At first, my partner and I were quite confused. One of the first
things that went through my mind is: “What the hell has happened
to this guy.” We started into patient assessment. He was somewhat
conscious and breathing on his own. He did not appear to have any
head injuries or long bone fractures. The lacerations on his arms
and neck appeared to be clotted.

Because of the extent of the burns, we started two large bore
IVs. My partner then decided that this was a case for an air-
evacuation, since we do not have a burn/trauma center nearby.
While we were getting the patient packaged and ready for the
helicopter, one of the power employees came over to tell us what
he knew about our patient.

It seems this guy had escaped from the psychiatric hospital that
was about three blocks away. He
had a history of suicide attempts. He escaped from the psych
hospital, walked to the electrical substation, jumped the fence at
the power station, sliced his wrists and carotid arteries,
and then climbed up on one of the large power transformers (this
guy really wanted to kill himself). He apparently stretched his
arms out and touched both poles of the transformer. He had a very
“shocking experience”. We have no idea why he was not electrocuted
outright. Ironically the electricity did not kill him and it even
helped to save him, for a while anyway. When the electricity
flashed over his body, it must have cauterized his neck and wrist
wounds.

He was air-evacuated to Norfolk General Hospital. He died about 10
days later

The fire had reversed itself and we were now at the heel of the fire. The line had to go in and we were the ones to do it. I don’t know what you know about topography maps, but I initially thought the printer was busted, because there was no way those contour lines should have been that close together. But it was the Los Padres National Forest – the worst terrain anywhere to fight a fire. Its full of cliffs and canyons and arroyos, rugged terrain, some of it impassable.

Anyway, we made the two hour drive out to the edge of the line and got our crews tooled out and ready to roll. My coworker scouted the line. He informed us that there was a line started and all we had to do was come off the ridge, find where the line ended and tie it in to the other crews before our 24 hour shift was up. I jokingly said 24 hours, 4 crews, and only one mile of line? We will be back for dinner. Man was I right. Only about the dinner part though.

Turns out it was a mile from point A to B, but to get there, we had to cut four miles of line along rugged fingers going up and down drainages and we had to be out of the canyon we were in before dark. Yeah the printer, it was working fine, the terrain was horrible, impossible.

We were just 10 chains shy of tying in before getting the order to disengage and trek back up the side of wobble leg canyon (not it’s real name but it should be). We were exhausted. Disappointment, fatigue, leg cramps and nothing left but my pride to push me up that hill.

I found out that day what my limits were and now I push myself and my men to theirs.

Wildfires have grown from being regional or seasonal problems as the wildfire season throughout the United States often runs the entire year and in a variety of locations.

California is the leader in terms of wildfire loss, but in recent years fires have caused extensive damage in Colorado; Texas; Arizona and Oklahoma. During one 18 month period, wildfires burned continuously in the state of Texas. Wildfire is no longer a seasonal issue it’s also not a regional issue

It’s no secret that the aging fleet of large, fixed-wing air tankers pose a safety risk to all involved. A decade ago two aircraft built in the 1940s and ’50s broke apart in midair while fighting fires in California and Colorado, killing five crewmen.

The Forest Service recently announced a long-awaited strategy to replace its fleet of 11 large fixed-wing air tankers, provided under contract by two private aviation companies. Large air tankers are coveted because they can deliver optimal amounts of suppressant on forest fires, but are only one part of a mix that includes firefighters on the ground, helicopters and other aircraft. The Forest Service is seeking state-of-the-art C-130Js, at $80 million each, a price it cannot afford, according to congressional staffers and aviation experts. The head-turning cargo plane flies at nearly 400 mph and can deliver an optimal load of 4,000 gallons of fire suppressant.

Also under consideration is the British Aerospace BAe-146, a 1980s-era plane that goes for a fraction of the cost of the C-130J. The Boeing 737 is as fast and carries as much as the C-130J, but its conversion from a passenger plane to an air tanker would probably require a lengthy and rigorous approval by the FAA.

Wildfires scorch millions of acres every year in the United States, destroying homes and businesses, and ending lives. At least 10 states have suffered record fires since 2000 As wildfires have grown in size and frequency, the fixed-wing air tanker fleet has shrunk. Last summer, it included 18 planes, until the contract of a company that provided seven large tankers was canceled because of safety concerns.
Eleven air tankers, with an average age of 50 years, cannot meet the demand for large aircraft at the height of the wildfire season, experts said. A single fire in California or Arizona can require every plane in the federal fleet.

Large planes take brutal beatings from wildfires. Temperatures reach 120 degrees in the cockpit, and repeated takeoffs and landings add to the pressure. An analysis found that the crack in Neptune’s plane was caused by stress from hard landings. The Lockheed P2V air tankers face retirement in 2021 but could be put down much sooner. During a routine maintenance check of one plane, a 12-inch crack was discovered near its left wing, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a directive Monday to ground the damaged plane and carefully inspect every plane in the government’s fleet.

They don’t want to be our buddies, they want to know without any doubt, that we know what we’re doing. After all, someday we may just be working alongside them in the field and they need to know that we know what we’re doing. I think some people in the class got a little spooked, but I’m fired up and can’t wait. I’m sure I’ll make mistakes, but I know I’ll learned from them and move on stronger and smarter. Being a father of four, being an example is my life and that won’t change in the academy or my career.

We backed out and went with plan B. While we were knocking the fire down our Chief realized three 100lb propane tanks on the side of the house were intact and beginning to vent. This changed the scenario completely. Two other firefighters were advancing a line to cool the tanks when the order to evacuate the scene was given.

Had it not been for the quick actions by our Chief, this could have resulted in a major LODD for our department. Thankfully the tanks didn’t explode. After the fire was out in the early morning hours, we noticed that the basement of the house contained three kerosene heaters and four “gas grill” size LPG tanks. All of this and the age of the house contributed to the heavy fire that we encountered. All occupants of the home had escaped unharmed except for one dog.

Had the porch and floor not been compromised, forcing us to pull back, this could have turned ugly real fast. It just goes to show that what you can’t see WILL kill you.

Unfortunately the child succumbed to smoke inhalation. My friend is the parent of an 18 month old girl and a 4 year old boy. When my friend returned from the hospital he attempted to joke about something. I laughed at him and when our eyes met, we both started crying. Our wives did not understand our outbursts of emotion and I don’t think they ever will. The child is buried at Crown Hill cemetery in Wheat Ridge CO.

Firefighters paid for his headstone.

Two-year-old Joshua Cullen was playing with a potty training seat and decided to see how it looked as a hat. But it became stuck – and his mother could not get it off. His grandad was called and he tried to remove it using soap – but it wouldn’t budge. So they took the tot to the fire station, where the crew cut the seat free using an industrial-strength cutter.

Fire Captain Chris Bradshaw said he had never seen a problem like it in his 27-year career. He added: “Lots of people have got stuff stuck on their body but never a kid and a toilet seat.”

Here is the story of the fire plug. Back before even horses pulled the steamers, and a set of irons meant taking your vitamins, the term fire plug was born. In the cities, the earliest water mains were made of hollowed out logs. I have seen the remnants of these under the streets of my own city (Winston Salem, which was founded by the Moravians).

The call went out for a fire, and the fire fighters rushed to the scene with their great new hand pumper. There only PPE was a helmet and a bucket. The buckets were required by law to be in each and every home and business and maintained by the owners. When fire fighters arrived they had to know the location of the water mains. They had to frantically dig a hole down to the main. They then took an auger and bored a hole in the water main and allowed the hole to fill with water. Then the hard suction pump went in, priming was done, and water would flow.

Plug Uglies, gang members, were persons used to guard the fire hydrant connections after they were opened to prevent other competing fire companies from disconnecting the hose from the hydrant, or keeping competing fire companies from finding the hydrant or plug openings. Fist fights would often occur between the plug uglies and the firefighters from competing fire companies as the house would burn to the ground.

By then all that was left of the original burning building was the chimney, front steps, and foundation. But a lot of work would be done to keep the fire from spreading to other structures.

When it was all done they had to stop the water. So a wooden plug was fashioned and driven into the bored hole with a wood mallet. Today our mallets are hard rubber, the pumpers are driven to the scene, but we still fight the red devil with the wet stuff.