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Entrapment

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires

Synonyms

Burnover; Close call; Near miss

Definition

Entrapments are unexpected situations in which a wildland fire poses an immediate threat to peoples’ lives because the use of escape routes and safety zones is difficult or impossible. There are two types of entrapments: a “burnover” is an entrapment where persons are overtaken by the fire, and a “near miss” or “close call” is an entrapment where persons avoid being overtaken by the fire, either by will or luck.

Introduction

Entrapments are life-threatening, wildland fire behavior-related events that can affect firefighters and the public both in rural environments and in cities or suburbs. They often occur with little warning, potentially affecting entire communities but more often individuals or small groups. If fire overtakes individuals, it can result in asphyxiation and burns that may eventually lead to death; however, depending upon the specific circumstances, individuals may survive with little or no injury provided they have a...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Lab, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, MT, USA

    Wesley G. Page & Patrick H. Freeborn

Authors
  1. Wesley G. Page
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  2. Patrick H. Freeborn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wesley G. Page .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. United States Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

    Samuel L. Manzello

Section Editor information

  1. USDA Forest Service, RMRS Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT, USA

    Sara McAllister PhD

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Page, W.G., Freeborn, P.H. (2019). Entrapment. In: Manzello, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_183-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_183-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51727-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51727-8

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