Fire has long been used as a weapon through history and continues to be an effective means of terrorism to this day.
In his keynote address at the Firehouse World conference in San Diego, Robert Baird, Fire and Aviation Management, U.S. Forest Service, said pyroterrorism is something all responders need to be prepared to combat.
“Arson in the Wildland/Urban interface is a real threat,”. “Anything we can do to reduce it is a real accomplishment."
Baird gave a quick review of the use of arson and pyroterrorism throughout modern history, starting with the fire balloon bombs Japan launched on the mainland United States during World War II. Of the 9,000 launched, 300 hit the mainland.
In 2004 (NIFC) suggested that Al Queda had plans to start wildland fires in Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, Baird said, noting that all the material he was presenting was unclassified information and his interpretations and analysis were his own.
Raymond Lee Oyler, the man charged and convicted for setting the deadly Esperanza Fire in 2006 that claimed the lives of five firefighters, is yet another example of arson as a form of terrorism. Oyler was also suspected of starting as many as 25 other fires.
The best way to combat pyroterrorism, according to Baird, is to have a “cohesive wildland fire strategy” and to develop partnerships across all agencies to develop good tactical information.
While there may be many challenges to curbing pyroterrorism, Baird said developing “robust intelligence” on suspects and plots will go a long way toward achieving the goal.
It also helps to prevent fuel build-up that can contribute to the severity of wildland fires, Baird said, noting that fire officials need to know when to extinguish fires and when to let them burn to mitigate that potentially threatening fuel build-up.