Five Year Journey of an Ontario FireRanger

Figure 15.  A FireRanger using a drip torch to light branches.

My fifth summer working as an Ontario FireRanger brought the opportunity to travel to other districts, out of province and to the U.S.A.  Many fires in Ontario are spotted using aerial detection (planes) flying various flight paths across the province, scouting for forest fires.  Usually detection aircraft pick up fires before they get very large (less than 4 hectares) however, sometimes a fire gets missed and isn’t detected until it is quite large.  When this happens, it may end up a project fire and require a large fire organization to deal with it effectively. 

 

During the 2002, fire season, the West Fire Region experienced several large fires in northern districts.  When situations like this occurs, a burn out tool is used to tie the fire perimeter into natural or man-made boundaries using an indirect attack.  Occasionally even water bombers can not control a forest fire because the head of the fire is too hot.  Sometimes “fighting fire with fire,” is the best option available.

 

In Ontario, aerial and hand held ignition

Figure 14. A waterbomber releasing water on the forest below. FireRanger crews stand back and watch

devices are used to burn out areas ahead of a forest fire that may be considered problematic for suppression crews to contain.  The Heli-torch or the O.A.I.D (Ontario Aerial Ignition Device) machine are attached to a helicopter and release burning fuel or little white balls (that catch fire when injected with a chemical) and ignite the forest below.  It is really amazing to watch the forest ahead of the main fire being ignited and the convection column from the main fire pulling the newly ignited fire toward it.  This is a method of “indirect attack” and

Figure 16. FireRangers patrolling a roadside burnout operation.

is very effective in assisting to control larger fires by removing fuel. Hand held drip torches and flares are also used by ground crews to ignite a back burn to clean up forest fuels along a fire control line or green islands within the fire perimeter that may pose hazardous should the fire situation change.

 

Burning out is done extensively in the U.S.A., mostly because many States don’t have as much water as we do in Ontario. The US Forest Service has developed many additional tools to aid them in burning out, such as the Hot Shot, Stubby, 2 ½ - inch Flares, and the Dual Fire Quick Launcher.  While in the U.S.A., my crew worked as a burn out crew and had the chance to use many of these tools.  My favourite was the Dual Fire Quick Launcher

Figure 17. A strike team leader throwing a Stubby Flare to improve the ignition potential of the fire.

which is a flare gun that launches flares deep into the area you want to burn.  This allows a person to ignite high fuel areas within the burn without putting your safety at risk.  Not only that, but shooting the launcher is fun, even if it was a bit loud!

 

Fire line safety is of primary importance in the Ontario Fire Program. Safety on the fire line is dependent on your awareness of escape routes and safe zones in every situation, and keeping in constant communication with your crew.  Fire behaviour, weather and terrain are important factors that can change instantly on a fire and affect the safety of yourself and your crew.  Safe zones are areas that will not readily burn and are of sufficient size to house the entire fire crew.  Lakes, swamps, large rock outcrops, fuel areas that resist ignition and completely burned areas are good examples of safety zones.  Fire behaviour can gradually or rapidly change throughout the day depending on a variety of factors.  When conditions on a fire change and make it unsafe to continue working, the crew is sent along the escape route to the safety zone until conditions on the fire improve.

 

Figure 18.  Here the FireRangers are on the move to get out of the smoke

 

Figure 19.  FireRangers sit in a safe zone surrounded by buses and trucks to help them move quickly if need be.

• Five Year Journey of an Ontario FireRanger - Year 5: End of the Road
• Prescribed Burns