The Large Fires in the Pacific Northwest Have Been Reporting Stump Hole and Ash Pit Burn Injuries at a Rate of Approximately Three Per Week

Event Type: Mop-Up Burn Injuries

Date: September 2015

Location: Pacific Northwest Fires

The large fires in the Pacific Northwest have been reporting stump hole and ash pit burn injuries at a rate of approximately three per week.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

The Pacific Northwest has had an unprecedented fire season in 2015. Thousands of firefighters have been engaged for multiple weeks on several large fires. Recently, the weather has been starting to cool and precipitation is slowly making its way into the area.

The extensive firefighting effort combined with this slight change in the weather is allowing the fire management teams to start shifting the focus toward the mop-up and rehab phase.

As these fires continue to “slow down” it is import for all levels of the firefighting effort to keep in mind that this next phase is not free from risk. Wood debris has burned away undermining road

Why is it important to keep this in mind? The current edge, causing: risk of road shoulder collapse, deep large fires in the Pacific Northwest have been reporting hot ash, risk of slips, trips, and falls. stump hole and ash pit burn injuries at a rate of approximately three per week.

Firefighter Falls Through the Ground Case in Point: The Chelan Fire in Washington. A member of a 20-person crew who was assigned to mop-up “fell through the ground” and suffered 2nd degree burns just below the top of their boot. “Fell through the ground”? Yes, with the severe drought, all available fuel sources seem to be fully consuming. This includes some of the vast root systems of trees as well as the large woody piles that are often covered over by logging roads.

The injured firefighter—who was wearing the required PPE—was following the incident’s mop-up objectives: “Patrol and mop the fire edge, mopping-up 100 feet in or as safety allows”.

As the firefighter was walking on what was described as “solid ground” they stepped on a weak spot where a tree root had once been. This void was now filled with hot ash.

When the ground gave way, the firefighter’s foot fell into the hot ash. Burning coals got trapped between the top of his boot and his leg, causing those 2nd degree burns.

EXAMINING POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

The Chelan Fire’s IMT’s Safety Officer points out that “it is important to remember that firefighting—including mop-up—is inherently dangerous and accidents can happen. This does not translate to: ‘It’s okay for our troops to get hurt’.” It is important to empower our troops with Leader’s Intent so they can manage their risk. Stump and roots fully consumed by fire with settling of After reviewing several of these ash pit/stump hole land surface. Risk of deep hot ash. Difficult to identify injuries its apparent that a wide variety of opinions, hazard, which likely extends beyond the immediate area suggestions, and mitigations are currently bouncing along underground root lines. Risk of slips, trips, and falls. around fire camps.

Sentiment 1 – Folks just aren’t as heads-up as they used to be. We never used to see this type of injury.

Think About This: This increase in number of incidents doesn’t necessarily mean it’s more common. It may indicate that firefighters are more willing to report. Perhaps they’re more willing to report because folks trust that they’ll be treated justly and not punished for accidents that occur in high-risk situations. Indeed, trust, reporting, learning and safety all seem to be linked. “Without trust there is not reporting, without reporting there is not learning, and without learning there is not SAFETY.” Could this “reporting the injury incident” be the shift in “Culture” that we are looking for? Is it a good thing to have more accidents reported?

Sentiment 2 – Firefighters need to wear taller boots! These new-fangled boots are the problem!

Think About This: Are the “new boots” the problem? While it’s true that some of the stump hole and ash pit injuries have happened to folks wearing “new style” mountaineering boots, we’ve also seen these injuries happen to those wearing extra-tall lineman style boots. Mountaineering type boots may not close as tightly around the leg, creating a greater opportunity to trap hot ash against the firefighter’s leg. Reports from the field support this observation. That said, how do we address the individual who fell through the ground up to their waist in hot ash? How tall should our boots be to mitigate this hazard?

Sentiment 3 – “I think this is a training issue! It’s these young kids who don’t know what to look for!”

Think About This: Who does our mop-up? They tend to be younger firefighters. Based on this, you’d expect younger folks to be the majority of this injury demographic. As folks gain experience, they tend to gain responsibility. This increased responsibility pulls folks out of the mop-up trenches. Regardless, perhaps anyone exposed to the risk of mop-up and stump holes could be affected, as one recent example with a seasoned member of a hotshot crew demonstrates. One Safety Officer the RLS Team spoke with shared this view: “These mop-up burn injuries could happen to the most experienced firefighter. They could happen to an IHC Superintendent.”

Sentiment 4 - It is the Environment in Which We Work

Think About This: Has the drought made the fuels drier and more available for consumption? Are the old stumps from logging sales burning more completely? Has the longer duration of these fires caused the root systems to burn deeper and more completely? Are there snags or fire weakened trees?

How do you know what to look for when these potential situations can literally be anywhere in the work environment?

If it’s never happened to you, ask yourself: “Is it because I’m good—or because I’ve been lucky?”

Check out this 36”x 48” poster put together by Brad Fisher, a Safety Officer from Australia, along with members of California Team 5: http://www.wildfirelessons.net/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=ad687693- 2ae1-4257-b6ec-0ba8f9f8c122 . 3

FINAL THOUGHTS

There will never be a situation in which we work where the risk is zero. We have a variety of ways to manage risk to the lowest acceptable level. This mop-up RLS can be shared among Agency Administrators, Incident Management Teams, and Firefighters to raise awareness and to better understand the hazards and risks associated with mop-up.

Through this increased awareness, mop-up hazards and risks may be lowered.

Many tools can help Agency Administrators, Fire Managers, and Firefighters identify the risks associated with mop-up and develop Leader’s Intent:

Line Officer Desk Guide for Fire Program Management Examples of recommended mop-up and turn back standards on page 43.

Turn Back Standards for IMT Template Template of a variety of prescriptive and specific mop-up standards.

Snag Falling and Mop-Up Mop-up lessons learned by the IC.

Chips Fire Felling An experience sawyer is injured falling a snag prior to mop-up.

Ash Pit 6MFS Six Minutes for Safety dealing with mop-up and ash pit hazards.

Mop-Up Leg Burn

Leg burn injury from mopping-up a dozer pile.

Rim Fire Burn Injury A firefighter steps into a stumphole while mopping up. His injuries (pictured on the right) change his life.

Firefighter’s stump hole/ash pit burn injury from the Rim Fire. (See link to FLA on left.)

This RLS Submitted By: Todd Legler and Alex Viktora.

Special Thanks to Brad Fisher, visiting Australia Line Safety Do you have a Rapid Lesson to share? Officer and Heavy Equipment Boss. Brad is a District Manager Click this button: with the Department of Environment, Land Water and Planning in the State of Victoria, Australia.