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Research Paper
Title: Costs of fire suppression forces based on cost-aggregation approach
Author: González-Cabán, Armando; McKetta, Charles W.; Mills, Thomas J.
Date: 1984
Source: Res. Paper PSW-RP-171. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station; 16 p
Station ID: RP-PSW-171
Description: A cost-aggregation approach has been developed for determining the cost of Fire Management Inputs (FMls)-the direct fireline production units (personnel and equipment) used in initial attack and large-fire suppression activities. All components contributing to an FMI are identified, computed, and summed to estimate hourly costs. This approach can be applied to any FMI by any organization with fire protection responsibility. Significant cost differences were found not only among the three State fire organizations studied, but among the three administrative regions within the Forest Service. Hourly suppression cost estimates ranged from $40 per hour for a small engine and 2-person crew in the Southwestern Region to $595 per hour for a 20-person Category II crew in the Pacific Northwest Region. The overhead, basic training, facilities, and equipment cost components were responsible for most of the cost variations.
Key Words: fire management costs, economic costs, fire economics, suppression costs, Fire Economics Evaluation System (FEES)
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Citation
González-Cabán, Armando; McKetta, Charles W.; Mills, Thomas J. 1984. Costs of fire suppression forces based on cost-aggregation approach Res. Paper PSW-RP-171. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station; 16 p.