Fire Shelter Deployment

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Mountain and Desert Division Assistant Chief with the CAL FIRE San Bernardino Unit, Douglas Lannon recently provided a fire shelter deployment demonstration at the Arrowhead Springs Resort and Conference Center in Arrowhead Springs, California. Fire Shelters are used by firefighters as a last resort to protect themselves if they were to be trapped by a wildfire.

Douglas Lannon explained, "Deploying of fire shelters has occurred around the nation and around the world on several fires, but it's not something that normally happens. I have never in my thirty-eight years of experience actually had to deploy a shelter. I do carry it with me at all times."

Fire shelters should never be used as an escape from a fire. A planned escape route and establishing open area safety zones is essential. "...Large enough to where you can actually withstand what's going on with the fire without having to deploy a shelter or having to be in full personal protective equipment," remarked Lannon. "A deployment zone would be an area that's free of heavy vegetation, free of power lines or power poles that could come down on you."

A couple of times a year, firefighters should perform hands-on training with practice shelters to know how to quickly and efficiently deploy a fire shelter, which could someday save their life.

The shelter only protects the person using it from radiant heat, not conductive heat. Lannon explained, "So in other words, direct flame impingement, the shelter is gonna deteriorate. The shelter will protect us from about 95% of radiant heat, which is actually a whole lot." To minimize exposure, feet should face the oncoming flames while your head faces away from the flames to protect your lungs and airway.

Practice shelters are kept in an orange case, while the real shelters are kept in blue cases. According to Assistant Chief Lannon, the shelters cost approximately $360 each, therefore, they are not used as a training item because once used, they must be discarded.

"This is a hard plastic case in there for a reason. It helps protect the integrity of that shelter. You have a silver, aluminized outer shell and this is what's gonna reflect the radiant heat. You've got a series of emergency pull tabs. You would pull this down, open it up, pull the shelter out. At that point in time, we are gonna lose our packs, lose our tools, because the tools have sharp edges," Lannon said as he demonstrated the deployment procedure.

If firefighters have to deploy a shelter, there is a handle for them to grip, because if the wind comes up, the shelter could become a kite. As Lannon began his demonstration, he shook the shelter out and stepped into it. When he fell down to the ground, he captured as much air as he could for two reasons - to keep the shelter off his body, and to give him air to breathe. Lannon claimed, "Once we are in the shelter, we are gonna stay in that shelter for a long period of time. It could be as long as 30-45 minutes. It might be an hour and a half."

His hands and feet held the shelter down and while inside of the shelter, he made it clear that it is important to maintain contact with his personnel and make sure everybody is safe at all times. While in the shelter, he was wearing full Personal Protective Equipment [PPE], including a helmet. In the event of an actual deployment he would also have a radio and canteen with him. Most importantly, during their time in the shelter, he says firefighters must stay as calm as possible.

Contributors to this story:
Barbara Brooks - Reporter
Ann Zevely - Camera/Editing
Renee Marquart - Text Story



Author:B. Brooks, A. Zevely and R. Marquart - FDNNTV.com