Fire crews get ready for season

POLSON—Eleven fire department from around the county gathered at Rocky Point on Saturday, where they underwent a training exercise to prepare themselves for this summer's fire season.

It was training complete with fire engines, water tanks, shovels, axes, about 200 firefighters and, of course, fire.

The Montana Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation along with the Tribal Emergency Committee and the Lake County Emergency Committee coordinated the event to strengthen cooperation and communication between the three organizations.

"We often find ourselves working together," said Dave Poukish, Incident Commander Trainee for the DNRC.

The goal of putting this together was to give us the opportunity to train together, Poukish explained.

The fire fighters were given a scenario and expected to perform just like they would in a real-life situation. The scene called for a hot day in August when, suddenly, a large brush fire broke out leaving fire crews little time to arrive and extinguish the flames before things got out of control.

Two separate incidences were simulated, dividing fire crews into two teams, each one working on a separate situation.

At the site, fir fighters waited patiently, ready for action, while some 40 stacks of debris were lit up several miles from where they were located.

Though this was a practice session, firefighters were not given any information on when they'd be called and where given just a general idea where the fire was located. The idea was to simulate a citizen's call.

Once called, firefighters quickly suited up, assembled their crews and equipment and navigated by smoke to find the location of the wild brush fire.

Nearly 40 minutes later, (the crew went to the wrong fire site, which only gave the scenario a boost of realism) initial attack crews organized a plan of action with their Information Coordinators giving directions. Information Coordinators run the gammitt from Type 5 I.C.s, who deal with extremely large fires to Type 1 I.C.s who handle small fires. Julie Gay, a volunteer with the Rollins Fire Dept. served as a Type 3 I.C at this particular scene.

The initial attack crew of three people immediately began hosing down the perimeter of the fire with a hose attached to a 200 gallon tank that rode the back the a large pickup. Then they formed a line crew to dig a small trench around the fire, removing dry needles and pine cones, unearthing the mineral soil, prevent forward spread.

At this point the crew seemed to have everything under control, however, this exercise wasn't designed to be that easy.

To simulate the fire spreading out of control, a dozen more stacks were lit up with flames reaching 20 feet high. At this point, the Rollins Fire department called for backup and requested a Type 4 I.C.

The I.C. arrived in a few short minutes with four trucks and half-a-dozen volunteers from the tribe.

"The initial attack is the most important thing we do," said Fuel Resource Coordinator Carey Cooley.

"That is why the county has been fortunate enough not to have any large incidents," she said.

Crews can work up to 18 hours on a fire, with some working 24 hours a day and big incidents.

However, as Cooley explained, fatigue is the number one cause of injury in the job, that is why they break crews down into shifts, but it isn't unusual for people to work for 14 hours or more on a job.

During the exercise, fire fighters worked on their exercise books, kind of like students finishing their homework in class.

Like any job, fire fighters have the opportunity to move up in the ranks, but in order to do that they have to complete a series of homework assignments, Cooley explained.

Fire fighters don't just work on their books during training, they also find time during real fires to complete their notes.

"You've got to take that book everywhere," Cooley said.

Polson's Park Supt. Karen Sargeant was working on her book during the scenario. She is hoping to eventually become an Information Officer.

Of the 200 fire fighters there, 80% were volunteers and only one percent were as old as Gary Jystad. The 70 year old doctor shares his time between California and Montana and can swing a pick like a healthy 20 year old. He is semi-retired and has been volunteering for the Rollins Fire Dept. for four years.

"I get a real since of satisfaction being involved," Jystad said.

According to Carey Cooley, it is too early to tell what the fire season has in store for us. She said predictions don't start until after the Fourth of July, up till then we are in a "green state."

"All we can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best," said Jared Pris with the DNRC.