The IAWF will be hosting the 2002 Wildland Fire Safety Summit in conjunction with the Fourth International Conference on Forest Fire Research, in Lisbon, Portugal, Nov. 18-23. This will be the IAWF's sixth annual Safety Summit.

The IAWF Safety Summit is offered in a different location each year, rotating among the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. The meeting relies on small, moderated breakout groups to identify safety problems and solutions. The 2001 Safety Summit in Missoula, Mont., was the largest meeting to date, attracting more than 500 participants and 40 vendors. Keynote speakers included Jerry Williams, director of Fire and Aviation for the Forest Service, and Don Artley, Montana state forester and chair of the National Wildfire Coordination Group.

The 2002 Safety Summit will take on an even more international feel than previous summits because of its association with the larger International Conference on Forest Fire Research. The ICFFR conference attracts speakers and attendees from around the globe. Also, special scholarships are available for attendees from developing countries.

Although the official language of the conference will be English, translations will be provided in Portuguese, French and Spanish, if needed.

The IAWF will be coordinating a short pre-conference firefighter safety course on Nov. 16, which will be presented by Dick Mangan, Ewan Ferguson and Francisco Rodrigues. During the conference, a roundtable discussion of safety issues will be held, and a post-conference workshop on fire behavior and firefighter safety will be organized by Dr. Wendy Catchpole. In addition, several safety-related papers will be presented during the conference.

“Of all the IAWF Safety Summits, this one probably has the most international participation,” said Mike DeGrosky, IAWF board member and member of the organizing committee. “We would encourage our members to consider attending because there are tremendous benefits when we compare our notes and ideas with our counterparts from around the world.”

Participation in the conference is very limited due to space and demand. Interested individuals will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information visit <www.safetysummit.org>.