Firefighters in Suffolk County in New York say the lack of maintenance of fire lanes in forested areas hampers their ability to access wildfires. Their brush trucks are designed to crash through wooded areas but dead trees, logs, and high stumps at times prevent them from getting to a fire, or can cause them to become stuck on a stump.
Below is an excerpt from Riverhead Local:
Angry firefighters: policymakers ‘have no clue’ about dangers of battling wildfires in Flanders pine barrens
The two men driving the brush trucks that got stuck on dead trees in the Flanders brush fire Saturday are angry about the conditions on publicly-owned preserved lands in Flanders. But they’re even angrier about the statements made by government officials responsible for those conditions in the days following the small wildfire that burned 10 acres of woodlands.
On Monday morning, County Executive Steve Bellone called a press conference in Hauppauge to announce the establishment of a permanent brush truck training course on 25 vacant acres of county land in Yaphank.
“We need to…make sure that our fire personnel, as they go in to do their work, have what they need and have the training that they need to combat those wildfires,” Bellone said.
“Training is not the issue,” an incredulous and angry Flanders Fire Chief Joseph Petit said in an interview Monday evening. “The condition of the land is the issue.”
Fire lanes are so overgrown that they’re impassable (see video below) and thousands of dead oak trees — both standing and fallen — have created conditions in the forest so hazardous and so difficult to navigate that a disaster is inevitable unless immediate action is taken, Pettit said…
The video was published on 13 Apr 2015. It was shot during a wildfire in Flanders Fire District Saturday, April 11, 2015, showing the condition of county-owned preserved pine barrens, where fire lanes are obstructed by fallen dead oak trees. One brush truck got stuck on a fallen tree (broke a tie rod) and had to be towed from the scene. Location: Flanders, Suffolk County, New York.
Flanders Fire District personnel: This may seem too far out but what I am seeing here is a foundation for a reality show. Axx Men, Ice Truckers and The Big Catch all successful and very profitable programs. Flanders certainly has it own niche in the world of wild land fire fighting. The MAD MAX stump jumper trucks, dedicated volunteer fire fighters and a filming “location” (vegetation, wind, fire) which Hollywood can’t credibly recreate. I don’t know anyone in program pilot production anymore. However a movie or production “agent” on behalf of the Flanders Fire Fighters may be a good place to start. Viewership, how many people live in Suffock County, New York State? It’s all about numbers, big numbers. If interested check with your local (State) film commission who has worked with key movie production people?
Mr Kiff
Some of those overweight fftrs and old military trucks are in communities that do not or can not have shiny jet syndrome of new vehicles
Do u have VFD’s in your locations?
As long as I have been seeing those converted military trucks used as “brush busters” it still looks like a very bad idea. Over weight and out of shape firefighters wearing, what, skateboard helmets or maybe water rescue helmets riding on old over weight surplus trucks? Bunker gear on a wildland fire? To top it all off, driving over logs and trees that should be cut out of the way. I would hate to see what would happen if the RH drops and the wind shifts.
I have worked in the NE. And now the South east. I know they believe in what they are doing but they need to be using tractors and plows like the rest of the Pineland wildfire organizations. Anchor and flank boys. Carry your blackline.
Perhaps it’s time for some re-training on tactics and utilizing engines. No matter where you work its not cool to get your engine stuck and burned up.
In 1995, I was Ops Chief 1 on Long Island’s “Sunrise Fire”. The day before my Team arrived, Long Island Volunteer Departments burned up 5 of their “Stump Jumpers” trying to drive OVER small diameter pine trees that gave way, but popped back up and didn’t allow them the momentum to go forward or back. Fortunately, no firefighters were killed or injured.
Some of the photos that I tool back in NY are in my USFS-MTDC pubs “Improving Firefighter Safety in the Wildland-Urban Intermix”, “Wildland Firefighter Entrapments” and “Wildland Fire Fatalities in the US: 1990-1998”. They include shots of a Long Island firefightrer riding on the tailboard of an engine; a Fire Chief wearing a structural helmet and turnout coat with shorts on his lower torso, and one of their burned over “Stump Jumpers”. I didn’t use the photo showing the converted military duece-and-a-half with 6 firefighters in the back wearing turnout coats and Football Helmets as they were driven into the pine stands.
20 years ago, but it seems like yesterday …..!
Looks like they are both right and wrong. Lanes def need maintained if they want to use them but any driver who thinks they can run over that stuff like a monster truck needs to go get some driving lessons along with their spotter…. Pretty one sided article
while the efforts of the VFD seems valiant in terms of keeping roads open for fire, I am left scratching my head based on what was included in the video. Why venture into a situation that far off the road with equipment like that? Why allow firefighters to essentially ride in an open can design? If one of those things rolled on its side, seems as though ff’s could be hurt. I did not see fire shelters and I hope OSHA doesn’t notice the sawer cutting that log without chaps. Perhaps not having a fire since the 60’s might warrant looking at newer training, tactics and standards. As an occasional armchair quarterback never having fought fire in the NE, that is what I observed. I just have memories of a lesson learned video that was made about 4 FD fatalities back before the 90’s about a situation similar to what was in the video. I’m curious to get others thoughts on this.
Bill, you have been busy today with all the news!