Brotherhood of Firemen

[Headhunter1111]

We had 4 new lightning starts in the last couple days out here. How are things going for the rest of you?

 

[redneckhillbilly]

were chugging right in to a hot spell, had about 40 fires from lightening in my district, as of now everything is contained and in patrol status.

this year they have decided to keep all the crews local and not send anything out of state, they are expecting a bad fire season.

still in a PL2 last i checked, only reason its not up to a 3 is because all available recources are still local.

got a 5 day assignment last week, but thats it for me so far, I'm ready to hit the road whenever I'm needed again.

 

[Loony661]

I like reading about you wildland guys and your adventures/tasks.. We don’t get anything like that here. So far (knock on wood) it’s been very slow for us. Considering the dry summer we’re experiencing, it could be a lot worse.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

we have 2 trucks on long term assignments with the DNRC, they have been fairly busy with smoke checks and initial attack, me I'm a water tender operator and maintenance guy for the fire dept, I'm usually not in the thick of stuff, I stepped back from engine boss and all the BS that comes with it.

 

[Headhunter1111]

were chugging right in to a hot spell, had about 40 fires from lightening in my district, as of now everything is contained and in patrol status.

this year they have decided to keep all the crews local and not send anything out of state, they are expecting a bad fire season.

still in a PL2 last i checked, only reason its not up to a 3 is because all available recources are still local.

got a 5 day assignment last week, but thats it for me so far, I'm ready to hit the road whenever I'm needed again.

I’m on a handcrew. I missed the last roll due to a commitment. They spent 2 weeks fighting desert fires in 90-114° weather. We’re going available again Sunday. Should be a busy couple weeks again.
The last roll was a complete bust. Went clear across the state for a 4.5acre fire. Us and a shot crew.
42 guys on 4.5 acres was a first for me. We mopped it up and they demob’ed us the next day.
We’re sticking around locally for now too, but maybe we’ll get to head up your way soon. August they release us nationally.

 

[Headhunter1111]

I like reading about you wildland guys and your adventures/tasks.. We don’t get anything like that here. So far (knock on wood) it’s been very slow for us. Considering the dry summer we’re experiencing, it could be a lot worse.

Wildland gets in your blood. Or we have a wire loose or something.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

We've had three small fires in thr last three weeks. Nothing major thankfully. We might see more fires since it's supposed to get hot and the grass is dry. Harvest season is right around the corner as well. Most farmers are good about keeping water close by so nothing gets out of hand.

 

[Headhunter1111]

We've had three small fires in thr last three weeks. Nothing major thankfully. We might see more fires since it's supposed to get hot and the grass is dry. Harvest season is right around the corner as well. Most farmers are good about keeping water close by so nothing gets out of hand.

Do you deal with a lot of hay bale fires?

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

Do you deal with a lot of hay bale fires?

No, Not a whole lot of them. We might get a couple a year. Unless its a hay stack that burns.

We roll them out and let em burn down a ways before nocking out the hot spots. Less time involved and less mess for the rancher to deal with.

 

[Loony661]

We had a streak of bale fires here about a month ago. Haven’t had any since.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

anyone ever seen a mark 3 get the muffler red hot?

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

anyone ever seen a mark 3 get the muffler red hot?

Nope, but I've seen small engines do that.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

We did hose testing today. Got a couple shots of the deck gun. Notice the rainbow?

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

There was a round bale here. It got struck by lightning early Sunday morning.

 

[Loony661]

There was a round bale here. It got struck by lightning early Sunday morning.View attachment 385496

Looks like it’s fortunate that it was green enough around it not to spread.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

Yes, plus with the storm we had 6/10 of an inch.

The farmer kept it stirred up and spread out a little till it was all burnt. Then we hosed it down for him. When we first saw it it was still almost whole, but it was black.

 

[Headhunter1111]

Yes, plus with the storm we had 6/10 of an inch.

The farmer kept it stirred up and spread out a little till it was all burnt. Then we hosed it down for him. When we first saw it it was still almost whole, but it was black.

We’ve had lots of lightning here too. Not a lot of rain though. Plenty of new starts. Just wrapped up our second fire and on our way to a 3rd down in the southern part of the state. Day 9.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

We’ve had lots of lightning here too. Not a lot of rain though. Plenty of new starts. Just wrapped up our second fire and on our way to a 3rd down in the southern part of the state. Day 9. View attachment 385576

Be safe out there!

 

[davidwyby]

 

[Loony661]

One of our senior members retired from the department last night after 43 years of service.