International Association of Fire Fighters Alberta
IAFF Alberta
Responding to the Interface
Protecting communities from wildfires is no longer a job limited to certain regions. As the line separating urban, suburban, and rural communities has blurred, wildfires are a threat spanning coast to coast. The wildland-urban interface — the zone of transition between unoccupied land and human development — is growing at an astronomical rate, causing enormous loss of property and significant risk to human lives.
Courses Available
Responding to the Interface: Awareness (Online)
A free, 10-hour online training program giving Fire Fighters and company officers a basic understanding of safety, command and control, and strategy and tactics for defending structures from wildfires.
Responding to the Interface: Train the Trainer
A four-day, 32-hour, grant-eligible course that trains fire department instructors to deliver consistent, effective urban-interface response training to their own department. Includes classroom review, teaching-skills methodology, and field training guided by IAFF subject-matter experts.
Responding to the Interface: Operations
A 16-hour course building the knowledge and skills needed to respond to wildland-urban interface incidents — eight hours of classroom review and discussion, followed by eight hours of hands-on training applying tactics and strategies in realistic environments.
Prerequisites
IAFF's Responding to the Interface Awareness course, and FEMA's S-190 Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior. FEMA's S-130 Fire Fighter Training is also suggested.