These test lab requirements are available for Scouts until June 30, 2026. At that time, these requirements will disappear and the surveys will be closed. Learn more About the Test Lab.
Every year, millions of acres, throughout the United States are lost to destructive wildfires. Billions of dollars are spent annually and the loss of property and life is catastrophic. Smoke from American and Canadian wildfires can spread across the country affecting the public health of millions of people annually. Wildfire has become a national crisis in the United States.
As destructive as wildfire can be, managed wildland fire can also be beneficial. Fire plays a critical process in many ecosystems and can enhance habitats, reduce fuel loads and support forest regeneration.
Understanding and managing wildland fire is a complex undertaking. Striking a balance between preventing and supressing harmful human-caused wildfire while promoting beneficial fire in the landscape will be the challenge as we continue to live with fire in the United States.
As Scouts, we can learn and do our part to make our homes, our camps and our communities more resilient and resistant to wildfire and we can understand the natural role that fire plays in our nation’s wildlands. We can explore and consider careers in wildland fire management or even become wildland firefighters, The future of wildland fire management in the United States will require leaders who are conservation-minded.
Welcome to Wildland Fire Management Badge, where you will learn about these concepts and more! Watch these videos to get started:
1. Explain the history of wildland fire, its suppression, prevention and management in America.
2. Explain the harm caused by wildfire in the United States. Discuss the negative impacts that wildfire can have on the following resources.
3. Define prescribed fire. Explain how it is used to accomplish the following:
4. Explain defensible space and define the term wildland-urban interface. Discuss how homes and communities in the wildland-urban interface can be protected from wildfire.
5. Explain the main causes of wildfire in America. Explain how you can prevent wildfires in your community or on an outing with your unit.
6. Describe the Fire Triangle. Explain how wildfires can be suppressed by removing each element of the fire triangle.
7. Explain how the fire environment affects wildland fire behavior. Give examples of the influences of weather, topography and fuel. Draw a diagram to illustrate the parts of a wildfire.
8. Explain the following wildland fire suppression tactics and under which conditions they would be used to achieve objectives. Use your own diagrams if necessary.
9. Describe 10 tools, equipment or apparatus that are unique to wildland fire suppression and explain how these items are used.
10. Describe the personal protective equipment used by wildland firefighters. Explain why personal protective equipment and proper training is necessary.
11. Describe the following and explain why each is an important consideration for maintaining personal safety and situational awareness during wildland fire suppression activities.
12. List the major government agencies involved with fire suppression in the United States, and the role that these agencies play in fire suppression.
13. Draw a diagram of the Incident Command System. Explain the functions of the positions that make up the Command and General Staff.
14. Learn about three career opportunities in wildland fire. Select one and research the education, training, and experience required for this position. Discuss this position with your counselor, and explain why a career in wildland fire might interest you.
15. Do one of the following:
16. Research an historic catastrophic wildland fire incident that has occurred in the United States. Write a report of no less than 500 words describing the incident, the conditions that led to the incident, how the incident was managed, and how the incident could have been prevented. Explain what lessons were learned and how this incident affected future fire suppression policy or suppression tactics. There are many historic fires that can be researched online, here are four examples.
17. Complete the survey below to complete the test lab requirements
You decide if this activity becomes an official Merit Badge of Scouting America. By filling out the survey, you vote for or against this becoming a Merit Badge. You can also suggest changes to make the merit badge more engaging. The fate of this potential merit badge rests in your hands. Come back and complete the survey after you finish the requirements to make your voice heard and to get your certificate of completion.
Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies
Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments
Managing Member Calje
David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.