2016 began with one of the warmest winters on record for much of the contiguous United
States, according to the National Interagency Fire Coordination Center's 2016 Fire Summary.
These very warm trends continued for most of the year, and areas of severe or worse
drought continued in large parts of the country.
While there are some natural causes for wildfires, such as lightning and lava, about 90 percent
are results of human behavior—accidents, carelessness in and around campsites, or even
malicious activities. Worsening drought conditions in the southwest, southeast and coastal New
England endanger more of our natural resources. Although in 2016 both the U.S. and Canada
reported slightly fewer fires than the 10-year average, these fires were much more destructive.
Wildfires in the U.S. destroyed 220 percent more residences last year than the annual average.
MANAGEMENT APPROACH
G4-DMA
We operate in regions across the United States and Canada, including some where fire seasons and a changing climate increase
the risk of fire on and around our job sites. In arid locations, our teams work in locations where fuel-powered equipment, utility
lines and dry plant matter could create the conditions for a fire event that could endanger Davey employees, customers or the
natural environment. In addition, our utility workers are exposed to fire risk while clearing and maintaining trees and brush
around power lines. Mitigating these risks is essential to our employees, our clients and our business, and Davey integrates
fire prevention practices throughout our daily operations. Because we focus on prevention first, we have not experienced a
significant fire event in the past several seasons. Our employees have seen the devastation caused by wildfires in their own
communities and in the communities we serve, and take responsibility to prevent such tragic accidents from happening.
WE EMPOWER EACH EMPLOYEE TO TAKE ACTION TO
PREVENT FIRES, THAT'S BEST-IN-CLASS. EVERY DAVEY
WORKER HAS THE RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO
STOP A JOB IF THE RISK IS TOO GREAT.
JEREMY LEWIS, REGIONAL SAFETY SPECIALIST
