WORCESTER, Mass. - Tired firefighters are doing their best to keep up with brush fires across Massachusetts fueled by dry weather, wind and fallen leaves. As their work continues, students enrolled in Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s fire protection engineering program are also working to better understand how fires spread, and the conditions which can influence them.

Christian Vogt is going for his master’s degree in the program, but he also has plenty of experience outside the lab as a member of the Boylston Fire Department.

What You Need To Know

  • WPI students enrolled in the fire protection engineering program are exploring how brush fires could impact infrastructure in Massachusetts

  • Massachusetts was under another red flag advisory Tuesday as dry conditions, wind and fallen leaves continue to pose danger

  • State leaders gathered in Middleton to urge the public against lighting any outdoor fires

  • More than 450 fires have burned more than 1,500 acres in Massachusetts since Oct. 1

On Tuesday, he was working on a project to investigate how wildfires damage the electrical components of solar farms.

“Our infrastructure is spreading out more and more into the wilderness, we have wildfire behavior such as surface fires that are now interacting with the built environment,” Vogt said.

WPI’s Fire Protection Engineering Performance Lab uses state-of-the-art equipment to simulate fires in a controlled environment, allowing for fire behavior to be researched and inform how to protect infrastructure and prevent fires from spreading too quickly.

Given the current state of brush fires in Massachusetts, Assistant Professor James Urban said now more than ever, it’s important work.

“You can have a real-world impact by making people safer, making property safer,” Urban said. “And as we’re seeing with climate change, there are more areas being affected by wildfire. It’s also the impact of people moving into more wildland areas, and so we feel the effects more strongly.”

During a news conference in Middleton on Tuesday, Gov. Maura Healey and state fire leaders emphasized the current risks - more than 450 fires have burned more than 1,500 acres since Oct. 1.

“As firefighters, we are working tirelessly to contain these incidents, but we need the public’s cooperation in helping reduce risks,” said DCR Chief Fire Warden Dave Celine. “We are cautioning residents to remain vigilant, and to remember that even small sparks can ignite a larger fire in these dry conditions.”

Looking forward to the future of fire protection, WPI students hoping to enter the field bring a wide range of experience, from chemical studies to engineering and physics. Vogt, who has a background in physics, said this diverse skill set will be important.

“We’re all bringing our different expertise in to solve a very difficult problem, which is ‘How do we get control of wildfires?”

With dry conditions expected to continue over the coming days, state leaders continue to urge people not to light any outdoor fires.

“Residents, businesses and facilities should minimize their water use as much as possible, and there should be no outdoor fires at this time,” Healey said. “Our firefighters are working hard and making considerable sacrifices to battle these fires on our behalf. Let’s do all we can to avoid making their jobs any harder.”