New Equipment on the Fireline: Issues

1
New Equipment on the Fireline Issues
Opportunities

• Dr. John J. Garland, PE
• (remarks are solely those of author)
• Mr. Chris Bielecki, EI, USFS
• March 15, 2005

2
Agenda

• Introduction
• Safety
• Training
• Equipment
• Pacific Northwest
• Recommendations
• Conclusion

3
Introduction
4
Introduction
5
Introduction

• Firefighting problems
• Accidents
• Fuel loads
• Interface
• Public perception

6
Montana Governor wants troops home for wildfire
season

• Gov. Schweitzer calls for return of Guard troops
  and aircraft for wildfire season he expects to be
  like 1988 season when 2.2 million acres were
  charred in the N. Rockies.
• www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/03/montana.gov.ap

7
Introduction
Availability of Contractors in Fire Prone
Areaswith acres burned by state in 2002
88850
111800
1010850
Workers/100 mi2
84850
124800
85000
265350
915300
491350
325450
650450
(Sources US Forest Service, 2003 and NIFC, 2003)

8
Introduction

• Equipment Technology
• Vegetation removal
• Earthmoving
• Water delivery

9
Introduction

• THE problem
• Logging technology offers many potentials for
  wildland firefighting however, obstacles exist
  involving the coordination between fire
  management agencies and private equipment
  contractors. The obstacles involve safety,
  training, and knowledge of equipment.

10
Introduction
3 things to avoid
11
Introduction
3 things to avoid 1
12
Introduction
3 things to avoid 2
13
Wrong Equipment Ordered
14
Introduction
3 things to avoid 3
15
Introduction

• Project goals
• Revise Oregon safety regulations
• Document successful training regimes and
  equipment applications
• Provide methodology for modified machine
  assessment
• Work to improve wildland firefighting in PNW

16
Safety
Logging (hazardous) Firefighting
(dangerous) Firefighting with Loggers
(hazardous dangerous)
17
Safety

• Oregon Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration (OR-OSHA)
• Division 7 Forest Activities Code
• Subdivision N Wildland Firefighting and
  Prescribed Burning

18
Safety

• Why is this important?
• Federal OSHA does not cover wildland firefighting
• Conditions are changing in Oregon
• Contract firefighters
• Equipment

19
Safety

• Why revise?
• Make rules more clear and concise
• Update to include current technology
• Eliminate outdated/obsolete rules
• Provide uniformity
• Address areas not currently addressed

20
Safety- Who participates?

• Oregon Department of Forestry
• Bureau of Land Management
• Forest Protection Associations
• Timberland owners

• Private contractors
• Associated Oregon Loggers
• OR-OSHA
• OSU Forest Engineering!
• USFSNO!

21
Safety

• Important changes
• Simplifications
• Additions

22
Safety

• Scope
• Purpose
• Fire rules do not limit other regulations
• Training
• Annual refresher
• Definitions

23
Safety

• Machinery use

Machines (tractors, skidders, excavators) used
for fire trail construction or firefighting, may
be operated on slopes in excess of 50 provided
measures are taken to assure the stability of the
machine by (a) Using the blade, or (b) Tying
to stumps, anchors, or other machines, or (c)
Excavation to limit the effective slope under the
machine. etc.
(d) Limiting the operating range of movement
and/or the loading to maintain stability
24
Training

• 2 examples of successful training programs
• Northern Rockies Coordinating Group (NRCG)
• Equipment Inspector Workshop
• Big Iron DemoMissoula in May

25
Training
26
Training
27
Training
28
Training
29
Training

• Big Iron Demo
• Designed for Silviculturalists, Resource
  Advisors, Unit Managers, Operations Section
  Chiefs, Division/Group Supervisors, Dozer Bosses,
  Equipment Managers, Incident Commanders, and
  Private Consulting Foresters

30
Training
31
Equipment

• Applications
• Earthmoving
• Timber vegetation removal
• Water delivery

32
Equipment
Earthmovers
33
Equipment
Earthmovers
34
Equipment
Timber tools
35
Equipment
Timber tools
36
Equipment
Timber tools
37
Equipment

• Modified water carriers
• Skidgine

38
Equipment

• Modified water carriers
• Superskidgine

39
Equipment

• Modified water carriers
• Pumper-cat

40
Equipment

• Equipment Observation
• Summer 2003

41
Equipment

• Equipment Observation
• Summer 2003

42
Equipment

• Equipment Observation
• Summer 2004
• US Forest Service

43
Equipment

• Equipment Observation
• Summer 2004 Log Springs Fire

44
Equipment
Modified Machine Stability Assessment
45
Equipment
Modified Machine Stability Assessment Why ????
46
Equipment
47
Equipment
48
Equipment
Hunter (1986) determined that the fluid will
find its own level in the lower part of the tank,
unless the tank is completely full. This results
in a movement of the center of gravity of the
fluid within the tank, which may have a large
influence on the stability.
49
Equipment
50
Equipment
Side-slope
Adverse-slope
51
Equipment
52
Equipment
53
Equipment
2
3
1
4
Condition C Corner 1 lt Corner 3
54
Equipment
2
k1
Iterate vertical distance from corner 2 to water
level (k)
55
Equipment
2
k2
Iterate vertical distance from corner 2 to water
level (k)
56
Equipment
2
kj
Iterate vertical distance from corner 2 to water
level (k)
57
Equipment
Pinpoint fluid center of gravity
58
Equipment
Combine with machine to calculate overall
stability
59
Equipment
Combine with machine to calculate overall
stability
60
Equipment
Overturning Restoring
Combine with machine to calculate overall
stability
61
Equipment
Combine with machine to calculate overall
stability
62
Equipment
Results Static stability assessments are not
useful for dynamic conditions of machine
movement, acceleration, braking, terrain
conditions etc. but provide tank design guides,
comparisons between machines, help understand
relationships
63
Equipment
64
Equipment
65
Equipment
66
Equipment
Results center of gravity tracking
67
Equipment
Tipping direction
24"
center lines
8"
68
Pacific Northwest

• Little use of equipment
• Current system is inadequate for
• ordering, dispatching, hiring, assigning,
  classifying, paying, using
• Pacific Northwest Wildfire Equipment Group
  (PNWEG) founded

69
Pacific Northwest

• PNWEG
• First meeting on July 10th, 2004
• 30 members
• Documents
• Saving Western Forests with Better Wildland
  Firefighting
• Action Planning Report
• Second meeting on January 20, 2005 at AOL Annual
  Meeting
• Continuing Discussions on Organizational Structure

70
Pacific Northwest
Categories of adopters in the diffusion of
innovation theory by Everett M. Rogers.
71
Recommendations

• Training
• Professional firefighter courses should address
  machinery in addition to bulldozers

72
Recommendations

• Training
• Management needs in-depth knowledge
• Strike Team/ Task Force Leader (S-330)
• Dozer Boss (S-232)
• Suppression Tactics (S-336)
• Division/ Group Supervisor (S-339)
• Demonstrations and workshops!

73
Recommendations

• Training
• Machine Operators Contractors
• Incident Command System
• Fire behavior

74
Recommendations

• Training
• Inspection
• Dispatch
• Utilization

75
Recommendations

• Future Research
• Machine Inventory
• Machine Capabilities

76
Recommendations
77
Recommendations

• Future Research
• Machine Inventory
• Machine Capabilities
• Production Rates
• Comparisons
• Evaluations

78
Conclusions

• Potentials
• Work in rough terrain
• Fell trees ( 32)
• Dig fireline
• Supply water ( 3000 gallons)
• Mop-up rehabilitate

79
Conclusions

• Training
• NRCG Alternative Mechanized Equipment (BIG IRON)
  Workshop 2005 May 2-3 Missoula, MT
  kerickson_at_fs.fed.us
• Northern Rockies CG programs would be useful in
  PNW
• Establish a PNWCG?

80
Conclusions

• Machine Modifications
• Adding a water tank affects machine performance
  capabilities
• Stability Determinator
• Reduce the operating slopes according to the load
  and operator ability

81
Conclusions

• Wildland firefighting has strong traditions
• Enhanced coordination is needed to improve
  training, ordering, evaluations, and utilization

82
Acknowledgements
FERIC Wildland Fire Operation Research Group
83
Acknowledgements
Dr. Bob Rummer US Forest Service Forest
Operations Research Unit- Auburn, AL
84
Acknowledgements
Mr. Lee Miller Miller Timber Services
85
Acknowledgements

• Northern Rockies Coordinating Group
• Obie OBrien, Scott Kuehn, Kevin Erickson

86
Acknowledgements
Operators in the Pacific Northwest Equipment
Group (PNWEG)
87
Questions?