fire suppression

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by snowbyrd, Feb 22, 2011.


  1. snowbyrd

    snowbyrd Latet anguis in herba

    as in the flame type.
    What are y'all doing for post shtf fire fighting abilities?
    In a urban enviroment could be really bad if one got going, burning for days possiably. What if your house, cabin, retreat catches on fire? What'cha gonna do?
    I am in the boonies, sort of and we had a big big fire that was not controlable for a week, I lucked out and it burned a hill a few hundred yards away but the wind was in my favor, other people lost everything.
    I don't think much of our 'vollenteer' fire dept.
    We{not the VFD}
    now have ATVs with water tanks and trailers with 12 volt pumps, not really great but something. Several pick ups are fitted with plastic water tanks and larger 120 volt pumps, genny supplied power. Not full now due to the temps, they would freeze up. Several people have old fuel tanks (above ground) filled with rain water for resupply, gravity feed for the 'tankers'. I guess when the shtf we will have to do the old horse drawn wagon thing....
    How would you notify others about the fire? (freon air horns here)
    What about people moving into your area that are, to be nice, uninformed on fire safety, ie camp fires ect?
    Scary thought, losing everything to fire including the loss of life.

    Thoughts/ideas?
     
  2. timtebow970

    timtebow970 Monkey+

    Biggest thing you can do to protect your place from outside fires is creating and maintainingdefensible space. For more info you can google wildland urban interface (WUI) and defensible space. Building materials are another big consideration especially roofing materials. As far as fighting the flames go, a good way to stretch your water is to look into foam systems. They make stand alone foam systems but even just batch adding water wetter (links not working but just copy and paste http://www.goecoline.com/water-wetter.html?___store=english_11281823312 ) or fire ice ( http://www.fireice.com/fireice/ ) to your tank when fire strikes will make a big difference in your effectiveness.
    And speaking of your effectiveness, be realistic about your own capabilities. As lame as your local VFD might be, their response will totally go in the crapper if they have to start dealing with victims trapped by fire or overcome by smoke. Wind shifts can put a very large volume of smoke in your pipes very quickly. Learn what you can about fire behavior, wear appropriate clothes and always attack from the black.

    If you really want a kick butt system in a small package for firefighting, look into compressed air foam systems (CAFS)! These systems will be impractical for most, but with neighborhood cooperation in areas with extended response times, these can make a world of difference.

    Above all remember, your tools are only as good as your training. Also consider, every single person who runs toward a fire will be involuntarily grouped into 1 of 2 categories; part of the problem or part of the solution.[gone]
     
  3. gunbunny

    gunbunny Never Trust A Bunny

    Think about all of the people burning candles for light, wood fires for warmth and cooking, etc. A lot of people will be burning anything combustable, and a lot of them for the first time. That makes for a large probability for error on their part- and a lot of uncontrolled fires.

    I would like to know more about fire lines and backburning techniques.

    How about using a pull behind orchard sprayer with a larger nozzle? Just use water instead of insectacide? I'm sure that would be better than nothing.
     
  4. timtebow970

    timtebow970 Monkey+

    Do some research on Direct and Indirect wild land fire attack. Fire line construction depends a great deal on the fire behavior of the fuel involved. It is a pretty simple concept but is often manpower or equipment intensive. If you have a tractor at your disposal, it may be better used with a plow constructing fireline than attempting direct suppresion. Back burning is a dangerous technique the is only useful in certain situations. Back burning operations have been the cause of many of the wildland communities biggest tragedies and many many more "near miss" incidents. Google wildland LODD (line of duty death) and search how many were caused by back burns and how many attempted back burns did not help. Please also note there is a considerable difference between back burns and burn outs. Either requires the ability to get the fire to back towards the fire (usualy against the prevailing winds) with out advancing downwind.
     
  5. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    cheap fire fighting is 5 gal buckets of water and an old string mops for most short grass fires... works well we've used it fighting grass fires on medians, ditch banks, and field when we couldn't get a truck in.... or a papoose water pump system... hand pumped backpacks holding 5 gallons of water...
     
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