Collaboration and resilience building: meet Pau Costa

Juan Caamaño is a firefighter from Spain and a founding member of the Pau Costa Foundation. As the head of Training and Operations, Juan's ground-breaking approach to training, integrating theoretical knowledge, practical applications, and innovative tools like the 'Pau Costa Wildland Fire Simulation Sandbox,' redefines the landscape of wildfire response training. His vision emphasises realistic simulations and hands-on experiences to enhance decision-making during fire incidents.

Your recent participation in the last edition of the Young Civil Protection Professional (YCPP) event in Brussels included conducting a highly successful workshop on Wildfire Response Operations, using past wildfire events to simulate fire behaviour us

We try to make training as realistic as possible. The training I received almost 20 years ago in Spain consisted mainly of theoretical classes but lacked a focus on skills and competencies to apply that knowledge in real environments and scenarios. Therefore, we have established three fundamental pillars in our training projects. First, knowledge is acquired through online platforms and classes. Then, there is the practical, face-to-face part, which involves working in the field or emulating forest fires in classrooms through the digital sandbox. The third pillar involves applying the knowledge and skills acquired for example through EGIF exchange programmes, where theory is put into practice in real scenarios.

The digital sandbox is a tool that has been used for a long time. The concept comes from the military, but we have given it an innovative twist by using a movable projector. We got the idea when we visited ‘La Pinetta’, an academy in Italy that used this type of tool with fixed projectors. We realised it was an invaluable tool to analyse historical fires, understand fire behaviour based on weather patterns and learn applicable lessons to improve our performance. This device allows us to design past operations and generate discussions around those scenarios to improve decision-making in future incidents.

Collaboration is essential in emergency response. How does the Pau Costa Foundation collaborate with scientific institutions or other stakeholders to further its goals in wildfire management?

Much of our collaboration comes from projects launched by DG ECHO or the European Commission as a whole. It is essential for us to participate in these projects, as it allows us to establish partnerships with various institutions and organisations that have different experiences from our own. We collaborate with universities, scientific and research institutions. We are currently collaborating with the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia, universities in Greece and Italy, through projects funded by the European Commission. 

We have seen an increasing number of activations of the civil protection mechanism over the past few years, as it has been used to respond to a growing number of natural disasters. With the changing climate patterns, how does the Foundation adapt its strategies and techniques based on evolving scientific insights into wildfire behaviour? 

In Spain and Portugal, we have seen that the wildfire problem continues to persist and, on many occasions, even worsens. We have observed that the vision of the last 20 years to address the problem in those two countries has focused mainly on investing in more resources, neglecting prevention or the intervention of other institutions and visions in fire prevention, such as livestock, farmers or hunting. All of them have a role in the territory and contribute to how economic activities evolve in it. Additionally, there is climate change, with longer forest fire seasons and adverse weather conditions. 

So how do we meet the challenges of the future? 

It is crucial to work on the landscape, as wildfires develop as a function of the landscape. Focusing solely on ignition, i.e., who starts the fire, does not have a significant impact, as ignitions will be constant and inevitable, whether accidental or not. The real power of fire lies in its ability to spread through the landscape, if you control the landscape (fuel) you will control the fire. 

So, what can we work on? 

We can intervene in the landscape, by returning to good management practices, involving actors such as hunters, farmers, ranchers, businesses, but also protecting the ecosystem, biodiversity, and conservation. It is essential to build consensus among various parties to create a resilient landscape that does not facilitate the spread of large wildfires. The ‘Declaration on the management of large wildfires in Spain’ led by the Pau Costa Foundation is an example of a consensus reached at many levels.

Territorial management will determine whether fires are low intensity due to proper management or high intensity due to lack of intervention. Projects aimed at raising public awareness and eliminating the message of ‘everyone against fire’ are part of our efforts to face the future.

Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?

We have many challenges ahead of us. We live in a very complex world and forest fire remains an extremely difficult thing to deal with. This is not only because of the changing dynamics of the territory, but also because of the need to reach agreements with many people. Our ecosystems developed in a different climate than the one we will have in 20 or 40 years, so it is crucial to help them evolve in a healthy way that is adapted to the new climate they will face.