They call them “Freaks on the Peaks”. A few years ago thousands of people spent their summers on mountaintops, living in remote lookout towers and scanning the surrounding wilderness for signs of smoke. Now only a few hundred remain.
A preliminary report entitled “Why some homes survived: Learning from the Fort McMurray wildfire disaster”, written by Alan Westhaver, M.Sc and published by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, has been released. In the report the author explores the reasons why some homes survived the massive wildfire while many others were destroyed.
Fire whirls, commonly known as firenadoes, look like tornadoes and burn hotter than many other fires. Scientists from the University of Maryland conducted experiments on fire whirls because they thought there was a possibility that their power could be harnessed for good. The research was prompted by a video of flaming bourbon.
The deaths of a firefighting student and a volunteer in separate training accidents in Ontario underscore the astonishing lack of regulation that exists across the dangerous profession. Both men died after being pulled under river ice during cold-water rescue training.
A powerful gas pipeline explosion demolished part of the trans-Siberian railway on June 4, 1989, engulfing two passenger trains in flames and leaving hundreds dead. Many of the victims were children bound for holiday camps by the Black Sea.
According to a recent study, incremental alarms help prevent firefighter heart rates from reaching extreme highs. And that could help curb a leading cause of firefighter deaths.
Fire Safety experts arrived in Ahousaht to spend two days working with senior Maaqtusiis Secondary students and interested community members on home fire safety and firefighting training.
A small fire shut down a generating tower at the world’s largest solar power plant. Firefighters had to climb some 300 feet up a boiler tower after fire was reported on an upper level.
An arson expert based in California says firefighter arson is a recognized, ongoing problem, but it’s difficult to know exactly how common it is because authorities don’t keep records.
Yet another destructive wildfire raises questions about our failure to learn from Kelowna and Slave Lake – to take steps to guard against their fury. “This happened in Kelowna in 2003, why didn’t we all learn from that?”