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Breaking: 19 firefighters killed in Arizona wildfire

What the Fuck?

God, I hope those guys are paid a ton of bucks for taking on these kinds of risks.
 
Wow that's sad. 43 firefighter fatalities reported so far in 2013. 😱 :'(

I can't imagine that job, those wild fires are just intense. What those firefighters do is just incredible. We had a huge forest fire last year and the firefighters worked around the clock to put it out. It was active almost all summer and at one point was headed straight for our city. It was about 45km long and over 25,000 hectares.

http://www.timminstimes.com/2012/05...largest-fire-in-ontario-25000-hectares-photos
 
God Bless them and their families. This hits too close to home for me.

All it takes is a sudden wind change and the fire that was heading safely away, is now on top of you in seconds.
 
Damn that is terrible. My sister's husband was a firefighter, and her grandson is one now. Close to home indeed.
 
A childhood friend is a Firefighter in Flagstaff. We're all too old to be hotshots. Still freaks me out hope he wasn't there. He's the kind of tough guy that could be doing it mid 40s.
 
So how does something like this happen? Wouldn't they keep themselves behind the fire so they can, at the very least, turn around and run if needed? I'm just a lazy desk jockey in my life so I'm certainly not speaking bad about these guys, I just can't wrap my head around how this many firefighters can get trapped and die in a wildfire.
 
blurredvision said:
So how does something like this happen? Wouldn't they keep themselves behind the fire so they can, at the very least, turn around and run if needed? I'm just a lazy desk jockey in my life so I'm certainly not speaking bad about these guys, I just can't wrap my head around how this many firefighters can get trapped and die in a wildfire.
Click to expand...

if the wind is strong enough you can't outrun a wildfire, and all it takes is a one small ember carried by the wind and your escape route turns into a blaze. wildfires aren't predictable like a building fire, all it takes is a change in wind and you're fucked. If I remember correctly wildfires can basically create their own sort of weather systems and make themselves almost explosive if the conditions are right.

R.I.P
 
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blurredvision said:
So how does something like this happen? Wouldn't they keep themselves behind the fire so they can, at the very least, turn around and run if needed? I'm just a lazy desk jockey in my life so I'm certainly not speaking bad about these guys, I just can't wrap my head around how this many firefighters can get trapped and die in a wildfire.
Click to expand...

The wind most likely blew the smoke and fire suddenly back on them and surrounded and trapped them before they could escape. The winds at the time were estimated to be gusting to 50 mph PLUS the heat of the fires can cause the winds to gust much higher than that, so they may have had 60-80 mph winds suddenly blowing back right on top of them. Even if they had time to back up a bit and radio for help, and depending on the terrain, it might have circled and trapped them pretty damn fast. Not sure whether they asphyxiated or burned to death or a combination of both, but it's a terrible way to die regardless. It may have been a somewhat inexperienced group, too, since the oldest was 22.

ABSOLUTELY heartbreaking. 🙁

:'( R.I.P. COMRADES R.I.P. :'(
 
Broheim said:
if the wind is strong enough you can't outrun a wildfire, and all it takes is a one small ember carried by the wind and your escape route turns into a blaze. wildfires aren't predictable like a building fire, all it takes is a change in wind and you're fucked. If I remember correctly wildfires can basically create their own sort of weather systems and make themselves almost explosive if the conditions are right.

R.I.P
Click to expand...


RARE VIDEOS OF A FIRE TORNADO And this was in a relatively low wind after looking at the video. Imagine something like that coming at you at 60-80 MPH or more, which is what a wildfire will look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsyvOYcWgcg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=mZ8ofqVUt8k
 
FreshCrabLegs said:
They don't. =(

$38,758.00 - $55,153.00
(Annually)

RIP
Click to expand...

And a lot of those guys are seasonal as well. This crew might not have been but i know a bunch of those guys are. I have a friend who was on one of those wildfire firefighting teams. Tough work, long hours, hot, and not that fun. But decent money for working a summer. Can make enough to take the rest of the year off if you are a ski bum type person.


Still sucks for those guys and im sure was scary.


As for what happened...may never know for sure. Probably the wind changed so the fire started coming at them. The fire burns massive amounts of oxygen so it can be "pulling" the air towards the fire leaving less air for the firefighters to breathe. Top that off with the smoke and its not like you have a very good scenario to be running in.
 
Wow that's horrible 🙁 I'm glad there are brave people out there. Best wishes to their families.
 
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