Forest Fire Fighting
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Follow the link on the left to the forest fire gallery page and download the forest fire fighting manual at the bottom of the page. |
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Forest Fires
in Indonesia, destroy large area of forest every year. In addition to this the fires also destroy the top soil in the peat land areas. Some burnt areas can become "dead" for very long. The thick smoke from the fires, blanket large parts of South East Asia. It disrupts aviation and causes illness and death to many people in the region.
All forest fires in Indonesia are man made. |
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Due to the conditions in the Indonesian forest, fires are slower then what we see in Europe, Australia and North America. The slow moving tropical forest fires however consumes most of the fuel unlike a faster moving fire that in some cases even can allow the trees to survive. |
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Using water and hose is only one of the methods. |
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| Excavators and bull dozers are used to open fire breaks in the dense vegetation. |
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Helicopters are useful, both for water bombing and for command & control.
Photo; Bradford M. Sanders |
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Helicopter during drop with a Bambi Bucket.
Photo; Bradford M. Sanders
Move the mouse over the picture to see a detail of the drop. |
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Aerial fire fighting can however, never replace the ground crews. |
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Irrespective of helicopters and excavators, the final fight is still for the fire crews to manage.
But the helicopters are superb complements.
Photo; Bradford M. Sanders |
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Additional problems occur in the peat land concessions, where the canals are the only means of ground communication. The fire trucks are replaced with boats. |
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A lot of the work were therefore focused on training and equipping the fire crews to enable them to operate effectively in the tropical forest.
Here are a few fire crew members in modern uniforms, equipped to survive on their own in the forest. The uniform is 100% cotton and the back pack contains personal equipment and a dry set of uniform for the cold night to come. Observe that they all carry water bottles.
Click on the picture to download a complete description of the fire crew and patrols and their equipment, as PDF-file. |
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Light Fire Fighting Crew
We designed two types of forest fire fighting crews. Light crew whit better mobility but lower striking power.
Move the mouse over the picture to see their equipment. |
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Heavy Fire Fighting Crew
with lower mobility, but capacity to water supply fire fighters up to 1 km away from a water source.
Move the mouse over the picture to see their equipment. |
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Speed Boat Patrols,
with 2-3 fire fighters and ultra light equipment for patrolling in the peat lands.
Move the mouse over the picture to see their equipment. |
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Helicopter patrol,
with ultra light fire fighting equipment and a small "Bambi Bucket" for aerial surveillance and rapid response.
Move the mouse over the picture to see their equipment. |
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Planning,
is essential for success. Crews can work in 12 hour shift, if they are given quarters to rest, and sufficient supplies of food, water and fuel. |
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Each man,
needs at least 5 liters of drinking water per day. Water that often has to be transported far. |
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Pumps
might consume up to 20 liter of fuel per hour. |
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Repair crews,
often find themselves working around the clock. |
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Sector Commanders
must not be given larger area of responsibility then they meet their Fire Crew Leaders for direct face to face communication and a briefing over a map. |
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| Improvisation
is one of the keys to success. "If the boat is not here - we swim across the canal. Jerry cans with fuel will follow just behind." |
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A parade
is a mandatory element in the closing of an Indonesian forest fire fighting operation. |
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It is easy to forget
the fires when the operation is over and the rain arrives. But for sure the fire season is an annual event affecting large parts of South East Asia with the thick choking smoke, referred to as haze. |
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