These can be effective as long as the wind is at the firefighter’s back. If it is not, embers can be lifted and then blown across the fireline, spreading the fire.
Tag: leaf blower
Leaf blower as a firefighting tool
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized14 Comments on Leaf blower as a firefighting tool 
On one of the pages of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service website that features wildfires, there is some praise for their “new Forced Air Firefighting Units (FAFU)”, also known as leaf blowers:
Though they may be new to firefighters in the United Kingdom, leaf blowers have been used on fires in the southeast United States for decades. I have had a little experience with them and found that they can be very useful for building fireline in hardwood litter. A brief trial in directly controlling an active fire found that they can be tricky to use. You have to be very careful where you point that high-velocity stream of air because burning embers are constantly in motion and when airborne they can sometimes land in an undesired location. And wind direction is key.
I’d like to hear from firefighters that have experience using leaf blowers in a fire management operation.
