The level of strategic and tactical coordination between wildland and structural forces varied significantly from one county to another. Although they were often working side by side on the same fires and supporting each other ’s operations, the two components were usually managed and directed through parallel systems.
During the early stages, the tactical coordination between units in the field was informal and often based on established relationships between individuals. The DOF managers and local fire officers made strategic and tactical decisions based on the situations they encountered and the resources that were available at that time and place.
Most of the fires originated in rural or sparsely populated areas, where wildland tactics were appropriate. Most of the local fire fighters in these areas were trained and equipped for initial attack on small brush fires and were able to provide support to the wildland forces, but they were not prepared to conduct large scale wildland fire fighting operations. Most of their efforts were directed toward attacking fires that were close to roads and structures and protecting built-up areas from encroaching flames.
As the situation progressed, more resources were assigned from structural fire departments in built-up areas to assist on the rural fires. These fire fighters were generally less prepared to fight wildland fires, often lacking the necessary training, experience and equipment. The wildland fire fighters were equally unprepared for structural firefighting.
Looking ahead, the DOF managers and local fire department command officers began to identify areas that would be vulnerable days or weeks in the future, if the weather did not change. They began to plan defensive tactics that could be employed to protect vulnerable built-up areas. In some of the counties the fire departments coordinated local efforts to cut fire breaks and clear brush around these areas.
The coordination between wildland and structural forces became more complicated as the fires became larger, more resources were deployed and the management organizations became more sophisticated. As the wildland incident commands became more structured, with overhead teams assuming command of the major fires and complexes, their planning became more strategic. In many cases the local fire departments were unaware of the strategic plans that were being adopted by the wildland forces. Communications between the wildland and structural forces were often very limited, particularly at the tactical level - units working on the same fire often had no ability to contact each other by radio.
As the situation became critical, the commanders were faced with growing and potentially overwhelming fires that were threatening to overrun built-up areas. At this point the wildland forces placed a priority on establishing strategic defensive containment lines, using geographic features such as major highways, and assigned their resources to make their stands at those locations. The local fire fighters were often committed to defending their own jurisdictional areas, protecting individual structures and neighborhoods. As a result, the structural fire fighters sometimes found themselves out in front of the lines, attempting to defend individual structures, while the assembled wildland resources stood by, waiting for the fire to come to them. Both strategies may have been appropriate for the circumstances, however, there was much consternation over the lack of coordination.
When the fires flared up on July 1st and began to move toward the coast, several highly populated areas were directly exposed, including several communities that are protected by municipal fire departments. This placed several more fire departments on the front line preparing to protect their own communities. In some cases the county and municipal fire departments established unified command structures among themselves as they prepared to defend their territory. The preparations included cutting firebreaks around subdivisions and pre-positioning strike teams to defend vulnerable neighborhoods. The wildland forces were involved in many of these actions, but remained under a separate command structure.
During the most critical period, the battle was fought in the streets of built-up communities, including Palm Coast and Ormond Beach, trying to keep the flames away from individual structures. This action involved both wildland and structural firefighters, often with a mixture of tactics and equipment, including aircraft. During this period the wildland and structural forces tried to coordinate their strategy and tactics by utilizing the same geographic references and organizational designation systems, however, this often proved to be very difficult.
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