Wildfires that involve buildings and wildland vegetation simultaneously are known as interface fires. Such fires present unique challenges and obstacles that must be addressed through practical, proactive, community-based solutions. Partners in Protection, therefore, is a multi-disciplinary partnership committed to raising awareness, providing information, and developing forums with a view to encouraging proactive, community-based initiatives. Such initiatives would have as their principal objective to reduce risk of fire losses and enhance safety in the wildland-urban interface.

More specifically, Partners in Protection is an Alberta-based coalition of professionals representing national, provincial, and municipal associations and government agencies responsible for emergency services, land-use planning, and forest/park management and research.

The purpose of this Web site is to provide practical tools for building FireSmart communities. Foremost among these tools is Alberta's First Community Wildland/Interface Planner. This interactive manual, entitled FireSmart: Protecting Your Community From Wildfire, provides individuals with the necessary tools in planning and in mitigating the risk of fire in interface areas. The manual is available for download on this Web site.

Visit the products page to view our manual and interactive CD-ROM.