IAWF hosts safety summit in Toronto

             

The International Association of Wildland Fire held the Seventh Annual International Wildland Fire Safety Summit Nov. 18-20 in Toronto. The event was hosted by the Aviation and Forest Fire Management Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. There were 180 people in attendance from Australia, Canada and the United States.

IAWF President Bruce Suenram welcomed the summit, and Trevor Woods, manager of Forest Fire Management for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, gave the opening remarks. Speakers for the summit submitted papers and a committee selected the presenters from their submissions. Twenty speakers presented information on safety issues relevant to wildland firefighting.

Each afternoon, attendees split up into breakout sessions to address the various wildland fire safety issues that had been presented that day. These issues will be summarized and sent to the appropriate agencies to address.

At the banquet, guest speaker Steve Bachop of the British Columbia Ministry of Forests Protection Program, addressed attendees. The IAWF awarded the annual Wildland Fire Safety Award to Marty Alexander, senior fire behavior research officer of the Canadian Forest Service, for his contributions to firefighter safety through fire behavior research as well as his interest in training and upcoming fire behavior analysis.

The 2004 International Fire Safety Summit will be held in Australia. Dates and location will be announced in the next issue.