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Bushfires-Where do you put all your gear and what do you take?
We are constantly told in NSW, Australia that we need a pocket knife, pen and paper, at least five litres of drinking water, food, medication if required, length of rope, lighter, torch, compass.. the list goes on. These are things we are not provided with but are required to lug around in the moutains or the bush in addition to all of the PPE provided and tools required for the job. Can anyone share with me and others the best methods for storage of these items and how they manage to carry all of this stuff around without it impeding their movement.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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Good point about the foodstuffs James, always had to try and find someone to swap with back in the Army rat-pack days... The toilt paper and wipes, I forgot them in my list, even though all our trucks are toilet paper equiped. I forgot the spare dustmask too. Yes, I just grabbed my bum-pack to check what was in it.
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Permalink Reply by Robert (Bob) Roberson on
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Doug, It would be really nice if our services supplied all that they expect Volunteer Fire Fighters to have. But the unfortunate fact is, our fire services supply the basic essentials to cover themselves under Australian Workplace Health and Safety Laws, and any additional items that they suggest throughout training programms are at the expence of the Volunteer Fire Fighter.
Now if you are full time paid fire fighter, that is a different matter because these people have not only the support of their unions but approximately 7/8 of the services budget even though their numbers are usually around a 10th of the services total strength.
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Permalink Reply by ranni simone on
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i was a rural with RFS in Qld.and the station i was at was a joint one..rurals and auxilliarys...as a rural there we was told to have a bandana,zippo,torch,pain killers,note pad an pen.and p2 mask..and keep them in our pocket .....also when u leave the truck to go to job make sure u grab couple bottles of water with you.....well now i have left that station an moved to an all auxilliary...i have a little backpack.i still have those things.but i also have change of socks,tshirt etc,and keep couple muesli bars an lollies...to keep me gng if we going to be on the job for few hours....its always good to have certain things with you as u never know when u will need it....liz buy a small backback..dont have to be big throw few things in there an when u go on a job take bag in truck with ya....if you think ur going to be away from the truck for awhile take it or just leave it on there....thats my thoughts anyways
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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My line gear contains: name tag, fire shelter, 4 liters of water in plastic canteens, headlamp, spare batteries, MRE, snacks, first aid kit, ear plugs, pad/pen, fusees (2), lighter, file, flagging, compass, fiber tape, 50' parachute cord, toothbrush/toothpaste, toilet paper, sunblock, lip balm, sunglasses, folding knife, emergency blanket, dust masks (2), insect repellant, camera, spare boot laces, drinking cup, Fireline Handbook and Emergency Response Guidebook... (for cold/wet weather)sweatshirt, long underwear, wool cap, poncho, wool glove liners. I wear: helmet, gloves, goggles, bandana, undershirt, pack (above), nomex shirt/pants, belt, boots, natural fiber socks, radio in chest harness and EMT certification/driver license, red card/task books. Probably talking about 25 pounds depending on how much water you carry. Some or all of it will save your life, especially the toilet paper! And the feds here in the US require that you have your pack on at all times when away from the truck.
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see it would be a bit impossible for us to carry all this especially when we are dealing with bushfires where alot of trucks may not be able to make it off the road..especially if we are unable to get rurals out to the job and sumtimes that can be the case....most importantly we have to try to eliminate heat exhaustion etc...and if we was to carry all that plus a hose etc...chances are we would suffer it....
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Permalink Reply by David Sonnen on
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Over here in the States, there are a lot of regional differences in terrain, fuels, and wildland FF techniques, so what you carry depends on where you're working.
In the South, a lot of wildland work is handled with tractor plow crews with help from small, local fire departments. On most fires there's a pretty good chance you'll go home at the end of the day. When I worked in that part of the country, I kept a surveyor's vest with a headlamp, lighter for backfire torches, spare gloves, goggles, knife, insect repellent and spare batteries. Light was better, so all the heavy stuff stayed in the truck.
Out here in the West, wildland FF is a whole different deal, particularly in the mountains. There is a lot of hand tool work, brush trucks, air tanker and helicopter support, and multi-agency responses. In the wildland urban interface, the response gets really complicated, even on relatively small fires.
Even on initial attack, there is a good chance that you will be out all night on the first day. So, most FFs carry fire packs, with enough gear to stay hydrated, fed and warm for 16-20 hours
That's given rise to a whole fire pack industry that takes advantage of the sizable overtime checks FFs get on project fires. Pack Shack, TrueNorth and Wolf are popular brands. Check out http://www.firecache.com/ for examples.
Fire packs and what goes in them can be tailored to anyone's preference. Minor religions have sprung up around the "best" pack and contents. Magazine articles and blogs deliberate about "what's in your fire pack" with the same gravity as they would discuss world peace. It's all great fun.
I've settled on a harness that has a detachable pack. The harness can carry a hydration bladder, flagging, fusees, radio, GPS, notepad, pencils, map, Leatherman tool, and the required fire shelter. The pack holds an MRE, headlamp, spare socks, a few batteries, Power Bars, tiny first aid kit, little digital camera, a few ZipLock bags, a fleece sweater and a cheap, light raincoat. (Mountain thunderstorms can leave you soaked and very very cold.) When I was working on a Type 1 team, I left out the fusees. For fires in Alaska, I put in a lot of extra insect repellent.
If you're working on project fires, you can be out for 10 days or so before you have a chance to wash clothes and re-supply your personal stuff. So, you pack for, basically, an extended camping trip -- lots of spare socks, underwear, tent, more spare socks, sleeping bag, pad, even more spare socks, and the other stuff you need for daily living. Did I mention the spare socks? All that goes in a sturdy duffel bag that will fit in the small planes and helicopters that generally take you to fire camp.
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Getting a lot of lists of great gear you could buy Liz? ;o)
Having replied earlier, I now see you op in a slightly different way. You say all this extra stuff is 'required'? Extra stuff we're told about is mainly 'suggested', the only time anything extra is 'required' is for long-haul strike team jobs, when going away for up to three days. Apart from things like pen & paper, pocket knife and drinking water, do you really have to carry everything around? (A torch is useful on night shift of course.) Are you tasked to go a long distance from your tankers? We rarely go more than a couple of hose lengths away from ours so no need to carry much stuff.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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I take everything but the kitchen sink...and its not a problem to carry it....I just put it in the probies ruck.....LOL
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Just make sure he never tries to wear your spare skivies! LOL
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Am I supposed to take spare skivies...? LOL
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Permalink Reply by Vic Silverfish on
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Don't bother, just turn the pair you're wearing inside out every morning.
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Might get warm without 'em!!! ;-/
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