Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Month: July 2010

Air tanker used on ship fire 60 miles at sea

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

Air tanker used on ship fire

An amphibious Bombardier “Superscooper” air tanker was used to help extinguish a fire on board a container ship 60 miles off the coast of Malaysia. The fire started on July 7 after the container ship M/V Charlotte Maersk left Port Klang (map) in Malaysia bound for Oman. There are reports that an explosion in one container caused the fire, which spread to 150 others.

Air tanker used on container ship fire

In addition to the Superscooper, some of the resources brought to the ship to assist the crew with the fire included:

  • 1 Malaysian Coast Guard vessel assisting with fire fighting monitor
  • 1 Salvage master
  • 1 Malaysian coast guard vessel stand-by
  • 1 Fire fighter expert team leader
  • 4 tugs with fire fighting capabilities
  • 7 Fire fighting experts
  • Special container cutting and fire fighting equipment
  • 1 Chemist

Some of the containers were burning at 1,000 degrees Celsius, and each had to be opened and extinguished one at a time, after cooling for four to six hours. A thermal camera was used to evaluate each area before firefighters began their close-in work.

After two days of firefighting the fire continued to burn, but it had been contained to the 150 containers. The main infrastructure of the vessel was not affected, and the engine, thrusters, and other equipment was still operational.

A report on July 15 said the “fire had been put out”, but some areas were still too hot for firefighters to enter. And, “There was only smoke, no more fire”. Hmmmm. How does that old saying go? “Where there’s smoke….” I forgot the rest. But we could find no other reports about the fire after July 15, so they must have eventually fully controlled it.

More information.

P.S. — the fire has a wet line all the way around it. What’s the problem? 😉

Thanks Kevin

Video of a fire as viewed from a Greyhound bus

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Video of a fire as viewed from a Greyhound bus

I ran across this video that a passenger on a Greyhound bus in Australia shot last year as they drove past a pretty hot fire. Here is their description:

If your impatient the most intense part is from 1:30 to 2:40, however the beginning sets the scene well and gives it an ominous and dramatic mood so I recommend watching the whole thing 😉 I recorded this from the Greyhound bus on our way from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay, believe it was close to Rockhampton. The fires were burning all the way down to the road and I could actually feel the heat from the flames inside of the bus. Apparently the fires had been raging for some twenty odd days in the area by then. This capture was made on the evening of 20th Oct 2009.

It is most impressive if you watch it in full screen mode (click the arrows at the bottom-right). And make sure you have your sound turned on. The music sound track, as one commenter on Facebook said, is brilliant.

It appears that firefighters had just ignited a burnout along the road and the wind was pushing it away from the road.

Issue of “firefighters charged with manslaughter” discussed at Firehouse Expo

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

Firehouse.com has an interesting article that summarizes a presentation by Curt Varone about instances of firefighters being charged with manslaughter while performing their duties. Most of us are familiar with the Thirtymile fire, after which a crew boss was initially charged with felonies for the deaths of four entrapped firefighters, but there have been at least 11 other similar cases according to Varone. Here is an excerpt from the article.

Varone said he has found 12 such cases that have occurred since 2001, not counting intentional acts such as firefighter arson resulting in death. “We’re talking about accidental deaths,” he specified.

Varone noted that this isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon, either. For example, a UK firefighter was recently charged for spooking cows during a response, resulting in the trampling death of a farmer. In another example, a UK fire official was indicted over a fire response in which several other firefighters – including his own son – were killed.

[…]

Another top discussion involved supervisors being charged with manslaughter as a result of their employees’ death.

Varone recounted the case of Alan G. Baird III of the Lairdsville (N.Y.) Fire Department, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter and convicted of criminally negligent homicide after the 2001 training death of a recruit.

He also highlighted the case of the Thirty Mile wildfire, in which four firefighters were killed in Washington in 2001, and their supervisor was charged with involuntary manslaughter in 2006 – partly as a result of the families’ ongoing lobbying.

“It took them five years but they finally got what they what they were looking for,” Varone said. He suggests that while the public tends to think of lawsuits as money-driven, the root of lawsuits like these are rage and grief.

In the end, Varone said there are some take-away lessons to be gleaned from these cases. For one, in the aftermath of such events, public uproar has to be expected. Does it matter what kind of person the responder is or was? Absolutely, Varone said. If they were known to be ethical, that can affect the public perception and outcome.

However, convictions were likelier in cases involving issues such as alcohol, drugs or horseplay.

“Some factors can make a case indefensible,” Varone said.

NWCG to establish Wildland Fire Institute

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized

The National Wildland Fire Coordinating Group has awarded a contract to Corporate University Enterprises, Inc. to design a corporate university, called the Wildland Fire Institute (WFI), that would provide “hire to retire” career planning and training for the wildland fire community.

It is not etched in stone yet. The business and launch plans will be written by the contractor, but then the NWCG and the wildland fire agencies will have to make a decision about implementation… or not.

Here is an excerpt from the memo below:

The intent of the NWCG WFI concept is to unify existing training resources and collectively address gaps in learning and development associated with incident and non-incident related skills and leadership.

[…]

The Wildland Fire Institute would not be a new training group, nor is it intended to physically centralize all training functions. The intent is for an integrated, collaborative network of existing training groups throughout the wildland fire and aviation community for training development and implementation. The purpose is to provide training, education, succession planning, and talent management for the wildland fire and aviation community to address incident and non-incident management into the future.

This appears to be an excellent idea. Wildland fire is a profession in which the consequences of failure can be catastrophic, as we have all seen. It takes 10 to 20 years to become proficient, and even longer to rise to the top of the fire qualifications ladder. If this concept is approved, and IF there is a commitment, a long-term commitment, to fully implement and fully fund it, (those are big “IFs”), it could enhance the professionalism, competence, and safety of the wildland fire agencies.
NWCG#033-2010 Memorandum Wildland Fire Institute 2010-07-19

More information

PCAD, a re-invented air tanker system, is tested

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 4 Comments on PCAD, a re-invented air tanker system, is tested
PCAD test air tanker drop
PCAD containers are dropped from a C-130 in a test at Yuma Proving Grounds. Photo by Mark Schauer

As we said on May 14, Caylym Technologies inexplicably continues to develop what they call a “precision container aerial delivery system” (PCAD) for suppressing wildfires. The system attempts to re-invent air tankers by dropping 200-gallon plywood/plastic containers of retardant or water, each weighing about 2,000 pounds, from a normally-configured C-130.

Here is a video of one of the early tests of the system conducted on September 25, 2007:

Now they are conducting additional tests of the system at the Yuma Proving Grounds, mapping the ground distribution of the four-foot-square plywood skid boards, the cardboard boxes, and the 200-gallon plastic containers after a drop. We assume they will eventually set up a grid of measuring cups to map the coverage level of retardant, if they ever advance to that stage.

PCAD test air tanker drop
Geodetic surveyor Jerry Wells uses a GPS to map the ridiculous amount of debris dumped onto the ground after a test of the PCAD at Yuma Proving Grounds. Photo by Mark Schauer.

The Yuma Sun describes the delivery system:

Continue reading “PCAD, a re-invented air tanker system, is tested”

Video: interview with firefighter who escaped entrapped engine

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

King5 has a video interview with one of the three firefighters that escaped from a structural engine as it became entrapped by flames on the Cowiche Mill fire west of Yakima, Washington on July 18. Michael Rhine, a second-year volunteer firefighter, suffered some second-degree burns on his ear — the other two firefighters’ injuries were also minor.