Fire shelter
Encyclopedia
A fire shelter is a safety device of last resort used by wildland firefighters when trapped by wildfire
s. It is designed to reflect radiant heat, protect against convective heat
, and trap breathable air (most firefighters' deaths are from inhaling hot gases) in an attempt to save the firefighter's life. First required in the United States in 1977, fire shelters are constructed layers of aluminum foil, woven silica, and fiberglass
. When deployed, its maximum dimensions are 86 in. x 15.5 in. x 31 in. (approximately 218.44 cm x 39.37 cm x 78.74 cm) and is shaped like a mound. When the shelter is packed into its carrying case, its dimensions are 8.5in. x 5.5 in. x 4 in. (approximately 21.59 cm x 13.97 cm x 10.16 cm). The new-generation fire shelter was developed in 2002 to replace the old style fire shelter which is shaped like a pup-tent and has a carrying case. Its dimensions are smaller than that of the old-generation shelter.
The first known use of a fire shelter was in 1804, when a boy was saved from a prairie fire when his mother covered him with a fresh bison hide. Clark noted in his journal that the fire did not burn the grass around the boy.
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s. It is designed to reflect radiant heat, protect against convective heat
Convection
Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
, and trap breathable air (most firefighters' deaths are from inhaling hot gases) in an attempt to save the firefighter's life. First required in the United States in 1977, fire shelters are constructed layers of aluminum foil, woven silica, and fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
. When deployed, its maximum dimensions are 86 in. x 15.5 in. x 31 in. (approximately 218.44 cm x 39.37 cm x 78.74 cm) and is shaped like a mound. When the shelter is packed into its carrying case, its dimensions are 8.5in. x 5.5 in. x 4 in. (approximately 21.59 cm x 13.97 cm x 10.16 cm). The new-generation fire shelter was developed in 2002 to replace the old style fire shelter which is shaped like a pup-tent and has a carrying case. Its dimensions are smaller than that of the old-generation shelter.
The first known use of a fire shelter was in 1804, when a boy was saved from a prairie fire when his mother covered him with a fresh bison hide. Clark noted in his journal that the fire did not burn the grass around the boy.