On the Dixie Fire
Continue readingHeavy Equipment Academy completed in Mississippi
A week-long class aimed at training forest rangers and technicians to use heavy equipment to fight wildfires
Continue readingTwo Hollows Fire burns over 2,000 acres in south Mississippi
The Two Hollows Fire burned about 2,200 acres of industrial timber land in Pearl River County, Mississippi, approximately nine miles southeast of Poplarville. Jason Scott of the Mississippi Forestry Commission said 22 homes and 18 outbuildings were threatened but all were saved. The MFC responded with 19 employees, one fixed wing aircraft, seven bulldozers, and one drone. Multiple VFDs also responded with six engines and one water tender.
The fire was reported Saturday night, February 28. It took 12 hours to contain, and the Mississippi Forestry Commission monitored the fire for an additional 48 hours.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
If you are having trouble playing the video below, you can view it at YouTube.
NWCG changes standards for crews and dozers
Over the last five years the National Wildfire Coordinating Group has made revisions to the standards for hand crews and dozers
The NWCG establishes standards for the capabilities of firefighting aircraft, crews, and equipment. For example, a Type 1 Engine must carry 1,200 feet of 2.5″ hose and have a pump capability of 1,000 gallons per minute, while a Type 6 Engine needs to have 300 feet of 1.5″ hose and a 50 GPM pump.
There were a handful of changes made to the standards that were published in 2014.
CREWS
The number of personnel on a Type 1 Crew was increased from 18 to 20, to 18 to 22. There were a couple of new position qualification requirements for leadership on crews. The new standard:
Permanent supervision:
Superintendent: TFLD, ICT4, FIRB
Asst. Supt.: STCR or TFLD and CRWB and ICT4
3 Squad Leaders: CRWB and ICT5
2 Senior Firefighters: FFT1
In 2014 Type 1 Crews only had to have three “agency-qualified” sawyers. Now there must be four certified Intermediate Fallers (FAL2) and 50 percent of the crew needs to be qualified as Basic Faller (FAL3).
The number of programmable radios on a Type 1 Crew was increased from five to eight.
DOZERS
There were major changes for dozers. The horsepower was increased for all types, a fourth type was added, and minimum base weights were established.
UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS
This category was added to account for the sudden increase during the last two years in the number of UAS, or drones, now being used on many types of incidents. More information is at Fire Aviation.
AIR TANKERS
An additional type of air tanker has been added since 2014 — the Very Large Air Tanker which is required to have a capacity of at least 8,000 gallons.
I did not notice any significant changes in the requirements for helicopters, engines, water tenders, or Type 2 crews.
The NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Resource Typing can be accessed here.
How to configure a Heavy Equipment Task Force
As used in the Northern Rockies
Continue readingHeavy equipment operators train for firefighting in Mississippi
Earlier this year Mississippi Forestry Commission technicians took part in a heavy equipment academy to learn safe practices and proper techniques when they suppress wildfires.
Dozer operator killed on prescribed fire in northwest Florida
The operator was working for a prescribed fire contractor
Continue readingCAL FIRE receives new dozer and transport
The Nevada Yuba Placer Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection recently received a large piece of fire suppression equipment. (Back in the old days we would lovingly refer to them as a Big Yellow McLeod.)
Here is how it is described by the agency:
CAL FIRE NEU took possession of a new 2018 D6N Caterpillar Dozer and 2019 International HX Series Transport.
The dozer has been modified with an extended track frame which helps with climbing and side hill performance. The engine compartment is configured with a 75 gallon water fire suppression system that can be activated by the operator for fires within the dozer. For operator safety the cab has a pressurized filtration environmental cab system and complete roll over protection system. An advanced lighting package will increase night time vision and allow safer operation under dusty and dark conditions.
The dozer and transport both have the CAL FIRE Automatic Vehicle Location System which operates from radio, satellite, and cellular.
The transport is has a Cummins X15 Performance motor that produces 605 Horse Power and 2050 lb-ft Torque. It is mounted to an 18 speed transmission.
Both Pieces of equipment will service the entire state but are based out of the Nevada City CAL FIRE Station.
One of the two operators assigned to this equipment will be Joe Kennedy recently made famous by videos showing his heroic efforts saving citizens at the Camp Fire in Paradise.
The other operator is Shawn Entz who is a fourth generation Nevada County resident who has over 20 years logging and firefighting in California.
If anyone has a link to the videos referred to above, let us know in a comment.
Dozer rollover with injury, Sugar Pine Fire in Oregon
Rapid Lesson Sharing report
Continue readingDozer operator killed in vehicle accident in California
He was driving to the North Fire on I-80
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