CFS Expert Discusses Entrapment
For people who live, work and play in the forest or wildlands, the danger of being trapped or burned by a wildfire is very real in spite of taking precautionary measures.
If you were threatened by fire, what would your first reaction be? asks Marty Alexander, senior fire behaviour researcher with Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Forest Service in Edmonton.
Run, I say. How far do you think you could run? he asks. As far as it takes to avoid getting burned, I say.
“Looking at how fast a firefighter can move, they're overtaken by fumes within about six or seven minutes at most. It's not a question of how fast you can run, it's how long you can last,” says Alexander. “Even the fittest individuals are not able to sustain a maximum pace for even a relatively short period of time without being overrun by a rapidly advancing fire.”
Retreating from the fire to reach a safe haven is one of four survival options that Alexander outlines in a chapter on the dangers and survival associated with wildland fires for Wilderness Medicine, an American-based reference book, the fifth edition of which will be published this spring. He also presented his work as one of the keynote lectures at the 5th International Conference on Forest Fire Research held in Portugal in November 2006.
Alexander says if the distance isn't too far, you're fit and you can clearly see, out-running a fire is not a bad option; however, if you plan to do it for more than a few metres, especially uphill, maybe look at another option.
Burning out a safety area is a survival technique that can be effective if the fuels are light, such as cured grass, and you have sufficient time to do it. Of course, you need to have matches (windproof would be ideal in this regard) or some sort of fuse with you.
The bigger the area, the better, says Alexander. In grasslands, an area the size of a large boardroom may work, while a safety area in a forest needs to be considerably larger.
Another survival technique is hunkering in place or lying down. Generally, to hunker means to squat or crouch down low. When it comes to surviving a fire, hunker means to stay as flat as possible with your nose and mouth pressed into the ground.
“Stay down. If you get up too soon, you're probably going to die from the radiant heat generated by the flames and/or inhale a burst of superheated air,” says Alexander.
In selecting this option, protect exposed skin with clothing or non-burnable material. Alexander stresses the importance of wearing natural fibers such as wool or cotton. Synthetics, even if worn as underwear, will melt. Since most people protect their face or neck with their hands, leather gloves are perhaps the most important thing you could carry with you.
In some cases, your best survival option may be to pass through the fire's edge into the burned-out area. Alexander cites one example from a prescribed burn in Ontario where a fire crew found themselves encircled by fire. A local fire technician, realizing there was no other option than to run through the advancing flame front, tried to persuade seven seasonal employees to follow him. They failed to heed his urgings and were eventually engulfed by the fire, while he survived, admittedly with serious burn injuries.
The four survival options presented are in no particular order, says Alexander: “People still need to be able to think on their feet when they are under stress.”
The size of the fire, the fire environment, the size and location of safety areas or zones, the prevailing fire behaviour and the location of the person with respect to the head of fire will ultimately dictate which option or options should be selected. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
The 2005 Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy, commissioned by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, identifies public safety — including the safety of firefighters — as one of its main priorities. Some 8,600 fires have burned approximately 2.5 million hectares of land in Canada each year since 1980. Wildland fires consistently threaten Canadians, with an average of more than 20 communities and about 70,000 people affected annually.
The indications are that the wildfire threat is likely to increase. Being able to recall the four survival options might just save your life someday!
— Sarah Seinen
Article courtesy of The Edge Forest Business magazine
