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Knight Division TacticalWhat is DINS on a wildfire?
Damage Inspection (DINS) & Damage Assessment Teams
Yes.
KDT provides damage inspection and damage assessment teams. After a wildfire they inspect and document damaged structures the way wildfire damage inspection (DINS) does; after hurricanes and floods they work to the FEMA damage assessment categories, with field crews, photos and reports.
Typical configuration
- Wildfire method
- Damage inspection (DINS): structures inside or within 300 ft of the fire perimeter, inspected on the ground
- Wildfire categories
- No Damage, Affected (>0–10%), Minor (10–25%), Major (25–50%), Destroyed (50–100%), Inaccessible
- Hurricane and flood method
- Jurisdiction or agency method, such as FEMA damage assessment categories
- Data
- Geotagged photos, damage category, structure type and address information
- Team size
- Field teams scaled to the affected area
- Output
- Daily data deliveries, maps and summary reports
After a fire front passes or a storm moves through, someone has to find out what was damaged and how badly. Damage inspection and assessment teams walk and drive the affected area, inspect each structure, classify the damage and record it with photos and location data.
On a wildfire this is damage inspection, known as DINS. CAL FIRE's DINS program documents every structure impacted by the fire inside or within 300 feet of the fire perimeter, and classifies each one as No Damage, Affected (more than 0 to 10%), Minor (10 to 25%), Major (25 to 50%), Destroyed (50 to 100%) or Inaccessible. Fields such as category and structure type follow what the Incident Status Summary (ICS-209) needs. The inspection is done on the ground.
After hurricanes and floods, teams work to the jurisdiction's or agency's assessment method and forms, such as the FEMA damage assessment categories, which feed state and federal disaster declarations and assistance. KDT can pair those field teams with drone damage assessment for wide areas or unsafe access.
Either way, the information drives decisions: where to send resources, when to let residents back in and what to tell the public. KDT can add GIS mapping to turn field data into maps the incident and the public can use.
Available as
- Wildfire damage inspection (DINS)
- Rapid or initial damage assessment after hurricanes and floods
- Preliminary damage assessment support
- Infrastructure and road damage surveys
- Drone-assisted damage assessment for hurricanes and floods
What's included
- Field teams and a team lead
- Vehicles, tablets or data collection devices as needed
- Data quality checks and daily deliveries
- Coordination with the incident, EOC or GIS staff
Where it's used
- Post-wildfire structure damage inspection
- Hurricane and flood damage surveys
- Support for disaster declarations and assistance
- Re-entry and repopulation planning
- Debris planning and estimates
Questions, answered.
What is DINS on a wildfire?
DINS is wildfire damage inspection. In CAL FIRE's program, inspectors document every structure impacted by the fire inside or within 300 feet of the perimeter and classify it from No Damage through Affected, Minor, Major and Destroyed.
Does KDT provide damage inspection and damage assessment teams?
Yes. KDT provides field teams that inspect and document damaged structures after wildfires, hurricanes and floods, with photos, location data and reports.
Which assessment method do KDT teams use?
The one the jurisdiction or agency specifies: a wildfire damage inspection protocol such as DINS after a fire, or the FEMA damage assessment categories after a hurricane or flood.
Can KDT use drones for damage assessment?
Yes, after hurricanes and floods, where drone imagery covers large or unsafe areas quickly and field teams confirm the details on the ground. Wildfire damage inspection is done on the ground.
Need it on your incident? Say the word.
Add it to your request with anything else you need, then send it all at once. We'll come back with what we can put where, and when.