Maggie’s Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

[gknutson]

I live in Southern Oklahoma and I'm on a volunteer fire dept. We have had fires almost every day (if not several per day) for the last two weeks. I took this video after fighting this fire for 9 hours. It has burned over 2500 acres.It started 4 days ago and they are still working on keeping it contained. Its not the biggest we have ever had but it was quite a blaze.
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[Engine 22]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

Cool vid! I've been on a few grass fires in my early days when I worked for a semi-rural dept. They can be a lot of fun......... at times. Stay safe!!

 

[gknutson]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

Yeah there can be some exciting moments on a good wildfire. At time we we fighting 20 foot flames in waste deep grass. We melted some plastic off our rig.

It goes without saying that we were pumped to see that chopper come in and mop up everything in the trees that would could only get with handlines and leaf blowers.

 

[donovan]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

Is that the fire by Duncan ? Saw some of that action at work last week also.

 

[Magstang1]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

It amazes me that a helicopter is an effective firefighting tool. How much water do they really move?

It would seem that from the time you dump, leave, refill, fly back and dump again, any forward progress would have been overcome.

Obviously not though. Otherwise they wouldn't do it.

 

[jcfd2201]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

I'm going on my 23rd year in the fire service and have been on tons of wildland fires. I have done everything from digging line on a hand crew to running air attack heli-ops. I spent 5 years as a task force leader. The one thing that is paramount id firefighter safety.....melting plastic on a truck is a bad deal. I noticed in the video that guys were in bunker gear and that isn't ideal. Bunker gear can cause overheating and also slow you down if you need to evac in a hurry. Wildland gear is fairly cheap through GSA and there are tons of grants available to acquire it. I would be more than happy to provide you with the grant info if your department is interested. I am a huge advocate of firefigther safety and having the right PPE and gear should be a priority. Better to have the wildland gear and use it once or not at all then to have guys in bunker gear and heatstroke out or worse.

As for the heli being an effective firefighting tool they are a huge asset. Bambi buckets (the tank they use) can hold anywhere from a couple hundred gallons up to 2500 gallons. The one big advantage they have is relatively precise drops. An air tanker (plane) typically drops retardent ahead of the fire where a heli can drop water on active fire and knock it down or slow it down enough to be able to get a handle on it.

Very cool video!! I have never seen a Blackhawk on a fire and I have been on a lot of them. I think that's even cooler than the skycranes.

Stay safe!!!

 

[Magstang1]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

I learned something new today. Thanks.

 

[WRM]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

Neat video, and interesting "optical illusion" - it looks like the rotor is barely turning, and the blades are "bent"!

Good luck to you and crew, and as mentioned above, Be Safe!

Thanks,

Bill

 

[Yeticowboy]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

another thing about the choppers with that bucket is that they can fill it up almost anywhere. I've seen them use small ponds on the land the fire was actually burning on. Very quick turn around time. Sometimes the planes can take awhile.

 

[Maggot]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Yeticowboy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">another thing about the choppers with that bucket is that they can fill it up almost anywhere. I've seen them use small ponds on the land the fire was actually burning on. Very quick turn around time. Sometimes the planes can take awhile. </div></div>

I was waiting for the hili to hit the power lines....that would have been hot.


BTW, wheres JRose when you need him?

 

[gknutson]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

Our department uses wildland gear on wildland fires. There is no way I would use bunker gear on wildland fires unless its really cold. The guys in the video are from Duncan (paid department that does very few wildland fires) and prefer bunker gear for some reason. I even ask them why they didnt have wildland gear on. Two years ago we got a FEMA grant that landed us all new bunker gear and wildland gear so we are set on gear right now.

The melted plastic on the truck was us trying to get out of a bad spot. Even the best plans go wrong sometime and then you have to grit your teeth and go.

 

[gknutson]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: donovan</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Is that the fire by Duncan ? Saw some of that action at work last week also.</div></div>

Yes it was east of Duncan and south of Velma. There were some large fires on Ft. Still and the Refuge to.

 

[jcfd2201]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

Glad to hear that you guys have the proper PPE and are taking advantage of available grants! I know how fast things can turn to shit even with the best of planning and use of safety plans. Glad it was only some melted plastic and nobody was injured.

Stay safe!

 

[gknutson]

Re: Blackhawk Fighting Wildfires

Thanks man you to !