Brotherhood of Firemen

[jacob j.]

Man made are the killers. Of course there are carcinogenic compounds in every type of smoke, but if natural material smoke was deadly, no one could consume grilled food without cancer side effects.. The man made materials are very toxic when burned.

Mostly from structure fires/synthetic materials. Although everything is carcigenic when burned, the synthetic materials are absolutely terrible. Wildfire smoke has traditionally been thought to be relatively harmless, but emerging research is beginning to suggest otherwise.

I have been a volunteer many years and a full time paramedic for a third, county operated EMS service. Hence my screen handle! But, lung cancer in 2021 has changed all that. I am still alive though!

Lung Cancer is one of my main concerns. Two wildland guys (both long time "Hotshots") and one structural Captain I've known all died of lung cancer within the last few years. Even in forest fire smoke, they've found substantial amounts of heavy metals, Arsenic, Cyanide, and PBAs - all of which do terrible things to the body. They're also finding out the Structural guys absorb a lot of contaminants through their skin when entering buildings - any exposed skin gets laden with contaminants which make their way into the bloodstream in short order.

 

[davidwyby]

Smoke is bad…it’s crazy how some people can tolerate it though. I recently re acquired my CJ-6 because the friend I sold it to passed away. He was in his 90s and smoked since he was a kid…healthy as an ox til finally lung cancer.

 

[Loony661]

As far as structure fires go, what’s your favorite to tool to enter a structure with?

I skip over the Haligan and go for a fire axe every time… Unless we partner up to open doors, then I take a standard axe.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

I'd rather have the pick head axe. Or a chainsaw...... hahaha. But, thankfully I've only had to use these in training. Doors always seem to be open out here.

And, we never get to a fire I time to be able to save it. I myself have over 10 miles to the station. Then from there most times structure fires are about 20 to 30 min from there.

The rare close one's are always abandoned buildings that might be met lab's.

What's sad is having to drive by a fire by about 8 miles just to get a truck, then return. That's a lot of timefor a fire to get going good.

 

[Loony661]

I'd rather have the pick head axe. Or a chainsaw...... hahaha. But, thankfully I've only had to use these in training. Doors always seem to be open out here.

And, we never get to a fire I time to be able to save it. I myself have over 10 miles to the station. Then from there most times structure fires are about 20 to 30 min from there.

The rare close one's are always abandoned buildings that might be met lab's.

What's sad is having to drive by a fire by about 8 miles just to get a truck, then return. That's a lot of timefor a fire to get going good.

I hear ya - response time is crucial and sometimes there’s just no way to be any more efficient about it.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

I hear ya - response time is crucial and sometimes there’s just no way to be any more efficient about it.

That's one problem with living where there's not a lot around.

From the station, to the far west side of the district is about 36 miles as the crow flys. It's about 45 miles by road. Of which all is gravel but 13 miles of it.

 

[Loony661]

That's one problem with living where there's not a lot around.

From the station, to the far west side of the district is about 36 miles as the crow flys. It's about 45 miles by road. Of which all is gravel but 13 miles of it.

We have similar problems here - with the rolling hills and valleys, the roads are not very direct in parts of our service area. Sometimes you can see the farm 800-1000 yards away, but have to travel 4-5 miles to get to it by road.

 

[Loony661]

We’re certainly not as wide open and far apart as you are, I’m sure!

 

[Loony661]

My father-in-law and I did a controlled burn on this steep hillside today. Yesterday morning there was 8” of snow covering this hill, and we burned it at 2pm today.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

Thats a good time to burn. I did a control burn last year on a old two story (barely) house. Fires are fun to watch.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

properly managed vegitation goes along way, I wish we did more controlled burning in my area, the forests around here are ticking time bombs

 

[Loony661]

properly managed vegitation goes along way, I wish we did more controlled burning in my area, the forests around here are ticking time bombs

We try to keep burning certain areas of our private land to keep the invasive species from spreading. So far it’s been very good for the land.

 

[Sierra_rider]

As far as structure fires go, what’s your favorite to tool to enter a structure with?

I skip over the Haligan and go for a fire axe every time… Unless we partner up to open doors, then I take a standard axe.

Ha...I initially misunderstood this to mean what tool you like to go inside of a structure with. We usually don't have to force doors, if someone isn't home to report it early, it's usually one of those surround and drown sorta deals for us. If we can go inside, it's because the homeowner left a door unlocked during their egress.

What tool I like to carry in general? I'm a bit of an oddball on this, but I like the rubbish hook. As a "saw guy," I prefer to run a saw, but there aren't many chances to get on a hot roof with modern construction.

 

[Sierra_rider]

Lung Cancer is one of my main concerns. Two wildland guys (both long time "Hotshots") and one structural Captain I've known all died of lung cancer within the last few years. Even in forest fire smoke, they've found substantial amounts of heavy metals, Arsenic, Cyanide, and PBAs - all of which do terrible things to the body. They're also finding out the Structural guys absorb a lot of contaminants through their skin when entering buildings - any exposed skin gets laden with contaminants which make their way into the bloodstream in short order.

Generally speaking, any cancer is my main concern. Some of the other stuff, namely heart disease, I'll be extremely unlikely to get. Between a good diet, copious amounts of exercise, and semi-regular health screenings, I'm not too worried about a lot of the stuff that can get us. Cancer is the exception to this. It's one of those things that you can't just have an extensive blood panel done and rule it out. I've got a few friends that are either in remission for cancer, or in the case of one, is terminal. They aren't even fire guys, they've probably been exposed to less chemical compounds than I have...obviously the best bet is to minimize exposure to carcinogens, but you can only do so much.

 

[Sierra_rider]

My father-in-law and I did a controlled burn on this steep hillside today. Yesterday morning there was 8” of snow covering this hill, and we burned it at 2pm today. View attachment 374485View attachment 374486View attachment 374487

It's still a bit too wet for us to do broadcast burns, we're just prepping plots to burn in a month or 2. It can be tricky to find the "perfect" time of year here to do prescribed fire. It's too wet right now, but give it a couple months, and torching trees, spots, and slops will become a real issue.

 

[Headhunter1111]

@Loony661
Good to see some other fire fighters on here. I’m out in NM and fire season is just kicking off. Had an 8.5 acre brush fire last week that nearly got to some houses. County grader happened to be close and got around it pretty quick. Last year we had 341,000 acre fire that burned a lot of homes and properties so everybody is pretty on edge this year. We had good moisture after the fact that brought on a lot of grass. That cured out over the winter and between that, the high winds, and single digit humidity it looks like we might be busy this year too.

 

[Loony661]

@Loony661
Good to see some other fire fighters on here. I’m out in NM and fire season is just kicking off. Had an 8.5 acre brush fire last week that nearly got to some houses. County grader happened to be close and got around it pretty quick. Last year we had 341,000 acre fire that burned a lot of homes and properties so everybody is pretty on edge this year. We had good moisture after the fact that brought on a lot of grass. That cured out over the winter and between that, the high winds, and single digit humidity it looks like we might be busy this year too.

Right on - glad you were able to snuff that one so quick! Sounds like you have a lot of fuel ready to go anytime.. Stay safe and keep us posted!

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

Sounds like a tinder box. That's scary!

 

[Headhunter1111]

Right on - glad you were able to snuff that one so quick! Sounds like you have a lot of fuel ready to go anytime.. Stay safe and keep us

Sounds like a tinder box. That's scary!

You are both right about that. Lots of fuels and low rh this past week. We’re praying for rain and not dry lightning! Where are y’all at?

 

[Loony661]

You are both right about that. Lots of fuels and low rh this past week. We’re praying for rain and not dry lightning! Where are y’all at?

South East Minnesota here - Winona County.