FIRE FIGHTING

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 125, 30 May 1930, Page 3

FIRE FIGHTING

KEEPING THE FORESTS

WORK OF THE RANGERS

THE AIR PATROL

The wliolc forest fire question may be resolved into throe phases—prevention, detection, and suppression. Fire p ovention is a work for the public, rather than for tho forest service, for it is the public, the human beings who are both ignorant and careless with fire in tho woods, which causes most tiros. The work of suppressing or.controlling forest fires is a science in itself, writes G. E. Valintine in tho '.'Manitoba Free Press." for the purposes of firo detection each prairio .province is divided up into a number of fire' ranging districts, each under the control of a district ranger. Under each district ranger are a number of fire rangers, by whom the actual patrol work is done. Each of these men has a certain part of the territory to look after, and it is his duty, to patrol this district ■ regularly in search of fifes. The rangers are usually on duty, from early spring until the winter snows come, and are travelling nearly ■ every day. When not so occupied, they are employed on improvement work, such as making roads or building bridges, so that altogether the ranger' is a busy,.man. On Sundays and week-days,,through storms and fine weather, his work goes on. IN CANOES. The ranger's regular patrol work is done cither in canoes or on horseback, with a packhorse to carry supplies. Often he is away from home for days at a time, and in any of several cabins in each ranger's territory he can spend the night when travelling. To , help him in locating fires "there are also one or more lookout towers in each ranger's' patrol area. These towers are built of wood or steel, and vary in height from forty to eighty-five feet. Usually, they are placed on a hilltop, so that they command a wide area of forest. At some towers this observation work is considered so important that a man is stationed there all through the fire season, his sole duty being to watch for smoke from tho tower, and it is surprising how far away smoke can be seen from these' towers on a clear day. When a ranger sees a fire, or has one reported to him, he usually goes to examine it, and, if it is not large, may put it out himself. If it is too big for one man to handle, he gets more men and equipment as quickly as possible and hurries back, camping close to the scene of tho fire until it is under control. Sometimes the fire spreads in spite of the best efforts of the.men em-, ployed, and it is necessary to get reinforcements, a really large fire often, requiring a big gang of men to subdue it. The men employed are usually recruited from the neighbourhood, or from the nearest town or city, but in the case of a dangerously big fire men of all occupations may be pressed into service without regard for the.ir ovrrt will in the matter. Speed is, of course, essential} in favourable weather a fire grows with terrible rapidity, and every minute of time saved in suppressing it is precious. AIR PATEOLS. In some parts of the country the older methods of patrolling have been replaced by air patrols, and tho use of aircraft has practically revolutionised fire detection and fire fighting work in some proyinces. This is so in Manitoba :and Saskatchewan, whoso forests arc especially adapted to tho use- of air,craft; and also in the northern parts of Ontario. In Alberta aircraft are used to some extent, but mainly for detection work, patrolling the eastern slopes of the Eoekies, and tho 'planes used are land machines. Tho aircraft used in Manitoba andSaskatchewan are seaplanes and flying/boats. In forest country it is impossible to use aeroplanes that require level open ground on which1 to land or take-off, but the northern forests have innumerable lakes and rivers, and these provide many convenient'landingplaces for hydro-aircraft. :: ' ... The 'planes have proved themselves to be efficient ( and reliable, and now are very largely 'depended upon both for detection'and "suppression. With their high speed, and the wide range of vision'that they give, they can patrol a great area in a short time, and when fire is seen tho message ia - sent back instantly. Most of. the aircraft used in detecting fires carry radio transmitting sets, and by this means keep in touch with the various radio stations located- throughout the territory for tliis. purpose. • " More precious time is saved by using aircraft to take in men arid supplies to the scene of the fire, thus/covering, in an hout distances that would have taken three or four days'by any other way of travelling. And the usefulness of the 'planes' does not end hero. -They are frequently employed to keep the fire-fighting camps supplied with food and equipment. CAUGHT IN A STOEJf. While patrolling by air is usually far smoother and quicker than by other methods,' there are times when. Fate steps in. and takes a. hand, and some of tho most thrilling adventures of the rangers are in connection with this newest branch of the forest service. -A district ranger in northern Saskatchewan was taken by 'plane to inspect a forest fire north of Big Kiver. It was a glorious fall day, and seemed ideal for flying, but while away a storm arose, and the pilot was forced t) fly his machine along the edge of the 'storm on the return trip. The air was full of pockets and cross-currents, and again and again the heavy flying boat dropped suddenly like a dead weight for twenty or thirty feet. Each time this occurred the suction of the drop would draw great clouds of dust out of the machine, and on.cc a gallon can, full of oil, was lifted clear off the floor of the forward cockpit, where tho anger sat, so that it struck him in the face. The 'plane was tossed about like a feather, wrenched, and battered by tho elements until it seomed that it must inevitably be racked to pieces in tho air. The pilot, strapped in, was safe enough as long as the machine held together, but the ranger had nothing to hold him in and several times the terrific suction lifted him nearly out of the 'plane. Inaeed, the pilot said afterward that he never expected to' see his passenger stay in tho 'plane, and the ranger himself said that evening, with grim humour, that ho was "looking for the'best way to walk!" A narrower escape still was h£<v by* another'ranger who went up in a Moth s aplano to examine a distant fire. Tho little biplane made but slow progress against a strong head wind, anl climbed slowly at any time with two men in her, so that they had reached an altitude of only 2500 feet when they completed the outward journey and turned to come home. Just at that identical moment, the motor missed, sputtered once or twice, then died. For ono sickening moment, they hung there in tho air; then tho pilot noseo. his machine down just in time to prevent a stall with its accompanying tailspin, and they headed towards the ground. Apparently, a mistake had been made in filling the fuel tank, and the motor had run out of gasoline. It was the worst possible place for such, an accident to have happened,

for they were far out over the forest, and there was no lake within gliding distance. The ranger thought of jumping, and trusting to his parachute, but he saw tho pilot had determined to stick to tho 'plane, and decided that ho, too, would remain. Down they went, with the wind whistling through the struts; a crash was inevitable, and both men know it, but there was a little open space in tho forest below and in front of them, and this the pilot was attempting to reach. They might have made it, too, but the wind which had been tho cause of their running out of fuel at jo inopportune a time now interfered against them once more, and before they reached the opening the jagged spruce tops were already thrusting up all around them. BOTH ESCAPE. Then camo tho crash, and wfien the ranger recovered consciousness, he was lying on the ground, with the wreckago of the 'plane several yards away. The pilot was nowhere to be seen, and a great fear came over the ranger that he must have been killed, but he made an effort to get up and look, and was overjoyed to find the other man' sitting up on the other side- of the wreck, badly shaken, tSut not seriously injured. By some strange freak of Fate, the pilot had thrown out before leaving his base, the emergency >.it which every R.C.A.F. 'plane is supposed to carry; not knowing the ranger, he had feared that he might be .a big man, and knew that every extra pound of weight reduced the little Moth's climbing power. So the two lost men htd with them no food, no tools or arms, no blankets. This was on Friday night, and for. two whole days they wandered in the forest. When on Sunday another 'plane, searching for them, picked them np, .both men were gaunt and weak, and more than thankful to be rescued. Another feature of fire detection work, which^ should be ■ mentioned in connection with the work of the aircraft, is long-range- weather forecasting. Stations have been established all over the forest areas where trained .men keep accurate records of the wea ther conditions from day to day. Prom these records it is possible to predict with considerable success the approach of "iiro" weather, that is, w'eathc unusually favourable for the growth and spread of forest fires, and these forecasts are of the utmost value. When it is known that dangerous'weather is predicted for a certain region, the forestry men arrange to have that district patrolled with extra vigilance during the danger period, and have everything ready for instant action in case fire breaks out. In Manitoba and Sas-. katchewan, air patrols are ordered mainly on a basis of weather forecasts, and iv many parts of Canada all operations of travelling in the woods are restricted or even suspended when a period of bad fire-weather is expected. Beitig prepared for fires does a great deal towards reducing fire losses, and because weather forecasting makes this preparedness possible, it is already a very important .part of fire protection, work.