2.2 Unit Conversions in the Field

You need to be practiced at performing unit conversions in the field. Jotting your unit cancellation table on paper, the back of an envelope, or whatever else might be available will help you be sure you are keeping the units straight. Problem solving in units that are familiar to fire staff is crucial to sound planning. Making a mistake with units can be very costly.

Use what you know about units to check your result. You know a chain is larger than a foot. Converting from feet to chains should therefore give you a smaller number, because the end result will be in chains, and each chain contains multiple feet.