammable brush to a minimum. The burned areas also serve as a buffer zone between houses and forests, according to Doug Campbell, a fire behavior analyst.

But the technique is not used in Europe and could be very useful, according to Marc Castellnou, the Spanish firefighter who organized the 10-day trip to California and the only member of the crew who spoke English.

“We have the same weather and vegetation as you do here, but we would just wait for the fire to come and then fight it,” Castellnou said.

Controlled burning would keep the fire from spreading.

Ventura County and Catalonia have very similar topography, with a smattering of houses alongside the chaparral, sage and sumac bushes. The climate and vegetation combined with the residences creates the potential for large and destructive blazes.

On Wednesday morning, in the mountains above Ojai, the Spanish firefighters got a crash course, in translation, on how controlled burns are carried out, how much land is used, where the fires are started and how to control the flames if they get out of control. The seven battalion chiefs will take the techniques back to more than 160 fire stations and try to implement the program with the 2,000 firefighters.

The battalion chiefs who participated are among the most highly trained and skilled in Catalonia, according to Luna. They knew about Ventura’s program because Campbell taught a fire behavior class in Spain last year. Campbell wrote a book detailing step-by-step instructions for the timing of burns, contingency plans and managing the fire’s intensity.

Next year Campbell plans to return to Spain and help them fine-tune their plans.

Besides learning the basics of controlled burns, firing devices, retardants and flare guns, the crew had detailed talks with county officials on how to help residents understand the benefit of purposely setting fires.

“It’s a really different idea for people to think that to keep forests green we need fire,” Castellnou said. “People just say, ‘Are you crazy?’ ”

Some of the techniques used in Ventura such as holding meetings, sending pamphlets to homeowners and inviting the public to small, controlled burns will help residents adjust to the idea, Castellnou said.

Although the crew enjoyed the mountains and the instruction, they grew animated when county fire officials took out the tools, hoses and firefighting paraphernalia stored in the firetruck.

As three firefighters peered inside one of the trucks, a worn teddy bear was pulled from a bag.

“What a good idea. We hadn’t thought of that before,” said Jordi Alcaraz, adding another idea to the list of things to take back home.