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Fire Flapper
A flapper is a wildland firefighting tool that resembles a broom or a leaf rake with wide, overlapping metal bristles in the form of a hand fan. It is also called a swatter or a beater. It is designed for extinguishing minor fires in rural areas such as heaths. A flapper is built with a long handle and a series of lamellae which allows firefighters to stand well back from the fire. The lamellae are constructed in either rubber or steel, though practically any other fire-resistant material could be used. The fire is attacked from the upwind side by lightly swatting out the flames or embers with the thick flap. When the flapper hits the ground, the oxygen supply to the fire is stopped and the fire will be extinguished. Where ground cover is short, the flapper can be dragged along the fire edge to smother the fire. If used too hard it can add more oxygen to the fire. It is often recommended to either hose water on the area or keep it under observation, as there will always be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fire Engine
A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an incident as well as carrying equipment for firefighting operations in a fire drill. Some fire engines have specialized functions, such as wildfire suppression and aircraft rescue and firefighting, and may also carry equipment for technical rescue. Many fire engines are based on a commercial vehicle chassis that is further upgraded and customized for firefighting requirements. They are generally considered Emergency vehicle, emergency vehicles authorized to be Emergency vehicle equipment, equipped with Emergency vehicle lighting, emergency lights and Siren (alarm), sirens, as well as communication equipment such as two-way radios and mobile computer technology. The terms ''fire engine'' and ''fire truck'' are often used interchangeably ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulaski (tool)
The Pulaski is a specialty hand tool used in fighting fires, particularly wildfires, which combines an axe and an adze in one head. Similar to a Mattock, cutter mattock, it has a rigid handle of wood, plastic, or fiberglass. The Pulaski was developed for constructing firebreaks, able to both dig soil and chop wood. It is also well adapted for trail construction, and can be used for gardening and other outdoor work for general excavation and digging holes in root-bound or hard soil. The invention of the Pulaski is credited to Ed Pulaski, an assistant park ranger, ranger with the United States Forest Service in 1911. Similar tools were introduced in 1876 by the Collins Tool Company. A tool that serves the same purpose was used in the Alps for over 300 years for planting trees (Wiedehopfhaue) or the dolabra in ancient Rome. Pulaski was famous for taking action to save the lives of a crew of 45 firefighters during the disastrous August 1910 Great Fire of 1910, wildfires in Idaho. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
McLeod (tool)
A McLeod tool (or rakehoe) is a two-sided blade — one a rake with coarse tines, one a flat sharpened hoe — on a long wooden handle. It is a standard tool during wildfire suppression and trail restoration. The combination tool was created in 1905 by Malcolm McLeod, a United States Forest Service ranger at the Sierra National Forest. The McLeod was originally designed to rake fire lines with the teeth and cut branches and sod with the sharpened hoe edge. It is also used for finishing and maintaining hiking trails. Common issues Because of its large and sharp head, the McLeod is an awkward tool to transport and store, and is often considered undesirable. Some McLeod tools are made with a removable blade to partially mitigate this problem. Ideally, it is carried with the tines pointing toward the ground for safety, with a sheath over the cutting edge. The mass distribution makes it difficult to carry in this orientation consistently. Desirable traits Despite th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fire Triangle
The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for understanding the necessary ingredients for most fires. The triangle illustrates the three elements a fire needs to ignite: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen). A fire naturally occurs when the elements are present and combined in the right mixture. A fire can be prevented or extinguished by removing any one of the elements in the fire triangle. For example, covering a fire with a fire blanket blocks oxygen and can extinguish a fire. In large fires where firefighters are called in, decreasing the amount of oxygen is not usually an option because there is no effective way to make that happen in an extended area. Fire tetrahedron The fire tetrahedron represents the addition of the chemical chain reaction to the three already present in the fire triangle. Combustion is a chemical reaction that feeds a fire more heat and allows it to continue. Once a fire has started, the resulting exothermic chain re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Driptorch
A driptorch is a tool used in wildfire suppression, controlled burning, and other forestry applications to intentionally ignite fires by dripping flaming fuel onto the ground. Description The driptorch consists of a canister for holding fuel with a handle attached to the side, a spout with a loop to prevent fire from entering the fuel canister, a breather valve to allow air into the canister while fuel is exiting through the spout, and a wick from which flaming fuel is dropped to the ground. The wick is ignited and allows the fire to be directed as needed. The spout and wick can be secured upside down inside the canister for storage or transport. Typically the fuel used is a mixture of gasoline and diesel with a ratio of 30% to 70% respectively, although, the amounts may need to be adjusted according to fuel and weather conditions. Sometimes heavier oils are used to increase adhesion of the liquid fuel to the vegetation, and increase burn time and heat. Variations of the dri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Tender
A water tender, sometimes known as a water tanker, is a type of firefighting apparatus that specializes in the transport of water from a water source to a fire scene.Pelastusajoneuvojen yleisopas: säiliöauto (A general guide for rescue vehicles: water tender) (In Finnish). Ministry of the Interior, Finland. Retrieved on April 28, 2007 Water tenders are capable of Draft_(water), drafting water from a stream, lake or Fire hydrant, hydrant. This class of apparatus does not necessarily have enough pumping capacity to power large hose (tubing), hose lines (like a fire apparatus, fire engine), though it utilizes a smaller pump to draft from bodies of water. Water tenders are used when there is no working fire hydrant within reach of other fire equipment, potentially supplying the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Cannon
A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining. Most water cannons fall under the category of a fire monitor. Firefighting Water cannons were first devised for use on fireboats. Extinguishing fires on boats and buildings near the water was much more difficult and dangerous before fireboats were invented. The first fireboat deployed in Los Angeles was commissioned on 1 August 1919. The first fireboat in New York City was ''Marine 1'', deployed 1 February 1891. There may have been other fireboats elsewhere even earlier. Fire apparatus, Fire trucks deliver water with much the same force and volume as water cannons, and have even been used in riot control situations, but are rarely referred to as water cannons outside this context. Riot control The first truck-mounted water cannon was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest Fire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, prairie fire, vegetation fire, or veld fire. Some natural forest ecosystems depend on wildfire. Modern forest management often engages in prescribed burns to mitigate fire risk and promote natural forest cycles. However, controlled burns can turn into wildfires by mistake. Wildfires can be classified by cause of ignition, physical properties, combustible material present, and the effect of weather on the fire. Wildfire severity results from a combination of factors such as available fuels, physical setting, and weather. Climatic cycles with wet periods that create substantial fuels, followed by drought and heat, often precede severe wildfires. These cycles have been intensified by climate cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamella (zoology)
Lamellae on a gecko's foot. In surface anatomy, a lamella is a thin plate-like structure, often one amongst many lamellae very close to one another, with open space between. Aside from respiratory organs such as book lungs, they appear in other biological roles including filter feeding and the traction surfaces of geckos. Gecko feet consist of millions of setae made of β-keratin arranged into lamellate structures called spatula, which allow adhesion to walls due to creating more Van der Waals force between the gecko's feet and the wall. In fish, gill lamellae are used to increase the surface area in contact with the environment to maximize gas exchange (both to attain oxygen and to expel carbon dioxide) between the water and the blood. In fish gills, there are two types of lamellae, primary and secondary. The primary gill lamellae (also called gill filament) extends from the gill arch, and the secondary gill lamellae extends from the primary gill lamellae. Gas exchange prim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heath (habitat)
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler and damper climate. Heaths are widespread worldwide but are rapidly disappearing and considered a rare habitat in Europe. They form extensive and highly diverse communities across Australia in humid and sub-humid areas where fire regimes with recurring burning are required for the maintenance of the heathlands.Specht, R.L. 'Heathlands' in 'Australian Vegetation' R.H. Groves ed. Cambridge University Press 1988 Even more diverse though less widespread heath communities occur in Southern Africa. Extensive heath communities can also be found in the Texas chaparral, New Caledonia, central Chile, and along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to these extensive heath areas, the vegetation type is also found in scattered locatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
