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Permalink Reply by FF Nick on February 2, 2011 at 3:40pm

NFPA1977 is the standard for Wildland Gear. Local state forestry services usually give more award for Wildland gear over the feds. I wouldn't recommend using the FEMA AFG to try to get forestry stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Colin Carswell on February 2, 2011 at 3:44pm

NFPA 1971 Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting. This will cover everything from your helmet to your boots and everything in between.

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Permalink Reply by James Wright on February 2, 2011 at 3:55pm

YOU CAN USE STRUCTRAL TURNOUT GEAR TO FIGHT WILDLAND FIRE BUT NOT WILDLAND GEAR ON STRUCTURAL..

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Permalink Reply by Reg Mathis on February 2, 2011 at 11:34pm

Although after about two hours of humping ridgelines, you'll wish there WAS a regulation preventing it!!!

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Permalink Reply by Katina L Phalen on February 3, 2011 at 1:34am

I wouldn't use structural PPE for wildland gear. You have to think about the weight, heat, and how exhaust people get. Speaking from experience! What the last two people put for the NFPA codes I believe are the right codes though.

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Permalink Reply by Gregory L Collins on February 3, 2011 at 1:45am

I know in ALASKA, forestry won't let you fight wildland fire in Structure gear. I apck 2 sets of gear during wildland season. If you get ordered to do structure protection you can wear your structure gear if on wildland you better be dressed in wildland gear or you get sidelined.

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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on February 4, 2011 at 8:36am

Don't know of any standard regarding this. Our SOP's simply state that the chief officer decides based on weather and fuel conditions whether personnel go out of the station wearing bunker gear or wildland gear when we respond to a wildland fire with nothing else involved. In any case if we wear wildland gear we carry our bunker gear on the truck just in case it turns into something worse. I'm sure you're already well aware that on a hot day bunker gear adds a major health and safety issue.

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Permalink Reply by John Dobson on February 4, 2011 at 10:08am

Last summer we had a bean field burn. The beans were 3 to 4 feet high and very green they were planted in no till wheat stubble basicly straw. I am guessing the temp was upper 90s very humid.

At one point I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. Between the beans wrapping around legs you just had to fight to move and the weather. I thought I was going to collapse. To get in the black I had to cut thought the fire line. The bean canopy was so thick the water from the lines just deflected so I could not get a knock down. Most of the time we could not see the base of the fire just where it came up high enough to show though the bean canopy. I one point I had fire roll up my bunker pant legs and around my boots. A few minutes after burning the straw the beans would collapse to ground and lie flat. So we stayed in that post burnt area to fight the fire. I was so glad to see the farmer pull in with his big blue tractor and drop the disc.

You know we never did find the cause of that fire it started hundreds of yards in the middle of the field away from roads and homes. The bean canopy was so thick we don't think glass reflecting sunlight could have caused it. The straw didn't seem thick enough for it to self ignite by decomposing.

This was a wake up call for me on bunker gear and wildfires. It was just a simple little bean field fire but I thought I was going to get way too hot. I look back on that one with a bad feeling in my gut.

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Permalink Reply by big o on February 4, 2011 at 1:30pm

john try the state dnr grants i've heard they will give money for most anything wildland related we got one last year for a new skid unit, and i think a neighboring department got one for gear about 2 years ago

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Permalink Reply by John Dobson on February 4, 2011 at 3:29pm

I really think I could get a state grant but it is 50% matching funds. It is a hard sell to my department they say all the other departments around just use bunkers so that what we will use. I don't care what the other department use we have maybe 5 structure fires a year and 20 or more field/wildland fires. So I am all for wildland training and wildland gear. But to get my department to go for the wildland gear is going to be a hard sell at 50% matching cost. I know our budget and I am a department board member. We most likely could afford it but it is hard to change the old school way of thinking.
I have gave thought to buying my own set of wildland gear to help open up some opinions.

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Permalink Reply by big o on February 4, 2011 at 8:29pm

there is another grant direct from IDHS if i remember right we used the 2 grants (the 50% match then the second as the match) to purchase our skid let me find out what the second was to try and help you

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Permalink Reply by Rhino on February 4, 2011 at 11:06pm

Check with your local Forestry Commission Chief Ranger and he can tell you about 50/50 grants to buy Wildland Equipment and apparel. Here in Georgia they run grants around March.. We have gotten the grant 3 out of 5 years.. Check out.. http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/2874.htm and maybe you can get help..

Captain Joe Faircloth

Greenough VFD

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