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Comment by Jason Myer on April 22, 2011 at 3:53pm

@Jeff... its a great system and well designed, the problem that we would have here in the states the multitudes of designs that there is in wildland apparatus. Everything from heavy Type III 4 wheel drive engines with fully enclosed conventional cabs, to pick ups trucks with slide in pump and tank units. The vehicles that are popular here in Texas and many parts of the mid west are designed for firefighters to ride on external parts of the apparatus while doing mobile attack. In the mountainous regions of the country these vehicles are not only inefficient but can be dangerous due to terrain issues. Now I agree with everyone here in that training training training is the best way to always reduce risk. In this situation the question of how do you get people that are not required to train. Cal OSHA tryed to make it maditory across the board and a lot of volunteer departments in California lost members. folks that were willing to do basic training, but in the end jsut wanted to be able to show up and help their fellow citizens of an area. Also supplying volunteers and departments with lower tax incomes is essential. full ppe includeing a Fire shelter. Can this prevent anyone from getting injured or worse? no of course not, but it will always increase the ability for everyone to come home. 1*

Comment by Dozin Dan on April 21, 2011 at 9:40am

Well said Jeff Fletcher, and thank you for the post Scott.Here in WI our fire season has been wet, so it is always good to break down the simplest of things of fire behavior one could overlook. We have outfitted our tractorplow units with curtains now, the complete fleet. We have had a shower system for approx 27 years on them, not our trucks however. We rarely put trucks in front of the flames, less "H" Div and evacuation procedures. It is always sad to hear of a fallen brother or sister and my prayers go out to the family and his fire crew. I heard a phrase this year that I am trying to instill in every portion of my life, "Courageous Patience". Remember to take the time to evaluate/ size up the situation, form your strategy, begin the tactics, and remeber to evaluate as you go. Do not "Grab a chunk of line and go!" Stay safe and be well Brothers and Sisters!

DOZR

Comment by Jeff Fletcher on April 20, 2011 at 6:22pm

Time for the US Authorities to look at the burn over protection systems fitted to tankers in Australia. All Crew Cab Tankers in the Country Fire Authority of Victoria have spray systems fitted and kevlar curtains in the cab, the crews ride out the burnover in the vehicle. The older tankers which have 3 crew on the back in the Roll Over Protection System have woollen blankets and hoses fitted with spray nozzles and we practice regularly what is called going in to Safety and Survival Mode. All of the older tankers are being retrofitted with a spray system and pull out drop down kevlar curtains that will protect the crew on the ROPS. Several crews survived on Black Saturday (Feb 7 2009) when their vehicles were trapped in a burn over situation, the system works.