Who is “Waldbrandteam”?
Who we are… we are a non-profit volunteer NGO consisting of firefighters, who are especially interested in wildland firefighting. Our members are trained to US standards according to the NWCG levels up to Crewboss etc.
We do a lot of training for forestry and fire departments here in Germany and abroad to widen the safety and knowledge about wildland fires and we are also active in the use of fire either to do prescribed burnings for the forestry or local national parks or to use fire against fire in burnout operations during wildfires (not a common tactic used in Germany so far).
Training for fire departments etc.
Our Instructors have years of experience in wildland fire fighting, part of this training was done in the US too. Several assisted the southern European states during wildfires in the past years.
They are all active people in leadership positions in our association.
The trainings we offer are directly orientated to the local needs as the requesting fire department or forestry unit tells us to. It ranges from just theoretical presentations to all-hands-working live fire drills. Even overhead training as for strike team leaders or division superintendents is possible. All in all…you tell us your needs and goals, we fill the gap!
Prescribed fire in land Management
Earlier years saw prescribed fire in use by shepherds e.g. in the Lueneburger Heide area but it went out of sight as a land management tool nowadays. It still is a good tool, versatile wand useful for range and heath management.
Our overhead and the Rx qualified members are trained to international standards e.g. the Rx courses oft he NWCG and we stick closely to the recommendations of the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) at the University of Freiburg under the lead of Prof. Dr. Georg Johann Goldammer (Use of prescribed fire in nature conservation in Europe).
Our association is solely bound to the technical implementation of the fire and the planning of burn patterns etc. The legislator part and the view in the field of nature conservation is not our goal, this has to be done by local stakeholders.
The measures are considered single or multiple measures, as a volunteer NGO we can`t take over long time nature conservation projects for years etc..
Use of fire for direct fire fighting (Burnout ops)
As mentioned before, the fire can also be used as a firefighting tool as a burnout operation. This should be considered especially in the areas where
• It`s too dangerous to put firefighters in the field in times of high fire intensities or local influences like mountaneous terrain
• Inaccessible fire areas
• In areas where UXO puts firefighters at risc.
The burnout ops are then directly coordinated with the local fire fighting forces and the forestry to enhance the safety and effectiveness of the operation.
Fire consulting
Depending on the availabilty of our ressources, the association is able to support fire operations with experienced overhead to support the incident command personnel with knowledge about fire behavior and tactical advices. The support with a small handcrew might also be possible depending on the ressorces and the local needs.
Support us
Supporting us is really easy, we are in need for surplus equipment for handcrews for instance tools like Pulaskies, McLeods, Brush hooks etc. But also Backpack pumps and up to the point of operational motor pumps all is helpful to broaden our back.
Maybe your crew carries used but still serviceable backpacks from last season in a storage room, don`t hesitate to contact us at d.maushake@waldbrandteam.de to ask if we might need stuff you can afford to give away.
Money donations are welcome too but it`s still to be found if they are tax deductible in other countries too. If you wish to make a donation contact us on the email above to get the details.