Standards Development

Scope

The primary focus of this International Standard is to present a methodology for assessing the adverse environmental impact of wildland fires and wildland firefighting operations. It includes guidance for incident commanders and other responsible or affected parties when decisions regarding firefighting strategies, tactics, and restoration are made. It does not include specific instruction on compiling and reporting the information needed to assess environmental damage caused by a fire incident, nor does it include specific sampling methodologies and analysis requirements. These topics are the focus of ISO 26367‑1 and ISO 26367‑2.This International Standard includes guidance for assessment of air and water pollution; impacts on soils and soil fertility; impacts on wildlife and vegetation; and effects of smoke and gas exposure on firefighters and exposed human populations. It also includes environmental impacts of firefighting activities and environmental impact on the built environment. A secondary focus is to establish guidelines for post-fire mitigation of the adverse impact of wildland fires on the environment.The wildland fires covered include both natural wildfires and man-initiated fires, including prescribed burning and agricultural fires, but not peat fires nor coal seam fires.This International Standard is intended to serve as a tool for the development of standard protocols for:(i)the assessment of local and remote adverse environmental impacts of wildland fires;(ii)the assessment of the effects of smoke and gas exposure on firefighters and exposed human populations.The Standard does not address fire damage to the built environment; direct acute toxicity issues, which are covered by other ISO standards; nor does it address economic impact. The impact of climate change is discussed in Annex D.