Above: photo from the report on the rollover of a U.S. Forest Service engine in Colorado September 12, 2017.
(Originally published November 30, 2017)
In a report released by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center about the rollover of a U.S. Forest Service engine in Colorado September 12, 2017 one item listed under “What went well” was “Rear Cab Protection Rack (headache rack)”. However, there was no explanation. As seen in the photo above, this is a structure behind the cab to serve as a mounting location for lights. It has an expanded metal screen to prevent cargo from sliding forward through the rear window during a sudden stop, but they are not expected to provide serious protection during a rollover.
Photo from Backrack.
We checked with Backrack, a company that specializes in these devices, about how useful they would be in a rollover accident. A spokesperson told us that “because of our insurance” they are not allowed to give out that information.
Perry Shatley, Wildland Sales Manager for BFX Fire Apparatus, one of our advertisers, told us their headache racks are not designed for rollover protection:
We noticed a recent article(s) about engine accidents (rollovers) on your site. In reading some of the comments regarding the article – Hauser Road rollover – it became clear that there is a misunderstanding about the intended use of this headache rack. BFX Fire Apparatus does provide a very robust rack but roll protection or its ability to help with this was never its intended use. This rack is there to provide a platform for emergency lighting which includes the lightbar, scenes lighting, walking surface lighting or other lighting that might be desired. It is also used to protect the rear cab window from damage if an object were able to make its way near this window. We understand full well the desire to provide crew protection within the cab, but the headache rack has nothing to do with this nor was it the intent.
Not only are headache racks not designed to maintain their integrity during a rollover, if they are mounted to a body component, the body AND the rack could become deformed or separated from the rest of the vehicle.
Water tender rollover on the Jolly Mountain Fire in Washington September 11, 2017. Photo from PNW RLS report.
The U.S. Forest Service has plans to conduct salvage logging operations in areas in their Northern Region that experienced wildfires this year.
File photo of a log deck on a salvage logging operation on a national Forest. Photo by Dave Powell, USFS retired.
The U.S. Forest Service expects to award salvage logging contracts totaling 30,254 acres in 11 locations scattered over three National Forests in Western Montana. The burned areas affected are on the Kootenai, Lolo, and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests. The Northern Region will be requesting approval for Emergency Situation Determinations for some of the areas which would streamline the environmental analysis process.
Below is information from the USFS Northern Region:
This past summer, the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Region experienced one of the hottest and driest fire seasons on record, with 36 fires that burned ~710,000 acres on National Forests in Montana and Northern Idaho, heavily impacting local communities and landscapes. As a result, recognizing the scope of the fires this year, Regional Forester Leanne Marten saw the need for an expedited approach focused on safety and formed a Regional Post-Fire Response Incident Management Team (IMT). This team oversees Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessments and implementation, planning for post-fire salvage, and reforestation assessments.
“We’ve had many years where we’ve had fire on the landscape and we’ve learned there is a lot of work left to do on the ground for the resources and for the communities when the flames go out and the smoke clears”, said Marten. “How we do that and work together across landscapes is imperative to our success, and based on feedback we’ve had from our employees and community’s from previous fires… we’ve learned a Regional approach is the most effective.”
Emergency response actions began on those areas posing the greatest risks to human life and property immediately; over 505,320 acres have been assessed. Specialists came from across the country to expedite this work, and the Forest Service has contracted with local businesses extensively to implement work on the ground. The work focuses on replacing safety related structures, removing safety hazards and installing hazard warning signs and temporary barriers as needed. Other work includes erosion and water run-off control structures on roads and trails, mitigating the loss of habitat for threatened and endangered species, helping to prevent the spread of noxious weeds and protection of sensitive cultural resources.
On NFS lands burned this year in Montana, salvage locations are proposed based upon physical conditions on the ground and existing management direction. Computerized evaluations are being used to rapidly zero in on the areas with suitable timber volume and road access. Regional guidance is being developed to minimize potential environmental impacts and fulfill Endangered Species Act requirements.
The Region has been talking with members of various conservation organizations, cooperators, stakeholders and volunteer groups about efforts to salvage timber value in burned areas. There have also been numerous conversations with representatives from the timber industry. We are highly committed to engaging the public throughout the process.
Eleven fires (see table) are slated for salvage projects and of those, three are proposing to salvage 250 acres or less. Environmental analysis will determine the final acreage available for salvage for the remaining eight fires.
Additionally, the Region will be requesting approval for Emergency Situation Determinations (ESD) for some of the areas which would shorten the environmental analysis timeline and allow work on the ground to begin sooner.
The Northern Region is strategically focusing its efforts to maximize safety, minimize environmental impacts, and use the available industry capacity to accomplish this work to benefit our communities and resources. Assessments are being conducted for reforestation needs at the same time for the health and productivity of these areas. As exclaimed by Regional Forester Marten, “We are excited to have our local decision-makers on the Lolo, Kootenai, Helena-Lewis and Clark, and the Beaverhead National Forests working with the Post Fire Response IMT to get this work done safely and quickly”.
Detailed information about the Forest Service post-fire work can be found online.
The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings in areas of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
The map was current as of 10:10 a.m. MST on Wednesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
Above: Mercedes Benz G-wagon fire engine. Photo by Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
In the last week two reports have been released about serious accidents involving U.S. Forest Service fire engines. One was a rollover and the other was an engine that was hit by a falling tree. Rollovers of wildland engines are common. We have assigned the “rollover” tag to 48 articles on Wildfire Today. There were two fairly minor injuries in the most recent rollover and none in the tree strike incident. Other rollovers have been much more serious.
The crash of USFS Engine 492 in Wyoming August 8, 2013. USFS photo.
Some of the newer USFS engines have what the manufacturer calls a “Rear Cab Protection Rack (headache rack)”, a roll bar behind the cab, but in spite of this, the cab of the recent rollover was partially crushed, making it a challenge for the three occupants to climb out of the damaged side window.
The Australians have been more forward-thinking than their US counterparts when it comes to providing for the safety of the firefighters that work with engines. Many of the trucks have spray bars that provide a water curtain around the cab which can be activated if the crew is entrapped in a fire. Some of them also have substantial rollover protection systems that prevent the passenger compartment from being crushed in a rollover.
Internal roll bar in a Country Fire Authority engine in Victoria..
Three years ago in Victoria, Australia two firefighters were killed at Harrietville when their fire engine was struck by a falling tree. The next year the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning began acquiring the first of dozens of new Mercedes-Benz G-wagon fire engines.
Mercedes Benz G-wagon engine. Screen grab from the Tweet below.
The new trucks have a superstructure suspended horizontally over the cab that should minimize injuries to the crew in case of a falling tree. It appears that it would also offer rollover protection for the occupants.
We have often suggested that the wildland fire agencies in the United States fund research conducted by engineers to determine how to prevent the passenger compartments in their fire engines from collapsing in accidents. The Aussies have it covered, so to speak.
There were two minor injuries among the three-person crew
Above: photo from the report.
(Originally published at 4:40 p.m. November 27, 2017)
An engine carrying three wildland firefighters slid off a muddy road September 12, 2017 and rolled over two-and-a-half times when they were returning from a smoke check. Considering the violent accident, the injuries were minor — a laceration on one person and a broken rib on another.
The report released by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center does not specify where the the rollover occurred, except that the crew was returning to Montrose, Colorado, an investigator came from Grand Junction, and it also mentioned a couple of landmarks, if true, that are known only to locals, such as Hauser Road.
The truck was a U.S. Forest Service Ford F-550 configured as a Type 6 engine which sustained major damage. The roof partially collapsed, crushing some of the side windows:
…the crew barely had enough room to crawl out the opening with metal scraping against their backs and stomachs.
The damage to the truck and the injuries to the firefighters might have been worse if the truck had not had the “Rear Cab Protection Rack (headache rack)”, a structure behind the cab. But apparently it did not have a full cab roll bar. (UPDATE November 30, 2017: the report lists the headache rack under “What went well”, but does not elaborate. These structures are designed to hold lights and to prevent cargo from sliding forward through the rear window, but should not be expected to provide serious protection during a rollover. We added the next photo that was included in the report, which offered no caption or explanation. It is unknown if it shows the engine involved in the rollover.)
Headache rack, intended to provide a location to install lights, and to prevent cargo from sliding forward through the rear window.Photo from the report.
Below is an excerpt from the report; it begins as the truck was sliding on the muddy road:
Engine 36’s passenger-side front wheel slid toward the edge. Everyone braced for the expected bump into the lip of the road. However nothing was there to slow the engine’s slide to the right and the front wheel went off the road, followed by the rest of Engine 36.
The engine violently rolled two-and-a-half times down the embankment, gaining speed with each rotation. “When will this end!” the Engine Captain thought to himself as glass shattered, metal crumpled and screeched, and the world spun end over end.
Engine 36 came to rest on its roof, braced against large trunks of oak brush. Everything in the cab came to a stop. A muffled and intermittently eerie buzzing came from the horn. Water hissed. As the crew steadied themselves, calling out to check the status of each other, a loud “pop” from the roof was heard.
As they felt the vehicle’s cab start to give a little bit, the decision was made to exit as quickly as possible. The curtain airbags were still partially inflated. Captain 36 had to deflate them with his personal knife. Exiting out the passenger side window, the crew barely had enough room to crawl out the opening with metal scraping against their backs and stomachs.
There has been an epidemic of wildland fire engine rollovers. This is the 48th article on Wildfire Today tagged “rollover”.
We still stand behind what we wrote in a 2015 article about the many firefighter fatalities from rollovers:
The wildland fire agencies should fund research conducted by engineers to determine how to prevent the passenger compartments in their fire engines from collapsing in accidents.
