Prescribed burning is often mentioned as a tool to prevent wildfires. Few data exist to support this premise. The purpose of this research was to show that prescribed burning is an effective long-term wildfire prevention tool. The study used a descriptive historical research methodology. The research questions to be answered were:

1. Does prescribed burning reduce the size and intensity of wildfires?

2. Are the effects of prescribed burning as a wildfire prevention tool measurable?

3. Does the use of prescribed burning eliminate the threat of wildfire?

A study was done on the prescribed burning and wildfire data in selected area within the Orlando District of the Florida Division of Forestry.
The results indicate that a sustained program of prescribed burning reduces the number of wildfires, acres burned, and average acres per wildfire. Prescribed burning did not eliminate the threat of wildfire, only ameliorated its effects. The recommendations of the study included further research to document and quantify the benefits of prescribed burning, inform the fire service and the public on the use of prescribed fire for wildfire prevention, and promote the general use of prescribed burning by landowners and land managers.

Traditional methods of wildfire prevention are effective in the short term. The problem is that as these methods are employed, forest fuel loads continue to increase, causing long-term wildfire potential.
The purpose of this research is to show that prescribed burning of forest lands is an effective wildfire prevention tool.

Fire has been a factor in the formation and maintenance of our forests for centuries (Lamprey, 1974). This has occurred from lightening as well as from people. This combination has resulted in our current forest compositions and some of the attitudes the public holds on fire today.

The use of fire in the forests of the United States has come full cycle. Early settlers found Indians using fire in virgin pine stands. They adopted the practice to reduce brush for better access, hunting, and to clear the land for farming. This custom of setting fires plus careless wildfires denuded millions of acres in the South. The increasing wildfire problem caused by many foresters to advocate the exclusion of all fire from the woods (Mobley, Jackson, Balmer, Ruziska, and Hough, 1978). To further this exclusion, "Our roots in European Forestry provided American foresters with a vision of fire proofed forests, there could be no professional forestry without the control of fire" (Bailey, 1989).

The Japanese threat of burning our Western forest resources during World War II led to a strong nationwide effort in wildfire prevention in 1942 (Davis, 1951). In a cooperative effort by the State Foresters, the Wartime Advertising Council, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, a poster was circulated in 1945 featuring Smokey Bear. The Smokey Bear program has been one of the most effective campaigns in history to use an animal symbol. This symbol has influenced public opinion favorably in combating a serious national wildfire problem. Since the program began, wildfires have dropped dramatically in number and acreage burned (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978).

Many forest managers fear that it will be difficult to counterbalance the simple effectiveness of the Smokey Bear fire prevention message with new, more complex information about the potential benefits of fire (Nelson, 1979). The key to public acceptance of prescribed fire in the forest is the use of fire information programs. These programs should address and define the purpose of the prescribed fires and their impact upon wildlife. This helps the public visualize the fire and its benefits. There appears to be growing recognition that fire can play a dual role: one detrimental and one beneficial, and that support for the manager’s use of fire for beneficial objectives may be growing (Stankey, 1976, Rauw, 1980).

The National Fire Academy requires that an applied research project be done as part of its Executive Development Course. This project is an application of problem solving in determining the effectiveness of prescribed burning in preventing wildland fires.

The results of this research are significant to the fire services (wildland and structural) for the following reasons:

• Prescribed burning provides a means of wildfire prevention that is long term because it reduces the buildup of forest fuels.
• Prescribed burning is a pro-active means of wildfire prevention and can be used to compliment other types of traditional passive programs in wildfire prevention.
• Prescribed burning is a highly visible activity that calls attention to fire problem areas, promote fire prevention, and shows tangible results of fire prevention efforts.
• Prescribed burning is a publicity event that will draw media attention and carry the fire prevention message further.
• The effectiveness of prescribed burning as a wildfire prevention tool can be used by forest managers and fire services to educate the public that all fires are not bad; this education can be used to increase the use of prescribed burning to protect structures in the wildland/urban interface.
• These results can be used to educate the public about the multiple roles and benefits of prescribed burning in wildfire prevention, land management, and home safety in the wildland/urban interface.
• The prevention of wildfires protects the health, safety, and general welfare of the public. Prescribed burning can aid the fire services in meeting this public need.

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