LippCJ7
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2010
- Messages
- 5,431
So as most of you guys know I am on a Widland Fire Handcrew, we get activated to a small 2 acre brush fire that the local structure guys ran on for initial attack and while they can handle it just fine its what we are trained for and the structure guys can go back into service which is a much better plan, I wind up as Squad Boss, we show up I talk to the Incident Commander and there is very little open flame he asks what I would like I ask for the two type 6 brush trucks to remain and the rest can go back into service (6 structure engines) they were not messing around, this fire was within 1/8th mile of a high end neighborhood.
We get after it kill the remaining open flame and start gridding where we maintain a line spaced evenly and look for hotspots and smokers, this area is half grass land and half scrub oak and we have to penetrate the scrub oak since the fire went through it sometimes torching it but in most the scrub oak it just flashed the understory or burned the top layer of timber litter on the ground and didn't penetrate more then an inch or two, kinda weird but chalk it up to the moisture content and thats where it gets interesting..
This is my first time being a Squad Boss and I give orders to be active about checking the timber litter due to what I am seeing, not much heat but we really do not want to get called out again so I am in this thick dark patch of scrub oak, I have two other guys in the same patch to my right, were wearing full Nomex PPE and our leather fire boots(check out Nick's Hotshot boots pretty serious stuff) and each of us have a hand tool either a Pulaski, McCleod, Combi whatever think gardening tool on steroids, Suddenly I hear a little girl scream and scrub oak is getting run down like a Bull Elk in Rutt, then a few seconds go by and I hear another scream and more scrub oak getting mowed down then some heated discussion to my right and I can't see my team anymore so I head that way.
Turns out my far right guy reached down to cold trail(where you take your glove off and feel for heat in an area) an area in the scrub oak, got back up looking to his right and walked directly into a big Spider web(first screaming little girl) and then the man to his left heard the scream and went to investigate and found the spider(second screaming little girl)....
I felt it important to note to my two guys the amount of PPE and handtools to quickly dispatch any detected threats including possible arsonist spiders, we have a good crew made up of mostly Sheriff's Deputies and I am sure they reached for their guns(which we thankfully do not carry on the fire line).
Anyway I thought we could all use a laugh, I sure wish Don could have heard it, this happened last Saturday, my belly is still sore I was laughing so hard. we had a great time, big strong guys who carry guns and stare fire in the face, all foiled by a little Spider...
We get after it kill the remaining open flame and start gridding where we maintain a line spaced evenly and look for hotspots and smokers, this area is half grass land and half scrub oak and we have to penetrate the scrub oak since the fire went through it sometimes torching it but in most the scrub oak it just flashed the understory or burned the top layer of timber litter on the ground and didn't penetrate more then an inch or two, kinda weird but chalk it up to the moisture content and thats where it gets interesting..
This is my first time being a Squad Boss and I give orders to be active about checking the timber litter due to what I am seeing, not much heat but we really do not want to get called out again so I am in this thick dark patch of scrub oak, I have two other guys in the same patch to my right, were wearing full Nomex PPE and our leather fire boots(check out Nick's Hotshot boots pretty serious stuff) and each of us have a hand tool either a Pulaski, McCleod, Combi whatever think gardening tool on steroids, Suddenly I hear a little girl scream and scrub oak is getting run down like a Bull Elk in Rutt, then a few seconds go by and I hear another scream and more scrub oak getting mowed down then some heated discussion to my right and I can't see my team anymore so I head that way.
Turns out my far right guy reached down to cold trail(where you take your glove off and feel for heat in an area) an area in the scrub oak, got back up looking to his right and walked directly into a big Spider web(first screaming little girl) and then the man to his left heard the scream and went to investigate and found the spider(second screaming little girl)....
I felt it important to note to my two guys the amount of PPE and handtools to quickly dispatch any detected threats including possible arsonist spiders, we have a good crew made up of mostly Sheriff's Deputies and I am sure they reached for their guns(which we thankfully do not carry on the fire line).
Anyway I thought we could all use a laugh, I sure wish Don could have heard it, this happened last Saturday, my belly is still sore I was laughing so hard. we had a great time, big strong guys who carry guns and stare fire in the face, all foiled by a little Spider...
LOL
