Fire prevention in Spain

Forest Pioneer is a vegetation management company founded in 2000 on the initiative of forestry engineer Emilio Bravo. Among the first in Europe to offer innovative solutions for forest bioeconomy and vegetation control, it has been marketing and selling FAE's Land Clearing products in Spain, France and French Switzerland since 2008. It also manufactures and distributes specialized machinery for forestry work and supports customers with extensive after-sales service.

"We operate from our four locations in Irun (ES), Mungia (ES), Egleton (FR) and Gastines (FR)," says Iratxe Zorraquino, the company's International Sales & Factories Relationship Manager.

"Unfortunately, many areas in Spain and southern France suffer from recurring summer wildfires. Every time the thermometer goes up, the risk increases. We always say in the company that 'Fire doesn't wait.' And we cannot waste time: we must prevent it by keeping the most at-risk areas controlled and free of brushwood."

To fight fires, however, careful clearing of underbrush alone is not enough. It often requires the creation of fire lines, one of the most widely adopted solutions worldwide.

Fire lines are vegetation-free "corridors" created by removing vegetation and other combustible materials. These boundaries can limit the spread of flames and protect people and property from fire.

The creation of fire lines often needs to be carried out as quickly as possible (especially when the fire has already broken out), but it also requires efficiency and precision.

It is here that FAE provides the best solutions on the market. In order to safely create and manage fire lines, whether on flat surfaces characterized by trees, shrubs and stumps, or on rough terrain with steep slopes, FAE offers a wide range of premium products. Tracked carriers of the PT Series are particularly well suited to this job, as are forestry trenchers and tillers. In recent years, however, the most popular models for this type of work have been RCU remote-controlled tracked carriers.

"We have promoted the RCU line in our markets with conviction, and the results have been very positive," says Iratxe.

In the past few months alone, the Environment and Water Agency of Andalusia has purchased as many as eight remote-controlled RCU55 tracked carriers to clear hard-to-reach forests. As

a result of this remote-controlled system, operators can remain at a safe distance while performing high-efficiency fire prevention.

Another municipality that has recently started using FAE remote-controlled carriers for fire prevention is EIRIF, the Canary Islands government's forest fire response team.

These fire prevention and firefighting professionals purchased RCU75s from Forest Pioneer, which they outfitted with SCL/RCU stump cutter heads designed to work in the most extreme conditions. The ability to change heads (the RCU75 can also mount a forestry mulcher with Bite Limiter technology or a mobile hammer mulcher) makes the vehicle supremely flexible. When we went to the Canaries to deliver the machines and provide them with specific training for the best use of the equipment, we found an enthusiastic team ready to get into action with these jewels of technology! “Climate change gives no respite," Iratxe concludes, "but we can anticipate its effects and prepare to protect our territories, thanks to FAE equipment."