Calculating Relative Risk

Calculating Relative Risk in WFDSS can be done from the Relative Risk menu option (left side menu in the incident perspective), or from any of the Assess Relative Risk links strategically placed in the application (Objectives and Assessment tabs, Organization Assessment, Risk vertical tab in Default Decision Editor) as each of these navigates you back to the Relative Risk menu option. Once you've gathered sufficient information to support your assessment, you can calculate Relative Risk using the tools in WFDSS. To calculate Relative Risk, you will need to:

• develop inputs for the Value, Hazard, and Probability rating charts and document your rationale for each selection in the associated Notes fields, and
• estimate the potential fire duration from today.

If you need assistance developing inputs for the Relative Risk assessment rating graphs, click the help icon beside each rating chart or in the upper right hand corner of the Relative Risk page to quickly access related help topics.

Note: You can't recalculate relative risk if a decision is being reviewed, or after the incident is declared out.

Outcomes from the Values, Hazards, and Probability assessments will auto-fill in the Relative Risk rating chart at the top of the page. The overall Relative Risk rating also carries over to the Organization Assessment to inform the OA Results. If you do not agree with the Relative Risk Results, you can go back and modify your rating chart inputs. When you are satisfied with your inputs (and have documented the reason for your selections in the Notes fields), and selected a potential fire duration, WFDSS will generate Relative Risk Advice based on the Relative Risk results and the potential fire duration that you selected.

A Relative Risk Assessment must be completed before the Organization Assessment (OA) can be developed. If the Relative Risk Assessment is updated or modified after the OA is completed, changes to the OA may be needed. When you save the updated Relative Risk Assessment and select Return, WFDSS auto-navigates back to the OA for you to review potential changes, and edit as necessary.

Note: The overall Relative Risk rating within each category carry over into a published decision, it is still imperative that you document the reasons for your input selections for each of the rating graphs in the notes section.

To calculate relative risk:

1. From the Incident List, select the incident you want to calculate relative risk for.
2. Choose View Information > Relative Risk or click an Assess Relative Risk link available on the Objectives and Assessment tabs, in the OA menu option or on the Risk vertical tab in the Default Decision Editor.
3. Select the Potential Fire Duration.

   Note: The potential fire duration should be based on the current date, not the date of discovery. For example, if you are 30 days into a large fire that is now 80% contained and is anticipated to be fully controlled within 10 days, you would use the 10 days as your estimated duration, and would select Medium.

4. Click the blue arrow next to Values. The section expands to display the Values chart.
5. On the left, top, and right sides of the chart, select the radio button that best represents the current incident.

   To better understand what each of the selections mean, click the question mark help icon beside Values in the section header.

6. Enter notes for each chart that explain your reasoning for your selections. Doing so assists the team later when you re-evaluate the relative risk during the periodic assessment.
7. Repeat steps 3-5 for Hazards and Probability. As you complete each section, the chart at the top of the page changes to display the overall relative risk.
8. Enter any notes about the overall relative risk. You can edit your notes or add additional notes in step 11.
9. Click Continue. The Relative Risk Results page appears.
10. Review the results and advice.
11. Enter Relative Risk Notes to explain why you think the overall Relative Risk rating accurately depicts risk for the incident.
12. Select Back to revisit/edit your Values, Hazards, and/or Probability inputs -OR- Click Publish to save your inputs and the overall Relative Risk results. You can also click Return to leave the Relative Risk Assessment and return to the place in the application you were previous to accessing relative risk.
13. The overall Relative Risk rating and associated notes for each rating chart are automatically added to the Risk section of a pending decision. The rating charts and all associated relative risk content is saved to the incident content and can be accessed by either the Default or Advanced Decision Editors.

 

In This Section About Relative Risk To calculate relative risk:

See Also Interpreting Relative Risk Advice Viewing the Relative Risk for an Incident

Reference Field Descriptions Glossary Resources Spatial Data Reference Landscape Data Source Reference Relative Risk Reference Organization Assessment Reference Fire Behavior Reference About the WFDSS Decision Editors