Missoula Technology and Development Center: Shaping Solutions for the Forest Service
The Early Days
Herb Harris, the first director of the
Missoula Technology
and Development Center,
in the bed
of a Dodge Power Wagon modified for firefighting.
This modified chain saw is one of many tools the center has
evaluated for building fireline. Although the tools were fast,
they threw rocks and posed other safety hazards.
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The top photo shows testing during the 1950s that eventually led to development of the fire shelter carried by firefighters today. All but one of these designs have a fatal flaw: the firefighter is standing up. The photo below shows a firefighter lying down inside a fire shelter. Assuming that an area has been cleared of fuel, temperatures at the surface of the ground will be much lower than temperatures even a foot above the ground when a fire passes over. The fire shelter has saved the lives of several hundred firefighters since it was developed in the 1960s. The center is evaluating improved versions of the fire shelter and should have a new shelter for firefighters during the 2003 fire season. |
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These early snow machines were tested by the center
during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Contoured fiberglass pack boards replaced wooden models,
making the task of carrying fire packs a little easier.
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