1. Forest Fire Protection in Poland

2. Ownership structure
Nowadays forest area in Poland covers 9,2 million hectares (according to 2015 data from Central Statistical Office), which is 29,5% of the country’s territory, and as it is shown they are mostly owned by the state.

3. Forestry of voivodeships
The most forested
administrative districts of the
country are: Lubusz Voivodeship
(49,2%),  Subcarpathian
Voivodeship  (38,1%),
and Pomeranian Voivodeship 
(36,4%).
The least forested are: Łódź
Voivodeship (21,3%), Masovian
Voivodeship (23,3%), and Lublin
Voivodeship (23,2%).

4. PROTECTIVE (ENVIRONMENTAL) functions of forests
Protective forests have positive impact on shaping of the local and global climate, regulation of water cycle in nature, prevention of floods, avalanches and landslides, protection of soil against erosion and landscape against steppisation.

5. OTHER FUNCTIONS OF FORESTS
PRODUCTIVE (ECONOMIC) primarily production of renewable biomass, including timber and non-timber products and effective management of hunting
SOCIAL providing health- enhancing and recreational conditions for society, contributing to the labour market and helping to develop environmental awareness in society

6. Selected regulations for forest fire protection
Regulation of the Minister of Municipal Economy of July 14, (Journal of Laws No. 40, item 303)
Fire Protection Act of 1991, with the amendment introduced in 2009, which lists literally forests.
The forests act of 1991, with a delegation introduced  in 1997.
Ordinance of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of June 7, 2010 on the fire protection  of buildings, other buildings and sites. (Journal of Laws of 2 010 No. 109, item 719)
Ordinance of the Minister of Environment of March 22, on detailed rules for forest fire protection (Journal of laws of 2006 No. 58, item 405)

7. objects provided with the special fire protection:
national parks
nature reserves
ecological use
landscape couples
areas of protected landscape
natural-landscape teams
documentary positions
natural features of historic importance
botanic gardens

8. FOREST FIRES
There were forest fires in 2015 which is more than in the previous year. The burnt area covered 5510 ha. The main causes of forest fires in Poland were: arson and negligence, and the fires with unknown cause took 37% of all.

9. Fire Weather
It is a sum of unfavorable weather conditions which cause an easy rise and spread of a fire. Fire weather can be conventionally divided into static and dynamic. This division is due to the differentiation of the linear rate of spread of the resulting fire and the stability of the direction of its development.
Basic meteorological elements characterized by dynamic fire weather, according to their size are:
long period without rain,
relative humidity of less than 40%,
Wind more than 5 m / s,
gusty wind often changing direction,
cloudiness below 5,
the air temperature exceeding 20°C.

10. Factors driving the forest fire hazard
Forest fire hazard are shaped by the following factors:
possibility of the appearance of embers of the fire able to ignite the soil cover
the kind of combustible materials being in places of the appearance of embers of the fire, their amount and arranging on forest surfaces or in the immediate vicinity
meteorological parameters determining the humidity of soil cover and other materials being in the forest
Deciding on appearing of factors shaping a fire hazard of our forests are:
season
the age and the species composition of tree stands and the type of the soil cover
intensity of economic treatments in the forest and way of using tree stands
communication roads network and traffic intensity on these roads
tourist-holiday attraction of the forest and the abundance of foetus of the forest fleece
Location of human settlements in forests
other local conditions

11. Methods of determining a fire hazard of forest
Szczygieł’s method - prognostic method and known as „risk of fire hazard”
Generalized formula: R = (Ktp + Kwp) ⋅ Kwś
R - point value of risk of fire
Ktp - rate resulting from the current or predicted air temperature,
Kwp - rate resulting from the current or predicted relative humidity of air,
Kwś - rate resulting from the current or predicted humidity of the pine litter.
Forestry Research Institute’s method - measurement of humidity of litter from pine stand III (40-60 years old) growing on fresh borers, relative air humidity at the height of 0.5 m by the wall of the tree stand and atmospheric precipitation

12. Classification of forest areas according to fire hazard
The purpose of classifying forest areas in terms of forest fire risk is planning and implementation of strategic ventures to enable and secure effective firefighting measures and the reduction of fire losses. These projects can be divided into three broad categories:
Forest management aimed at the natural immunization of tree stands on the spread of fires and limiting the speed of their development
Engineering terrain reinforcement enabling effective firefighting operations with minimal force and resources
In threatened areas, providing sufficient forces and means of intervention and an adequate level of training of rescuers.

13. Prevention of fires
Fire prevention is a multifaceted effort to prevent fire, delay its development and reduce the area covered by fire until the firefighting measures are taken. The man is the main cause of fires, hence the basis of information and warning-directed propaganda to the people should be detailed monitoring of the causes, time and place of formation of fires. As the fire risk increases over the year and the number of fires increases, this activity needs to be intensified, using the press, radio and television, and involving people and institutions of high trust and authority.

14. Fire hazard sign
How TO inform about forest fire

15. FIREBREAKS
Type A - reducing the fire load in the tree stand, up to 30 metres deep into of forest, than outside of him border, which embers of the fire can come into existence by
Type B - spontaneous the arrest of development of the fire of the lid of the soil and enabling to base firefighting operations on it with hand equipment
Type C - isolating objects and in every other case of becoming known of a special fire hazard
Type D - tactical use in extinguishing operations
Firebreak Type A

16. Sources ,,Lasy w Polsce 2016” - Centrum Informacyjne Lasów Państwowych
,,Ochrona lasów przed pożarami” - Karol Wiler, Paweł Wcisło
Private archives

17. Authors: Damian Chołyst Klaudia Jędzura Izabela Pawłowska
Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych w Biłgoraju klasa 2C