INNOVATIONS
Firefighters Carry Pumps
To Put out Wildfires
To Put out Wildfires
By Gregg O’Donnell
The tactics of firefighters come from an
understanding of fire. What IS fire exactly? If you examine the
components of fire, known as the “fire triangle,”
then fire suppression is easier to comprehend.
Fuel, heat and oxygen must exist in a
combination to produce fire. These three elements make up the
“fire triangle,” describing how fire burns and
offering clues on how to suppress fires. Since a triangle has
three sides, removing one side collapses the triangle. The
“fire triangle” can be collapsed the same way;
remove any of the three components of fire – fuel, heat
or oxygen – and the fire is suppressed. When firefighters
fight a fire, their goal is to remove one of these three
essential components.
The fuel side of the triangle is broken
with water as the moisture of the fuel increases to the point
where it will not burn. Water breaks the heat side of the
triangle by reducing heat through absorption. The fire will go
out when there is insufficient heat for combustion. The third
side of the fire triangle, oxygen, can also be broken with
water. The way water is applied is critical for this to occur.
A firehose equipped with a “fog nozzle” is an
effective way to reduce oxygen to a fire.
The author is the webmaster for the
Department of Forestry.
Western states battling wildfires may seem
to be a distant reality to Virginians, who may consider the
destruction of hurricane events to be a more reason-able
threat. But between 1996 and 2003, Virginia averaged 1,556
fires per year that burned 10,347 acres. Every 11 acres that
burns means that a home, business or other structure is
threatened, damaged or destroyed.
The Virginia Department of Forestry relies
on accurate communication and a variety of tools and techniques
to fight wildfires. Bulldozers clean up fuel and debris to help
contain the fire. Firefighters form “hand crews”
and manually remove fuel and debris from the path of advancing
flame. Wearing fireproof NOMEX clothing, these crews carry
rakes and other tools, like a “Pulaski.” Used by
professional firefighters, the Pulaski is a versatile tool that
has both an axe head and a hoe, and designed for chopping,
grubbing, and digging fire lines in brush filled or rocky
terrain. Engines pump water through hoses directed by
firefighters. Beyond the 300 foot reach of the hoses, backpack
pumps and other portable pumps strategically spray water onto
the fire.
A Department of Forestry employee
demonstrates the operation of a rigid metal backpack pump.
