Understanding defensible space will save property and lives. Photo from Alex Hoon.
Explaining fire behavior and situational awareness will encourage individuals to be partners in the wildland fire solution.
RSG helps to deliver the preparedness message, so residents and firefighters stay safe.
Development in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) poses challenges, but fire departments can make a positive difference.
Welcome
The Ready, Set, Go! (RSG) Program, managed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC),seeks to develop and improve the dialogue between fire departments and the residents they serve. Launched nationally in March 2011 at the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI 2011) Conference, the program helps fire departments to teach individuals who live in high risk wildfire areas – and the wildland-urban interface – how to best prepare themselves and their properties against fire threats. The RSG! Program tenets help residents be Ready with preparedness understanding, be Set with situational awareness when fire threatens, and to Go, acting early when a fire starts.
Now in its second year nationally, the program has over 500 member departments and agencies representative of 46 states. It continues to work in complimentary and collaborative fashion with existing wildland fire public education efforts, like Firewise, and amplifies their messages to individuals to better achieve the common goal we all share of Fire Adapted Communities. They may be called brush fires, grass fires, field fires, railroad fires, outdoor fires, backyard fires, or forest fires, but no matter the name, the risk to residents and resources remains the same.
The RSG! Program provides the implementation guidance; background knowledge; and presentation tools to assist fire departments in delivering the program message:
• Ready – Be ready, be Firewise. Take personal responsibility and prepare long before the threat of a wildland fire so your home is ready in case of a fire. Create defensible space by clearing brush away from your home. Use fire-resistant landscaping and harden your home with fire-safe construction measures. Assemble emergency supplies and belongings in a safe place. Plan escape routes and make sure all those residing within the home know the plan of action.
• Set – Situational awareness. Pack your emergency items. Stay aware of the latest news and information on the fire from local media, your local fire department and public safety.
• Go – Act early! Follow your personal wildland fire action plan. Doing so will not only support your safety,
but will allow firefighters to best maneuver resources to combat the fire.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety still have grants available for member departments of the Ready, Set, Go! Program. The grant funding can assist departments in providing wildland fire preparedness education within their communities.
More Information
View the RSG! Program National Video in English or Spanish by clicking the arrows to the right.
