25. FIRE
25.1 There are two types of Fire. A Flame is a beginning Fire which has no effect of its own other than the threat of growing into a large, fully developed Fire called a Blaze which is harmful to terrain, units, and LOS. Fires can be set deliberately, or by accident as a result of combat in Burnable Terrain (i.e., any wooden bridge (6.5), building, rubble, woods, orchard, brush, or grain hex). No other terrain type can ever be set afire.
25.11 KINDLING: Any unpinned, Good Order Infantry unit stacked with a leader (or a SMC alone) may deliberately attempt to start a Flame in the Burnable Terrain it occupies during its own PFPh, provided the SMC passes a NTC for that purpose. Making/
25.12 FT: A FT attacking an unarmored target may cause a Flame in any Burnable Terrain target Location if it rolls an Original K or KIA on the IFT. After normally resolving the attack on all occupants of that Location, make a subsequent DR and add to it the current EC DRM. If this results in the Final DR being ≥ the terrain's Kindling #, a Flame counter is placed in that Location. Q&A
25.13 HE: Any form of HE or HEAT attack [EXC: a Collateral Attack; an attack using the Vehicle Target Type; an attack that causes rubble (24.6)] may possibly cause a Flame in a Burnable Terrain Target Location if it rolls an Original KIA on the IFT. After normally resolving the attack on all occupants of that Location, make a subsequent DR and add to it the current EC DRM unless the Burnable Terrain is a building (25.5). If this results in the Final DR being ≥ the terrain's Kindling #, a Flame counter is placed in that Location. An ordnance attack vs a vehicle is not resolved on the IFT and therefore cannot cause a Terrain Fire except as a consequence of creating a Wreck Blaze which spreads. Q&A
25.14 WRECK BLAZE: A Wreck Blaze occurs anytime a vehicle is eliminated by a FT or MOL attack < the required Kill Number, by a To Kill DR ≤ half of the Final TK#, by an IFT DR ≤ half of the ★ Vehicle IFT #, by a CC attack DR ≤ half of the highest DR needed for a kill, or by a 1 dr following a 2 DR for an Unlikely Kill (A7.309 & A11.501). A Wreck Blaze is represented by placing a Blaze counter on top of the Wreck. It may spread to become a Blaze in Burnable Terrain in the same hex as per the normal Spreading Fire rules. Should a hex containing a Burning Wreck become a Blaze terrain Fire, the Burning Wreck is removed. A Burning Wreck is not a burning terrain hex; the Fire must first spread from the Wreck to the terrain it occupies before it can spread to another Location. Q&A
25.141 MOVEMENT: Unlike a terrain Fire, a Wreck Blaze does not prohibit movement into the hex, but does require the expenditure of an extra MF/
25.15 FLAME: A Flame is represented by an upside-down Blaze counter with the Clearance and Hamper Numbers side face-up. All Fires start as Flames, except for Wreck Blazes and those spread by falling burning rubble. At the end of each succeeding AFPh after the Player Turn in which it first appears in the Location, a Flame may possibly turn into a Blaze (25.6) unless earlier extinguished or Hampered by extinguishing attempts (24.72). Mark all newly placed Flame counters with a PIN counter during their initial turn on the board to signify that they are not eligible to spread during that Player Turn's AFPh. Units may move into and remain in hexes containing Flames. Q&A
25.151 BLAZE CREATION/
25.2 SMOKE: Any Burning Wreck or terrain Blaze is automatically shrouded by smoke up to four levels [EXC: two levels in a Mild Breeze; A24.4] above the level of the Fire in that hex, so no actual smoke counters need be placed on those Fires. However, Wreck Blazes cause a +2 Hindrance DRM rather than the +3 Hindrance DRM of regular smoke. The SMOKE Hindrance DRM replaces the normal Wreck Hindrance DRM (D9.4) except in the case of an already established Fire Lane (A9.22) where only the Wreck Hindrance DRM would apply. Both Wreck and terrain Blazes can create drifting Dispersed Smoke (A24.61) in a Mild Breeze. Flames do not generate smoke. Fire has no other effect on LOS. See also A24.2 and A24.4-.8. Q&A
25.3 Fire does not modify a hex's TEM except as outlined above for its attendant smoke effect.
25.4 ENTRANCE/
25.5 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS (EC): Before the start of any scenario taking place in temperate climates in which Environmental Conditions have not been specified, make a dr on the EC Chart to determine the EC DRM. The EC Chart dr is modified by a drm based on the month of the scenario.
| Final dr | EC | EC DRM/ |
Month | drm |
| 0 or less | Snow | -3 | Jan-Feb | -3 |
| 1 | Mud | -3 | Dec, Mar | -2 |
| 2 | Wet | -2 | Nov, Apr | -1 |
| 3 | Moist | -1 | June, Sept | +1 |
| 4 | Moderate | 0 | July, Aug | +2 |
| 5 | Dry | +1 | ||
| 6 or more | Very Dry | +2 |
The EC DRM thus derived always applies to the Kindling and Spreading Fire DR except when Kindling/
25.6 SPREADING FIRE: Every Player Turn after the first Player Turn in which it appears, a Blaze may spread to any adjacent Burnable Terrain Location (or to Burnable Terrain in the same Location in the case of a Burning Wreck) at the end of each AFPh. A Burning Wreck in Bypass may spread to Burnable Terrain in either/
| Burnable Terrain Feature | Final DR Needed to Spread | DRM | |
| Stone Building or orchard | ≥ 9 | -2 | not directly attached |
| Wooden Building or woods-road | ≥ 8 | -1 | Fortified Building |
| Woods | ≥ 7 | -1 | to lower elevation |
| Grain or Brush | ≥ 6 | +1 | to higher elevation |
| +x | EC DRM | ||
| +y | Wind Direction DRM |
25.61 A Blaze is modified by a +1 Spreading Fire DRM if spreading to a Location of higher elevation or a -1 DRM if spreading to a Location of lower elevation.
25.62 The Spreading Fire DR is modified by EC/
EX: EC are moderate with no wind. For the Blaze to spread to the adjacent wooden building in P4, the Spreading Fire Final DR must be a ≥ 10 (due to the -2 DRM for terrain which is not directly attached to the terrain on fire). To spread to the stone building in O5, the Final DR must be ≥ 11. To spread to the directly connected woods in Q5, the Final DR must be ≥ 7. To spread to the woods in Q6 which are not directly connected, the Final DR must be ≥ 9.
25.63 WIND FORCE: After the setup of any scenario in which Wind Force has not been specified, make a dr to determine it as per the following table:
| dr | Wind Force | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | No Wind | No Wind Direction DRM |
| 4,5 | Mild Breeze | Wind Direction DRM & Dispersed Smoke |
| 6 | Heavy Winds | Automatic Spread Downwind; None Upwind |
If the Wind Force is "Heavy Winds", Fire from a terrain Blaze spreads automatically to Burnable Terrain in the three adjacent downwind hexes as a Flame, and cannot spread at all to the other three adjacent hexes (those that are upwind); Fire from a Wreck Blaze spreads automatically to Burnable terrain in its Location. Smoke has no effect in scenarios while Heavy Winds are in effect. Wind Force [EXC: Gusts] does not affect Fire spreading within a building. See A24.61 for the effects of a Mild Breeze on SMOKE. A FT has no Long Range FP (A22.1) during Heavy Winds [EXC: if being fired directly "with the wind"].
25.64 WIND DIRECTION: If a Mild Breeze or Heavy Winds occur during a scenario, roll a die to determine Wind Direction (B.8). The resulting number corresponds to the direction the wind is blowing to. Mark the direction by pointing the Wind Direction counter along the proper Hex Grain of the mapboard. This direction remains in effect until there is no wind or a direction change occurs as per 25.65. During a Mild Breeze, the Spreading Fire DR is modified by the Wind Direction as per the diagram. Wind Direction does not affect Fire spreading within a building or Flames spreading to Blaze status.
25.65 WIND CHANGES: At the start of each RPh make a DR to determine if the wind will change during that Player Turn. On a DR of 2, a change occurs and a dr is made to determine what the change will be as per the following table:
| dr | Wind Change |
|---|---|
| 1 | Direction: one hex clockwise (cw) |
| 2 | Direction: two hexes clockwise (cw) |
| 3 | Direction: one hex counter-clockwise (ccw) |
| 4 | Direction: two hexes counter-clockwise (ccw) |
| 5 | * Force increases one level |
| 6 | * Force decreases one level |
* A change of wind Force beneath No wind or above Heavy wind status is treated as a change to Mild Breeze instead. Direction changes have no effect unless there is currently a Mild Breeze or Heavy winds.
25.651 GUSTS: A Wind Change DR of 12 results in Wind Gusts which have no effect on Wind Force but, for that Player Turn only, allows all terrain Blazes to possibly spread in the direction of the Wind. In addition, at least one terrain Blaze currently in effect will spread two hexes during that Player Turn if possible. Determine the Blaze(s) that will spread two hexes by Random Selection from among those with non-burning Burnable Terrain within two hexes of the Blaze in the direction of the wind. Any Flame that spreads two hexes by a Gust appears at ground level in its new hex. A Wreck Blaze automatically spreads only to its own Burnable Terrain Location and is eligible for only a possible one-hex spread instead of a two-hex spread. A Gust eliminates all dispersed SMOKE and disperses all non-dispersed SMOKE currently on the board [EXC: smoke in a Blaze hex emanating from that Blaze hex is never affected by Gusts]. Q&A
EX: The wind is Gusting and the Wind Direction is 5. There are three Blazes in 21FF1, EE1, and FF3, and a Flame in DD2. FF1 is ineligible for the two-hex Fire Spread because there is no Burnable Terrain within two hexes that is not already burning. So only EE1 and EE3 are eligible and subject to the Random Selection DR to determine which Blaze will automatically spread two hexes. The Random Selection DR is Doubles, resulting in both Blazes gaining the automatic two hex spread. A Flame counter is placed in CC2 from the Blaze in EE1. DD3 and CC4 receive Flames from EE3. Had the Wind Direction been 3, a Flame counter would have been placed in GG4; had the Wind Direction been 4, EE4 and EE5 would have received Flame counters. Had the Wind Direction been 6, DD2 would have received another Flame counter and CC2 would have received a Flame counter. Had the Wind Direction been a 1 or 2, no spread would occur.
25.66 COLLAPSE: A building Location(s) (determined by Random Selection) in which a Blaze exists (and all levels above it) will collapse (24.12) into burning rubble on an Original Wind Change DR of 12.
25.7 EXTINGUISHING ATTEMPTS: Flames are extinguished as per the Fire Clearance rules (24.72) and Flame Extinguished DR (25.151). A Blaze cannot be purposely extinguished during play.
