TR
EN
What do forest firefighters think about organization and infrastructure problems in combating large forest fires?
Abstract
The occurrence of large forest fires (LFFs) arises from the interaction of various factors, notably including climate change, meteorological conditions, fuel accumulation, and deficiencies in organization and infrastructure. In Türkiye, many LFFs occurred in Antalya and Muğla Regional Directorates of Forestry in 2021. This study aims to evaluate whether problems arising from organization and infrastructure had an impact on the growth of LFFs. A total of 621 forest fire workers, drivers, and operators (FWDs), actively involved in combating the LFFs, responded to survey questions using a nine-point Likert-type scale. Statistical differences in responses were analysed using the Mann-Whitney U test. The study's results indicate that problems stemming from personnel employment, the amount of construction equipment, the quantity of aircraft, fire suppression infrastructure, communication and coordination, and occupational health and safety have a moderate impact on the growth of forest fires. Since long-term and uninterrupted work causes inefficiency in LFFs, 52% of FWDs consider a working duration of 1-3 days adequate for LFFs. A statistical difference between the evaluations of two groups for 13 different factors presented in the study was found only in terms of the lack of personnel in the fire trucks and ground teams. In the fight against forest fires, the strength of land crews and the infrastructure support—such as water resources and forest roads—are just as important and effective as the use of technological tools like aircraft, fire trucks, and construction machinery.
Keywords
Ethical Statement
Yazarlar çalışmanın tüm süreçlerinin araştırma ve yayın etiğine uygun olduğunu, etik kurallara ve bilimsel atıf gösterme ilkelerine uyulduğunu beyan etmektedir.
References
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- AFC, 2019. Innovative Approaches in Combating Forest Fires Working Group Document, III. Agriculture and Forestry Council (AFC), Ankara.
- Attiwill, P., Binkley, D., 2013. Exploring the mega-fire reality: A Forest Ecology and Management conference. Forest Ecology and Management, 294:1–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2012.12.025.
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- Balch, J.K., Bradley, B.A., Abatzoglou, J.T., Nagy, R.C., Fusco, E. J., Mahood, A. L., 2017. Human-started wildfires expand the fire niche across the United States. Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences, 114(11): 2946–2951. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1617394114.
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- Bilgili, E., 2003. Stand development and fire behavior. Forest Ecology and Management, 179(1): 333-339.
- Bilgili, E., Baysal, İ., Dinç Durmaz, B., Sağlam, B., Küçük, Ö., 2010. Evaluating big forest fire break out in Türkiye in 2008. Third National Black Sea Forestry Congress, 20-22 May 2008, Artvin, pp. 1270-1279.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Forestry Fire Management
Journal Section
Research Article
Publication Date
June 30, 2025
Submission Date
March 21, 2025
Acceptance Date
June 5, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2025 Volume: 26 Number: 2
APA
Şafak, İ., & Karademir, D. (2025). What do forest firefighters think about organization and infrastructure problems in combating large forest fires? Turkish Journal of Forestry, 26(2), 148-156. https://doi.org/10.18182/tjf.1662491
AMA
1.Şafak İ, Karademir D. What do forest firefighters think about organization and infrastructure problems in combating large forest fires? Turkish Journal of Forestry. 2025;26(2):148-156. doi:10.18182/tjf.1662491
Chicago
Şafak, İsmail, and Devrim Karademir. 2025. “What Do Forest Firefighters Think about Organization and Infrastructure Problems in Combating Large Forest Fires?”. Turkish Journal of Forestry 26 (2): 148-56. https://doi.org/10.18182/tjf.1662491.
EndNote
Şafak İ, Karademir D (June 1, 2025) What do forest firefighters think about organization and infrastructure problems in combating large forest fires? Turkish Journal of Forestry 26 2 148–156.
IEEE
[1]İ. Şafak and D. Karademir, “What do forest firefighters think about organization and infrastructure problems in combating large forest fires?”, Turkish Journal of Forestry, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 148–156, June 2025, doi: 10.18182/tjf.1662491.
ISNAD
Şafak, İsmail - Karademir, Devrim. “What Do Forest Firefighters Think about Organization and Infrastructure Problems in Combating Large Forest Fires?”. Turkish Journal of Forestry 26/2 (June 1, 2025): 148-156. https://doi.org/10.18182/tjf.1662491.
JAMA
1.Şafak İ, Karademir D. What do forest firefighters think about organization and infrastructure problems in combating large forest fires? Turkish Journal of Forestry. 2025;26:148–156.
MLA
Şafak, İsmail, and Devrim Karademir. “What Do Forest Firefighters Think about Organization and Infrastructure Problems in Combating Large Forest Fires?”. Turkish Journal of Forestry, vol. 26, no. 2, June 2025, pp. 148-56, doi:10.18182/tjf.1662491.
Vancouver
1.İsmail Şafak, Devrim Karademir. What do forest firefighters think about organization and infrastructure problems in combating large forest fires? Turkish Journal of Forestry. 2025 Jun. 1;26(2):148-56. doi:10.18182/tjf.1662491