Rules for the construction of firebreaks along public roads in selected European countries

Abstract

Abstract Firebreaks are one of the protective measures used to safeguard forests in case of fire. Their purpose is to limit the possibility of fire spreading. This article describes how these protective measures are implemented along public roads in selected European countries. Based on the information gathered, it was found that there is a wide variety of approaches to firebreaks’ construction, mostly due to different climatic and geomorphological conditions that influence the overall risk of forest fires. The forms of firebreaks used in Europe along public roads are either a mineralised belt (without vegetation) or a cleared belt of materials that are particularly susceptible to ignition and fire spread. Methods combining both are also used. In Poland, there is a Type A belt, that is, a 30-m-wide belt at the border of a roadway or a facility that is free of dead trees, lying branches and felled or broken trees. In the absence of pan-European rules on preventive measures to protect forests from road fires, it might be helpful to establish a set of best practices that could assist in the revision of guidelines in individual countries.