Course Syllabus
Fire Technology 160: Wildland Fire Control I
Palomar College – Fall 2021
Location
Distance Learning / Live Zoom and Canvas
Day / Time
Mondays and Wednesdays 9:35 AM – 11:00 AM.
Required Text
Firefighter’s Handbook on Wildland Firefighting, Strategy, Tactics and Safety, 4th Edition
William C. Teie, Fire Protection Publications, Oklahoma State University
Instructor
Wayne Hooper
Associate Professor, Fire Technology
I am available via email during the week. I will respond within 24 hours in most cases, or sooner. This is the preferred method of communicating with me. Please contact me as frequently as needed for any questions, any time!
Office Hours:
By appointment
Monday: 0730-0800; 1230-1330 hrs. & 1700-1800 hrs.
Tuesday: 1700-1800 hrs.
Wednesday: 0730-0800; 1230-1330 hrs.
Course Description and Objective
Fire 160 provides an introduction to employed firefighters or fire service majors with a fundamental knowledge of the factors affecting wildland fire prevention, fire behavior, and control techniques.
Student Learning Outcomes
The student will be able to define and describe wildland firefighting.
The students will describe the science, principles and skills necessary to enhance their
effectiveness as a wildland firefighter and provide for safety.
Observation and evaluation from any of the following: quizzes, exams, written and oral assignments.
Grading System
Semester grades will take into account all points attained for assignments, quizzes, book report, presentation and exams, as well as any extra credit earned by the student.
Movie Review 100
Documentary Review 100
Presentation (Group) 100
Book Report 200
Quizzes 400
Midterm 100
Final 200
TOTAL POINTS 1,200 (Possible)
Please Note: All late work will be marked down 20%. The last day to turn in late work is December 14, 2021, by 11:59 pm.
A = 90 - 100%
B = 80 - 89%
C = 70 - 79%
D = 60 - 69%
F = 0 - 59%
Documentary Review
Students will watch the documentary on the "South Canyon" fire (aka. Storm King Mountain) and answer questions listed in the assignment. This assignment is worth 100 points and is due September 22, 2021. See "Assignments" for details.
Movie Review
Students will watch the movie, "Only the Brave" and write a review, which will include some questions that need to be included in the review. This assignment is worth 100 points and is due October 13, 2012. See "Assignments" for details.
Book Report
“Land on Fire, Gary Ferguson. Timber Press 2017”. Minimum of 4 pages. Students will read this book and provide an overview on it and how the book details our current Wildland fire problems along with recommended solutions. It must be NO LESS THAN 4 DOUBLE-SPACED Pages, SIZE 12 / New Times Roman FONT (papers under 4 pages will be marked down a full grade). Papers will be graded to a college-level standard of writing. Please, no pictures, graphs, etc. You are being graded on writing skills. Please use the MLA format for your paper. This Book Report is worth 150 points and is due November 8, 2021. Book Reports that are turned in after the due date will have a 20% point deduction applied.
Quizzes
There are 15 quizzes, including the Syllabus quiz. Each chapter quiz has 15 questions worth 2 points each (The Syllabus quiz is only 10 questions and Quiz 14 is not graded). You will have 1 hour to complete the quiz once you start. You must finish the quiz once started. You must complete the quiz prior to the due date listed for each quiz. Each quiz will be available for several days after we complete a chapter. This is an open book quiz. Quizzes cannot be made up.
Exams
There will be one Mid-Term Exam and one comprehensive Final Exam. The Final Exam will be given on December 15, 2021.
Group Presentation
You will be assigned to a group of 5 (may vary) students. Each group will be required to give a presentation on a major fire (i.e. Camp Fire, Cedar Fire, Witch Creek Fire, etc.). The Fires will be assigned to each group by the Professor. Each group will give a Power Point Presentation lasting from 10-15 minutes. Items to include would be Weather, Topography and Fuel; Time Charts/Maps; Statistics ( number of firefighters assigned, injuries/deaths, number of structures destroyed, acreage burned, number of people evacuated; length of time the fire burned, etc.) and any unusual events that occurred on your fire. This presentation will be via Zoom. Presentations will be given November 15 and 17.
This assignment is worth 100 points You will be graded as a Group. Each member of the Group will receive the same number of points. If you do not participate in the Group, you will not receive credit for this assignment.
Your group will be graded on both content and depth. Part of the grade will be time management (10-15 minutes). Some tips for your presentation: Include pictures, graphs, time lines, video clips (maximum 2 minutes), limited number of bullet points on each slide and statistics. Try to include some personal aspects of the fire and the impacts to the community the fire had. It is up to the Group on how they will present the Power Point presentation.
Course Schedule Fall 2021 *Subject to Change
Date Material Covered / Material Due
August 23 Introduction / Syllabus Review
August 25 Chapter 1
August 30 Chapter 1
Sept. 1 Chapter 1
Sept. 6 Holiday – Labor Day
Sept. 8 Chapter 1
Sept. 13 Chapter 2
Sept. 15 Chapter 2
Sept. 20 Chapter 3
Sept. 22 Chapter 3 / Documentary Review Due
Sept. 27 Chapter 4
Sept. 29 Chapter 4
Oct. 4 Chapter 5
Oct. 6 Chapter 5
Oct. 11 Chapter 6
Oct. 13 Chapter 6 / Movie review, "Only the Brave" due
Oct. 18 Chapter 7
Oct. 20 Mid-term (Chapters 1 – 7)
Oct. 25 Chapter 8
Oct. 27 Chapter 8
Nov. 1 Chapter 9
Nov. 3 Chapter 9
Nov. 8 Chapter 10 / Book Report due !!!
Nov. 10 Chapter 10
Nov. 15 Group Presentations
Nov. 17 Group Presentations
Nov. 22 & 24 Thanksgiving Break
Nov. 29 Chapter 11
Dec. 1 Chapter 12
Dec. 6 Chapter 13
Dec. 8 Chapter 14
Dec. 13 Chapter 14 Quiz (taken as a class) / Final Review
December 15 Final Exam
Disclosure of Disabilities to Instructors/Staff: If you have specific disabilities and require special accommodations, please let me know right away. DRC (Disability Resource Center) will, upon student request, inform faculty/staff about functional and/or educational limitations and about recommended accommodations. For further information, please go to http://www.palomar.edu/dsps/.
Nondiscrimination Policy
All students in this class have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment. Please refer to the Palomar College catalog for full details.
Standards of Student Conduct
If a student requires assistance with writing skills, please contact an instructor. Please refer to your Student Handbook for consequences of plagiarism, forgery, duplicating, fabricating or counterfeiting documents - the college does not take these matters lightly. It's OK to cite other people's work - you just have to reference the material appropriately.
Actions that result in Poor Outcomes – What to AVOID
- Skip class (classes)
- Show up late repeatedly
- Turn in assignments late
- Don’t turn in assignments at all
- Skip the homework or turn it in late
- Don’t study or read materials prior to coming to class
- Don’t bother keeping the instructor informed if you are going to miss or if you are having any difficulty
- Violate any portion of the Palomar College Student Code of Conduct
- Sit in class – disconnected from the moment and passing up the opportunity to interact with the instructor and fellow students, while missing a valuable experience
- Disrupt the learning process with electronic devices of any kind
- Disrupt the learning process by arriving late or leaving early before the end of class
Methods for Success – What you want to try to do
- KEEP ALL GRADED AND RETURNED MATERIALS ACCESSIBLE TO YOU – Accountability matters in the all parts of the Fire Service. But we are also human. If a grading mistake is made and you have the document in hand, it can be favorably resolved
- Read the Chapters prior to the day we are scheduled to cover it in class
- If you don’t know something, or if the materials presented in class don’t make sense, then ask questions. Chances are that others have the same question. Your education is everyone’s responsibility – including yours
- Be involved. For example: sit near the front, act engaged, raise hands during overhead questions, be a contributor for the give-and-take of information exchange. Teach us all something you know and come in ready to learn yourself. Preparation will pay off, now and long term – in all aspects of life. Learning is social and best done in groups
- Turn in material on time or even early
- Have a buddy system for taking notes and relaying information on anything that may have been missed due to an absence or having to leave early or arriving late
- Have fun
- Play by the rules and do not compromise your integrity or the College’s take on Academic Integrity
Course Summary:
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