Fire Thought For The Day 008
Fine Fuels
Fine Fuels
Fine fuels are worth a thought.
- Remember that fine fuels carry the fire.
- Fine fuels are flashy and can spread very quickly. Example, in May when the grass is 100% cured. It can burn very rapidly.
- Fine fuels will dry out very quickly after rain, especially in hot windy weather with low relative humidities.
- Many tragedies have happened in light flashy fuel. Don’t underestimate their danger. All it takes is one breath of super heated air and your air ways are burned.
- Fine fuels do not usually burn with the same intensity as heavier ones. However, they make up for it in spread rate. It is very common to see 100% cured grass spread at 50m/minute (roughly 3 feet per second) and higher under the right conditions.
California, a (Municipal Volunteer Firefighter) got burned over in grass fuels. She survived. She went through a tremendously painful rehabilitation. Her life and the lives of those around her changed for ever.
Saskatchewan, a (Municipal Volunteer Firefighter) got burned over in a grass fuel type. He survived for 45 days and then succumbed to his burn injuries. His life ended, the lives of those around him changed forever.
There are many more.
Many times I have heard ; “Oh it’s just a stinkin grass fire…nothing to worry about.” On every fire there are many things to worry about. We must learn to take the time to do things right on every fire. Safety can not be compromised. We can go for ages and not have anything bad happen. It only takes once, and it happens very quickly, and there is no changing it once it happens.
Learn to think ahead. Where am I now? What is the fire doing? Where will I be in the future? What will the fire be doing then?
Look at the Indices for the day. Know what the expected fire behavior is. Anticipate what the fire behavior will be in the future.
Don’t underestimate the fine fuels.
“Fire is not prejudice…it will try to burn anything.”
Until next time Stay Safe! Tex
008
- Remember that fine fuels carry the fire.
- Fine fuels are flashy and can spread very quickly. Example, in May when the grass is 100% cured. It can burn very rapidly.
- Fine fuels will dry out very quickly after rain, especially in hot windy weather with low relative humidities.
- Many tragedies have happened in light flashy fuel. Don’t underestimate their danger. All it takes is one breath of super heated air and your air ways are burned.
- Fine fuels do not usually burn with the same intensity as heavier ones. However, they make up for it in spread rate. It is very common to see 100% cured grass spread at 50m/minute (roughly 3 feet per second) and higher under the right conditions.
California, a (Municipal Volunteer Firefighter) got burned over in grass fuels. She survived. She went through a tremendously painful rehabilitation. Her life and the lives of those around her changed for ever.
Saskatchewan, a (Municipal Volunteer Firefighter) got burned over in a grass fuel type. He survived for 45 days and then succumbed to his burn injuries. His life ended, the lives of those around him changed forever.
There are many more.
Many times I have heard ; “Oh it’s just a stinkin grass fire…nothing to worry about.” On every fire there are many things to worry about. We must learn to take the time to do things right on every fire. Safety can not be compromised. We can go for ages and not have anything bad happen. It only takes once, and it happens very quickly, and there is no changing it once it happens.
Learn to think ahead. Where am I now? What is the fire doing? Where will I be in the future? What will the fire be doing then?
Look at the Indices for the day. Know what the expected fire behavior is. Anticipate what the fire behavior will be in the future.
Don’t underestimate the fine fuels.
“Fire is not prejudice…it will try to burn anything.”
Until next time Stay Safe! Tex
008
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