 We got to this spot and that's when fire crusted this ridge to the west of us. We could hear the roar and then it seemed like that black smoke just burst into flames and we had a wall of flames as high as we could see into the air and just pretty much just filled your vision. It was coming fast enough that we didn't feel that we could outrun it and that if we delayed any further that we were at risk of not being able to get into our shelters. You know I yelled get your shelters out and they pulled their shelters out of their packs and they had them in their hands and they had taken them out of the plastic bags and they were running with them in their hands. We knew that that fire was going to be on us in seconds. Crew representative Dave Latour and 10 members of the Perryville State Corrections crew were entrapped on the dude fire near Payson, Arizona in June 1990. Dave and four others survived the entrapment. Six of his coworkers perished in the fire. Survivors of fire entrapments and results from research studies can teach us a great deal about the best way to use fire shelters. By learning and practicing the technique shown in this video you can increase the chances that if you are entrapped in a fire you'll react quickly and appropriately and will give yourself the best chance of survival. The fire shelter is required for all federal wildland firefighters. It has saved over 250 lives and has prevented hundreds of serious burn injuries since it became mandatory equipment in the 1970s. Knowing how the shelter protects and understanding its limitations can help you make better decisions if you ever need to use a shelter in an entrapment. First let's review the two most important types of heat a fire shelter might encounter. Radiant heat travels through space without heating the space itself. It turns into heat when it contacts a cooler surface. When you walk out into the sun the sun's radiant heat warms your skin and when you stand near a campfire you feel radiant heat from the flames. Convective heat requires air movement. Think of it as a blast of hot air. When flames or hot gases move past a surface the hot air molecules transfer their heat to that surface. Hotter air and faster air movement lead to greater convective heating. The fire shelter traps breathable air and reflects radiant heat. Its shape allows you to lie face down on the ground. This protects the underside of your body and allows you to breathe the cooler air that is adjacent to the ground. The shelter is made of aluminum foil laminated to fiberglass cloth. The foil reflects about 95% of the radiant heat that reaches it. Only 5% is absorbed into the shelter material. So when the shelter is exposed only to radiant heat temperatures inside the shelter rise slowly. But convective heat is rapidly absorbed into the shelter material. Flame contact can quickly raise the temperature of the material to critical levels. If the temperature of the material reaches 500 degrees Fahrenheit the glue that bonds the foil and fiberglass starts to break down. The layers can then separate allowing the foil to be blown out of place or torn by turbulent winds. At about 1200 degrees Fahrenheit the foil itself begins to melt. Without the foil the shelter loses most of its protective value. The fiberglass layer alone offers virtually no protection from radiant heat. The shelters seen here were intentionally exposed to extreme conditions. Temperatures at the shelters exceeded 1300 degrees Fahrenheit and flame contact was severe. The fire shelter is not designed to be used under such conditions. These pictures are shown only to illustrate the shelters limits of protection. The right side of my shelter delaminated and the foil flipped over onto the left side. I could look through the glass mesh and see the outside, see all the fire. There was still a tremendous amount of radiant heat coming off the surrounding area. And a wind blew the shelter half back onto the other side back to where it belonged. And it was like somebody closing a door on the oven, you know standing in front of the oven and just shutting the door on the oven. The radiant heat difference with just that little piece of foil made was absolutely amazing. If the glue in the material breaks down the shelter may begin to fill with smoke and flammable gases. These gases can ignite and burn especially if flames enter the shelter from the outside. Keep the shelter away from flames. Curtis Heaton of the Prescott Hot Shots survived an entrapment with two other crew members on the Mackenzie fire in June 1994. They deployed their shelters in a rock outcropping surrounded by tall brush. They recognized the importance of keeping their shelters out of the flames. It was chaparral over our heads, you know, it was just unacceptable. There was no way a shelter would have performed. It would have been a direct flame impingement for several minutes and I don't believe they would have worked. The fire shelter is a last resort. If entrapment seems likely try first to escape. You should always know the location of your safety zones and escape routes. Right below the safety zone, our safety zone, the hard black. Remember in a true safety zone you don't need a shelter to protect you from heat and smoke. Carrying a fire shelter should never be considered an alternative to safe fire fighting. If you are considering or are asked to take on a risky assignment because you have a fire shelter it is your obligation to insist that the plans be changed. Your highest priority in an entrapment is to protect your lungs and airways. Most firefighters who perish in fires die from heat damaged airways, not external burns. One breath of hot gases can damage your lungs and lead to suffocation. If entrapment is imminent you must quickly decide if you have time to escape. You will have to recognize when deployment of your shelter is your only option. Watch for deployment areas as you move. If you can't reach a safety zone don't pass through an effective deployment area only to get caught in a more hazardous area. If you are supervising others give clear instructions and make sure they're understood. Time is critical during escape. As soon as you realize your escape may be compromised drop your gear. Take your fire shelter with you, keep your tool if there is a chance you may need it to clear a deployment site. Drop packs, chainsaws, anything that may slow you down. Most dangerous firefighters have died carrying their gear while trying to escape a fire. Some might have escaped if they had dropped the extra weight. You can move up to 30% faster without your gear. This can easily mean the difference between life and death in an escape situation. Dropping your pack helps ensure that fuses and other dangerous items are not taken into the fire shelter. The fuses are the most dangerous items you carry. They ignite at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature common in escape conditions. Fusees burn initially at 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. This can quickly be fatal to a person inside a shelter. Shedding your pack can also make it easier to deploy your shelter. Trials have shown that shelters can snag on field packs during deployment especially in windy conditions. If you have a face and neck shroud use it but remember it won't protect your airways from hot gases. Practice evaluating deployment sites so that you can recognize them quickly under stress. Identify effective sites whenever you are on the fire line so you know where they are before you need one. Choose sites where flames and radiant heat are minimized. Let's rate some potential deployment sites. This is a chimney. Chimneys are some of the worst places to deploy a fire shelter because they funnel flames and hot gases which can quickly damage your shelter. Saddles also funnel heat. They are also dangerous places to deploy. A wide stream bed like this can work. But narrow ones like this can funnel hot gases. A road crossing a slope can be effective because the flames rise upwards from the slope and tend to miss the road itself. Don't deploy in the middle of the road if there is a possibility that vehicles may be passing. The best place on this road would be in the ditch on the uphill side as long as there are no fuels there that could ignite and damage the shelter. This rock slide is good but you must stay away from any brush or small trees growing inside it. One firefighter was injured when he deployed in a rock slide next to small trees like these. The trees ignited and burned his shelter even though they were over one hundred feet from the main flame front. Short sparse grass like this can work because flames would be of low intensity and would pass quickly. But taller grass like this can produce large flames and can quickly damage a shelter. Any concentration of fuel should be avoided whether it's a pile of slash or a collection of firefighter packs or supplies. Thick timber like this or brush like this should be avoided since flame contact is likely in these areas. Objects such as large rocks, dozers or even structures can act as barriers to heat. But if the objects themselves ignite you may end up having to move. Testing shows that flames can funnel underneath vehicles that are in their path. Don't deploy under your vehicle. Don't deploy in an area where rocks or logs could roll on you or snags could fall on you. A bench or a wide ridgetop like this are recommended because the flames and hot gases tend to rise above them. Fire intensity usually drops when fire reaches a ridge. But be alert for the possibility of the fire spotting and running up the lee side of the ridge. A large natural or man-made opening can be a good deployment site depending on its size and the behavior of the fire. Burned out areas work well too as long as they are truly black. If an area can reburn it may not serve well as a deployment site. The area must be cool. Areas with light fuels can cool within minutes after burning while areas of heavier fuels can remain hot for hours. Your fire shelter must be immediately accessible. Carry it in a fire shelter case positioned either vertically at your side or horizontally under your pack. It may also be carried in the horizontal fire shelter pouch that is a feature on some field packs or in a chest harness preferred by some operators of engines and heavy equipment. Never carry your fire shelter inside the main body of your field pack. If you are with your crew your supervisor will tell you when and where to deploy your fire shelter. If you are not with a crew you must rely on your own judgment. After removing your shelter from its case throw your pack in any flammable objects such as fuses or gasoline far from the deployment area. Don't throw them near others who are deploying their shelters. Pull one of the ring tabs down to the bottom of the plastic case and up the other side. To avoid breaking the ring pull the strip down like a zipper not out like a grenade pin. Be aware that heat from the fire can soften the plastic and make it difficult to open the bag. Pull the two halves apart and remove the shelter from the plastic. Shake out the shelter but hold on tight to avoid losing the shelter in high winds. Place your shelter so your feet are toward the oncoming flames. Testing has shown that the hottest part of the shelter will be the end facing the advancing fire. Keep your head and airway away from these high temperatures. Make sure the hold down straps are underneath you when you lie prone. The fire shelter must be held down on the ground before the fire arrives. When you're on the ground push out the top and sides of the shelter so its volume is as large as possible. Even a small layer of air offers excellent insulation. Don't roll up in the shelter as this can lead to more serious burns. Newer fire shelters have fold out floor panels. Once you are on the ground pull out the floor panels if you have them and tuck them under your body. Keep your nose and mouth on the ground. Temperatures just a few inches off the ground are dramatically higher than those at the surface. Wear gloves inside the shelter. Without them you may burn your hands and be unable to hold down the shelter. Wear your hard hat to protect your head from burns and if you use a face and neck shroud pull it down into place. If you have a radio keep it with you in the shelter so you can communicate during and after the entrapment. Always drink plenty of fluids whenever you're fighting fire. Your body can cope with high temperatures much more effectively if you are well hydrated. Do not wet your clothing or bandana. Wet clothing conducts heat to the skin much faster than dry clothing making burns more likely. It also increases humidity. Moisture causes more damage to airways than dry air at the same temperature. The best way to use your water is to drink it. If you have time clear an area at least four feet by eight feet down to mineral soil. This reduces flame contact with the shelter. If you are being overtaken by extreme heat or flames get flat on the ground. Death is almost certain if you get caught standing or kneeling in a flame front. Finish deploying your shelter from the ground by pulling it over you head first. The shelter is designed for one person. Sharing greatly increases your risk of injury. If you are forced to share both persons should have their heads at the end of the shelter opposite the oncoming fire. If you are entrapped with a group deploy your shelters close together. Adjacent shelters can provide added protection from radiant heat and being close together can improve communications between individuals. They were cheering each other on and cheering each other up and saying you know again we are Perryville we are tough we are going to make it we are going to come through this. And that instantly changed when the front hit us. The winds were probably in excess of 70 miles per hour. The sense of power that you had around here that energy release that we had around us was just absolutely incredible. Once you are in your shelter you must focus on two things. You must commit to staying on the ground in the shelter no matter what. You must protect your lungs and airways by keeping your mouth as close to the ground as possible. No matter how bad it gets inside the shelter it will be much worse outside. If you panic and leave the shelter one breath of hot gases can lead to suffocation and death. I think for a period of probably three to five minutes I was absolutely sure that was it that I was going to die in this. That I would not survive this. There was no question in my mind at that point it was just a matter of when. And I remember thinking very clearly at that point that you know should I just ride this out and make this last maybe an hour or whatever time it takes for me to die from this. Or should I maybe just push this shelter off stand up take a deep breath and get this over with. And at that point I started to think about my family I had my wife and I have two daughters. And I remember thinking I need to do everything that I possibly can to go home and see them. And so that really is what kept me in the shelter. The entrapment experience can be extremely frightening and can induce panic. You must force yourself to maintain control to keep your face against the ground and to stay under your fire shelter. To keep yourself calm concentrate on your family or friends are on a religious symbol that is meaningful to you. Some people find that using a repetitive chant or phrase can help them stay in control to help calm others talk back and forth by shouting or by radio. But do not leave your shelter even if someone does not respond to your shouts. It was extremely painful. The things that were going through my head were I'm going to die this is going to kill me. I know that you're being burned to the point that you'd never be able to use those limbs again. When in fact they were deep 30 degree burns but I ended up being able to fully recover from that. I think it's very important for people to know what that experience might be for them. That they might believe that they're going to die. That they might believe that they're being burned to death. When in fact you'll probably survive well beyond that but their greatest hope is staying inside that shelter and protecting themselves. No matter what they hear, no matter what they see or feel that they have to make just an absolute commitment to staying with that shelter if they want to go home. You should stay in your shelter until the flame front has passed and temperatures have cooled significantly. Entrapment times have ranged from 15 to 90 minutes in length depending on the fuel type. Many entrapment survivors have spoken of being hit by more than one flame front so use extreme caution. Firefighters have died when they came out of their shelters too soon. Seconds are critical in an entrapment situation. Repeated hands-on training is vital to ensure speedy deployments and proper reactions in emergency situations. It can take an untrained person several minutes to deploy a shelter. Practice should reduce this to 20 seconds or less. It was obvious that they had done it before and that they were comfortable with that task and it seemed to sort of calm everybody down. That here was this thing that they could do, that they knew how to do and so they just went through the motions, got the shelters out, unfolded them, stepped into them, laid down on the ground. Firefighters who have been through an entrapment have reported a calming effect of doing something they are trained to do. Having a familiar task can help firefighters avoid panic and can aid them in deploying their shelters effectively. Each year every firefighter should do repeated fire shelter drills. Drill until each step from dropping your gear to deploying your shelter can be done automatically. Practice fire shelters are made from blue plastic and can be reused many times. Always train wearing gloves, a hard hat and if you have one, a face and neck shroud. Practice deploying your shelter under each of the following five scenarios. Practice a standard deployment first clearing a four by eight foot sight to mineral soil. Practice deploying your shelter from the ground by opening the shelter and pulling it over you head first. If you can catch them when they're tired, catch them when they're off guard, it may be more similar to what it's like in the real world. Alright, deployment drill! Practice dropping your gear and removing your shelter while escaping. Practice deploying the fire shelter in a strong wind. Winds are common in entrapment situations. Some people find it easier to deploy from the ground in a wind. But try a variety of deployment techniques to find one that works best for you. Learn to take advantage of the wind to help you open and deploy the shelter. But make sure when you are done that your feet are toward the oncoming flames. Some crews have found it useful to practice using one or more strong fans, such as the positive ventilation fans used by structural fire departments. While lying in your shelter, picture yourself in an entrapment situation. Imagine the noise, heat and fear. Some firefighters have suffered from claustrophobia well in the shelters. Spend enough time under your shelter to find out if you're claustrophobic. If you are, gradually increase the time you spend inside the shelter to help you adapt. I think under these situations when things start to go downhill, you start to respond to them in a way that conditioning or training that we've had and purely on that instinct that you've developed, like tying your shoes. You don't even look down anymore, you just do it. Never mix practice and real fire shelter components. This could lead to someone carrying a practice shelter onto the fire line by mistake. Never train in live fire. This is extremely dangerous and risks firefighters' lives. The demonstrations you've seen in this video have all been simulations. Wear and tear on a fire shelter can reduce its ability to protect. Taking care of it is simple. Always keep the shelter in its white hard plastic liner. Avoid rough handling. Don't lean against objects when wearing the shelter or use the shelter as a pillow. Don't load heavy objects on top of the shelter and keep the shelter away from sharp objects that can puncture it. Be sure to inspect your fire shelter when you receive it and every two weeks during the fire season. Inspect the vinyl bag to ensure that the quick opening strip is unbroken and the two red pull rings are intact. If broken, remove the shelter from service. Look through the vinyl bag for signs of abrasion. Do not open the vinyl bag. Remove the shelter from service if you see extensive edge abrasion. If aluminum particles have turned the clear vinyl bag dark gray or black or if there is debris in the bottom of the bag. Remove shelters from service if you find tears along the folded edges of the shelter. Cracks and pinholes are common. They do not impair the shelter's ability to reflect away radiant heat. In closing, let's review the key points. Carrying a fire shelter is not an excuse to take greater risks on the fire line. As soon as you realize your escape may be compromised, drop your gear. Take your fire shelter and your tool, but drop all dangerous flammable objects and drop any items that may slow your escape. Always deploy the fire shelter so that flame contact is minimized. Once you commit to your fire shelter, stay inside. Conditions outside the shelter will be far worse than those inside. And train with your shelter as if your life depends on it. As a firefighter, your highest priority is to stay out of situations that can lead to entrapment. The fire shelter is a last resort, but if you should ever have to use your shelter, use it with confidence. The shelter has a proven track record of saving lives. You never know if that helicopter is not going to be able to make it to that heli spot. If your engines go to get a flat tire, if the trail you're walking out is not the right trail, and you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Communication's not there and somebody's firing off the wrong piece of line and you're in the wrong place. You can be the best firefighter in the world. And maybe something will happen to where you have to use the shelter. And that's why I'm here to talk about it, hoping that if it comes down to that then people know how to survive with it.