Showing posts with label firefighter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label firefighter. Show all posts

April 05, 2009

Days 23 and 27

I missed a couple days in there this past week, but I chalk it up to the hectic schedule I had during the last couple of days of training. It was a tough two weeks, but I'm now officially a structural firefighter for the NPS!

Before I get to the next couple of photos for my 365 Days project, I wanted to share some video from the fire training I was at. This first one is a little boring, but I'm the second person on the hose as we approach a "propane tree". Our task was to "capture" the flames inside a cone of water. This would give us the opportunity to see how powerful a tool water can be to not only extinguish but also to move and manipulate fire. It also was a chance to gain confidence in the ability of our equipment to protect us from heat.

This second video perfectly demonstrates what I meant by "capturing the flame". I took this during our vehicle fire exercise. And believe it or not, but this is in real time. It's not sped up at all. That day was so windy it made for a huge and dramatic fire inside that van. It was awesome!

I had a great time at training, but I am so happy to finally be home. I slept for over 13 hours last night and plan on duplicating that again tonight.

So here are my Day 23 and 27 photos:

Day 23
Capturing the Flame

I didn't actually take this photo, but it was taken with my camera, and that person standing there with the nozzle in hand facing that huge ball of flame is me, so I thought it qualified by default. This was also during the vehicle fire exercise.

Day 27
Three-toed Woodpecker

With spring finally making an appearance (it felt, looked and sounded like spring today), I can assure you that you'll probably see many more bird pics in the days and months to come. Not only are the migrants starting to arrive (this woodpecker is a year-round resident, though), but the weather is finally getting warm enough that it's actually comfortable to be outside fiddling around with my camera. I ended up taking 287 pictures of this very cooperative bird, most of them from less than 10 feet away. I think it's the closest I've ever been to a Three-toed Woodpecker. And I can now vouch that he is properly named!

March 31, 2009

Days 17-22 of 365

I don't really like doing these multi-day updates, but since I'm still at training and have limited access to the hotel's internet tubes it's just gonna have to be that way. So here are the photos from days 17-22.

Day 17
Raven Over Lake Powell

Day 18
Engine 2

Day 19
Badge of Honor

That's soot on my helmet from my first live fire exercise!

Day 20
Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River

Day 21
Lake Powell's "Wildlife"

Day 22
Inferno

Today was our "propane tree" exercise. The objectives were to give us experience working with a large, hot propane fire, demonstrate how to envelope a fire within a cone of water, and build confidence in our equipment's ability to protect us. Seeing as how I was able to stand less than 2 feet from that blazing "tree" without much discomfort I think the stuff works. This shot is of one of our instructors observing the exercise.



March 25, 2009

Days 13-16 of 365

Playing catch-up...

Day 13
Storm clouds over Page, AZ


Day 14


Day 15
After a tough day


Day 16