Largest Fire Currently Burning in the US

Started by Гугл переводчик, August 15, 2015, 06:12:03 PM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Theodore

Wait, I got it. C.A.P. can do evacuations for the Fire Departments, and direct traffic

foo

Quote from: THRAWN on April 11, 2016, 06:57:16 PM
Quote from: Theodore on April 11, 2016, 06:40:47 PM
I say we should make a movement to allow older cadets to assist on the fire lines. 16 and up? And the younger cadets operate the radios, help with relief, etc.

You're daft. Fighting these big fires is no easy or even remotely "safe" task. Want to fight fires? Plenty of outfits that you can join. CAP ain't one of them...

Ad hominem much?

Spam

Theodore:

Points for trying. However, given the high potential for threatening conditions to rapidly change inside an active disaster area (wind shift driven wildfires, rain-driven mudslides of hills now denuded of cover, flash floods, etc.) most controlling agencies are reluctant to send minimally trained volunteer assets INTO the threat area. The idea is, get people OUT, and evacuated to a safe zone, where CAP, ARC, and other agencies can function at reduced risk and without being a concern for the fire fighters to worry about.

Disclaimer: haven't been in a forest fire DR situation, but I've worked multiple DR hurricane, flood, and blizzard missions and have had the experience of splashing through rapidly rising waist deep flood water to yank back CAP guys from levee ops at 0200L, who didn't listen to the emergency "pull back - its going" calls from the FD. Some tasks, some missions, we need to recognize we don't have the core skill set for, and not oversell ourselves.

V/R
Spam


Theodore

I want C.A.P. to do more to help others though.

THRAWN

Quote from: Theodore on April 11, 2016, 08:50:03 PM
I want C.A.P. to do more to help others though.

Where is the funding coming from? Who will be providing the insurance? Who gets billed for maintenance or damage to the aircraft? Who gets sued when some hapless CAP member gets trapped in the fire?

CAP has a lane in the ES world. We need to stay in it.
Strup-"Belligerent....at times...."
AFRCC SMC 10-97
NSS ISC 05-00
USAF SOS 2000
USAF ACSC 2011
US NWC 2016
USMC CSCDEP 2023

Theodore

Yes, we can stay in our lane. But sometimes, the road has to widen.

stillamarine

If you've never fought a forest fire you will never know the danger there is. I've fought both wildland fires and structure fires. Only time I ever thought I was going to die was on a wildland. And I fell through a roof fighting an apt fire. Brush fires are completely unpredictable. No place on a fire line for CAP. Especially a cadet. Now I think CAP aircraft can help with spotting. FLWG does this when they do controlled burns on Eglin.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Tim Gardiner, 1st LT, CAP

USMC AD 1996-2001
USMCR    2001-2005  Admiral, Great State of Nebraska Navy  MS, MO, UDF
tim.gardiner@gmail.com

Spam

Quote from: Theodore on April 11, 2016, 08:58:49 PM
Yes, we can stay in our lane. But sometimes, the road has to widen.

True, but that road was paved by trial and painful (and fatal) experience.

I think that's a fair enough opinion to have, and I respect you for it. We all want to help (well, most of us). I don't know your experience level, but when you've had a couple of decades (min) of broad experience as a responder, then perhaps your enthusiasm might be tempered by some caution. I know mine has been. My perspective at ten years in was vastly different from 20 years in, or 30. I know that if I joined today off the street, I'd have a different point of view.

We need enthusiasm (or we'll die as an organization). We also need caution and an appreciation of the realities of working with other organizations, and their technical niches in the ESF function.

V/R
Spam


Holding Pattern

Quote from: Spam on April 11, 2016, 08:34:42 PM
Theodore:

Points for trying. However, given the high potential for threatening conditions to rapidly change inside an active disaster area (wind shift driven wildfires, rain-driven mudslides of hills now denuded of cover, flash floods, etc.) most controlling agencies are reluctant to send minimally trained volunteer assets INTO the threat area. The idea is, get people OUT, and evacuated to a safe zone, where CAP, ARC, and other agencies can function at reduced risk and without being a concern for the fire fighters to worry about.

Disclaimer: haven't been in a forest fire DR situation, but I've worked multiple DR hurricane, flood, and blizzard missions and have had the experience of splashing through rapidly rising waist deep flood water to yank back CAP guys from levee ops at 0200L, who didn't listen to the emergency "pull back - its going" calls from the FD. Some tasks, some missions, we need to recognize we don't have the core skill set for, and not oversell ourselves.

V/R
Spam

A case in point: Here is an incident command post in a wildfire that got a little toasty:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLJYigWchf0

Anyone want to do the ORM on this one? :D

Paul_AK

Quote from: stillamarine on April 11, 2016, 09:56:06 PM
No place on a fire line for CAP. Especially a cadet.
I cannot agree with this enough. My wildland firefighting experience is minimal, but I've been involved with a small number and the responding agencies already have the means in place to request more should they require it. If CAP gets involved beyond spotting I can see a spot at a rehab station or quarters helping give out water and food to the responders but nothing beyond that. It goes far beyond simply training a cadet how to dig a line or handle a hose. If you've got the drive for firefighting but aren't old enough, try finding a Fire Explorer unit or Junior Firefighter organization in your area. As Theodore stated the road can widen for CAP, but this kind of mission creep is an issue across the country and rarely helps.
Paul M. McBride
TSgt, 176 SFS, AKANG
1st Lt, AK CAP
        
Earhart #13376