Leslie Anderson, Project Leader
- Fire Shelter Training
- Hands–on Training
- Fire Shelter Test
- Test Answers
- Materials Needed for Fire Shelter Training Sessions
- Additional Fire Shelter Training Materials
- About the Author
New fire shelter training materials are available from the National Interagency Fire Center Publications Management System (NIFC–PMS). These materials include a report, Your Fire Shelter: 2001 Edition, and a video, Using Your Fire Shelter.
Your Fire Shelter: 2001 Edition—This 30–page, fullcolor report is the reference document for fire shelters (figure 1). The report includes:
- Explanation of the ways the fire shelter protects a
firefighter and the shelter's limitations.
- Advice on escaping hazardous situations.
- Directions for deploying the fire shelter.
- Advice on selecting effective deployment sites.
- Descriptions of entrapment experiences.
- Recommendations for fire shelter training.
- Guidelines for fire shelter inspection and maintenance.
Figure 1—Your Fire Shelter: 2001 Edition is the
reference document
for fire shelters.
Your Fire Shelter: 2001 Edition should be used during a facilitated training session with hands–on fire shelter practice. This report replaces Your Fire Shelter (1995 ed.) and Beyond the Basics(1996 ed.) in the National Fire Equipment System (NFES) Publications Catalog.
Using Your Fire Shelter—This 27–minute video addresses the same topics as the report and includes interviews with survivors of fire entrapments. This video replaces the 1985 video, Your Fire Shelter, in the NFES Publications Catalog.
Ordering Information for NIFC–PMS materials:
| NFES No. | Description | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1568 | Video (VHS) | Using Your Fire Shelter |
| 1570 | Report | Your Fire Shelter: 2001 Edition |
Note: Spanish versions of the report and the video are being prepared.
Order these materials from:
National Interagency Fire Center
Attn:
Great Basin Cache Supply Office
3833 Development Ave.
Boise, ID 83705
Phone: 208–387–5573
Fax: 208–387–5548
Fire shelter training should be provided annually for all firefighters and support personnel whose duties take them on the fireline or in the vicinity of wildland fires.
Suggested Training Session Outline
- Instructors should prepare for fire shelter training
sessions by previewing the video, Using Your Fire Shelter, and reading Your Fire Shelter: 2001
Edition.
- Provide each student with a copy of the report.
Tell the students that the report is theirs to keep
for reference and for periodic review during the
fire season.
- Have students view the video.
- After students have viewed the video, discuss
questions the group brings up or address specific
fire shelter topics of the instructor's choosing.
The detailed discussions in the report can help
the instructor develop topics and answer
questions. Some examples include:
- Discuss local or unusual conditions, such as
specific fuel types or topographical features
that require special consideration when
deploying fire shelters.
- Do some fuel types appear deceptively safe?
- Are reburns common through partially burned fuels?
- Do some local features make escape difficult or make it difficult to deploy a fire shelter effectively?
- Discuss steps firefighters can take if they
believe they are being given a dangerous
assignment because they have a fire shelter.
- Have the students take the test found in this
report. To maintain the freshness of the test year
after year, develop additional questions based on
the training materials. After the students have
completed the test, review the correct answers
with them.
- Provide students the opportunity for hands–on training in fire shelter deployment (figure 2).
Figure 2—Hands–on practice is a critical part of fire
shelter training.
It is highly recommended that every student deploy the fire shelter in each of the five scenarios mentioned in the training materials:
- Deploy the shelter while standing (clear a 4– by 8–
foot site to mineral soil first).
- Deploy the shelter while lying on the ground.
- Deploy the shelter in a strong wind.
- Drop gear and deploy the shelter while trying to escape.
- Spend time inside the fire shelter.
Ideally, hands–on training should occur in realistic field conditions. Students should be wearing the same personal protective equipment they wear on fires, including a hardhat, gloves, and, if they use one, a face and neck shroud. Students should be reminded that face and neck shrouds are intended for use in escape situations, and are not meant to enable firefighters to get closer to flames during normal operations. Strong fans, such as those used by structural firefighters to ventilate buildings, can provide realistic conditions for practicing fire shelter deployments in strong winds.
A test that can be used during fire shelter training has been included in this TechTip.
Materials Needed for Fire Shelter Training Sessions
- Videocassette recorder and television.
- Your Fire Shelter: 2001 Edition(one for each student).
- Using Your Fire Shelter video.
- Copies of the test in this report or a similar test (one for each student).
- List of correct exam answers.
- Supply of practice shelters or old fire shelters for simulated deployments.
- High–volume fan, if available.
Avoid the Flames—This fullcolor brochure (figure 3) explains the importance of keeping the fire shelter away from flames, and includes suggestions to help you do so. Although similar information is available in the report, the brochure is valuable as a brief reminder for followup safety sessions. The brochure is available in English and Spanish. The English version is available on the Internet at: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/safety/deployment.html
Figure 3—The Avoid the Flames brochure is
available
in English and
Spanish.
A full–color poster of the brochure can be posted in offices or areas frequented by firefighting personnel.
The Avoid the Flames brochure and poster can be
ordered from:
National Interagency Fire Center
Attn: External Affairs
3833 South Development Ave.
Boise, ID 83705
Since 1997, Leslie Anderson has been an equipment specialist at MTDC where she is a project leader for projects involving fire shelters and fire-resistant clothing. Leslie has a bachelor's degree in forestry from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in forestry from the University of Montana. She began working in wildland fire in 1979. Leslie was a smokejumper from 1984 to 1989 in Missoula, MT. She worked for 2 years in fire management with the Costa Rican National Park Service as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1989 to 1991 and worked as an assistant district fire management officer on the Bitterroot National Forest from 1992 to 1997.
Additional single copies of this document may be ordered from:
USDA Forest Service
Missoula Technology and Development Center
5785 Hwy. 10 West
Missoula, MT 59808–9361
Phone: 406–329–3978
Fax: 406–329–3719
E-mail: wo_mtdc_pubs@fs.fed.us
For additional technical information, contact Leslie Anderson at the Center's address.
Phone: 406–329–1043
Fax: 406–329–3719
E-mail: landerson@fs.fed.us
Electronic copies of MTDC's documents are available on the Forest Service's FSWeb Intranet at:
