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The New Generation Fire Shelter
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This was like a nuclear blast occurring right over you and you’re lying in tinfoil. Entrapment survivor |
Once you are in your shelter, you must focus on two things: staying on the ground in the shelter no matter what, and protecting your lungs and airway by keeping your mouth as close to the ground as possible. No matter how bad it gets inside the shelter, it will be much worse outside. If you panic and leave the shelter, one breath of hot gases can cause you to suffocate. Turbulence can lift a shelter’s edge, letting in hot gases. Fires can generate winds of 50 miles per hour or more, so you must hold the shelter down firmly.
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When the first fire front came across us, I would estimate that the winds were probably in excess of 70 miles per hour. The sense of power that you had around you, that energy release that we had around us was just absolutely incredible. It was a very humbling experience. I mean you felt very small and very insignificant at that point. Entrapment survivor |
Entrapment can be extremely frightening and may lead to panic. Panic can cause firefighters to leave their shelters and make a run for it—a far more hazardous gamble than staying put. Control such feelings so you can think clearly. Keep yourself calm by concentrating your attention on your breathing or on an object, person, or religious symbol that is meaningful to you. Mentally recite a chant or phrase. These techniques of meditation will help quiet your mind. They can help reduce panic while you remain alert.
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One of the other firefighters began to pray out loud, and it had almost a soothing effect at that point, listening to him do that. Entrapment survivor |
You may be able to help calm other trapped firefighters by shouting back and forth, or by radio communication. If someone yells at you, try to let that person know you’re okay. If someone doesn’t respond to your shouts, do not leave your shelter. During the fire’s peak, the noise will be deafening. You may be unable to hear anyone. Keep calm. As soon as the noise subsides, resume talking to each other.
You may want to move your shelter when the flame front changes position or to be closer to someone in trouble. With your arms in the holddown straps, move by crawling on your belly, keeping the shelter edges close to the ground. When the shelter is not firmly on the ground, your lungs will be vulnerable to hot gases. Try not to breathe until your face is against the ground. If you are wearing a shroud, keep the front of the shroud fastened to protect you if heat enters the shelter.
Moving is risky. It may expose your airway and lungs to hot flames and gases. It may allow the shelter to fill with smoke. There’s a chance of losing your shelter in high winds because it’s hard to hang onto it when you’re moving. You can do little to help another person during the peak of an entrapment. Do not move unless it is absolutely necessary.
| It was extremely painful. Things that were going through my head were, “I’m going to die, this is going to kill me.” Afterwards, I remember thinking that because my legs were burned on the back of both calves and the backs of my thighs and it was so painful and it had gone on for such a long period of time that they were probably going to have to amputate my legs. You believe that you’re being burned to death or that you’re being burned to the point that you’d never be able to use those limbs again, when in fact [my injuries] were deep third degree burns. But I ended up being able to fully recover and not have any really serious disability. [We need to] make sure that people know what they might encounter, what it might be like, what they might hear and see around them, and to know above all else that if you get up, you die. |
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I think people need to know that you’re going to think you’re dying lying there on the ground, but in fact it’s probably not as bad as you really think it is, and as long as you can protect your respiratory tract, you’re probably going to walk away from this. People have to know that up front, going into this, or they’re just going to be surprised by it when they get in there and they start feeling these things and they go, "Oh, my God, I’m dying. What do I do now?" You have to condition them to know what the response to that should be, "Oh, my God, I’m dying. Well, they told me I would. And, so I need to stay here." Entrapment survivor |
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