Research Information System
Other, pp.16-36, 2015
Contemporary fire management organizations require timely, reliable and easily available information to successfully fight forest fires. This calls for the establishment and existence of a fire management system that deals with fire potential and fire behavior. Today, decision support systems (DSS) have long been a part of fire management organizations in many countries around the world to help fire managers to make sound decisions concerning fire management activities. Fire danger rating systems implemented in many countries are such decision support systems that determine fire potential taking into consideration the environmental factors that have an effect on fire potential and danger. These systems have been successfully used in especially USA, Canada and Australia and are being implemented in countries such as New Zealand, China and some countries in Europe. Although there is a great need for such a system, except for a few studies conducted in recent years, there has been no major undertakings in Turkey to provide a comprehensive solution to the problem soon. This study aims at developing a Fire Weather Index System, a major component of Fire Danger Rating System. FWI system will aid decision makers in fire management activities through predicting fire ignition potential and development from fire weather measurements in a standard fuel type (Pinus brutia). A successful application of the system will prove invaluable in fire training programmes, raising public awareness, suppressing fires, using fires as a management tool and determining fire effects.