05/19/2016 Missoula Technology and Development Center Wildland Firefighter Projects

On May 19, the entire NIMO organization had the opportunity to take a tour of the Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) in Missoula, MT.  During this tour we were exposed to several projects which are being worked on for improving the safety and well-being of the wildland firefighting community.  Below are several of the projects that we were presented with and how they can help out in the field.

Figure 1 - Bengi Hegg, EMT, Explaining
Wildland Medical Kit Standardization
Project

 One of the first projects we were introduced to was an overview of the project standardizing the individual and field medical kits (Figure 1).  The items contained in the kits are varied which make it difficult for a person to go from one geographical area to the next and know what is available in the kits.  The project is taking information provided from subject matter experts and field going personnel; then modifying those kits available through the cache system.

Imagine being out in the field, being smoked in, and running low on supplies.  The helicopters are not able to fly, and there are no roads to your camp.  This is not an unusual scenario.  The MicroFly automated cargo delivery system (Figure 2) may allow for this to be a thing of the past.  This

Figure 2 - Gadot Apuzzo, Equipment
Specialist, Explaining MicroFly Cargo
Delivery System

system can be dropped out of a plane flying at a safe height (above the inversion).  It has a GPS guidance system in which it will direct the package to be delivered to a location identified by the recipients.  The MicroFly has been tested (by the T&D group) and performed well in field test cargo drops (landing within 100 yards of targeted drop spot).  After the successful field testing, it was successfully tested on the Bear Lake Fire on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in 2015.  To date, there is only one functional system, however the plan is to have at least one located at each of the Smokejumper bases.

Figure 3 - Gadot Apuzzo,
Explaining MicroFly
Cargo Delivery System

Each year, there are certain projects that are based around reviewing and potentially improving the personal protective equipment (PPE) for use in the field.  The MTDC are currently looking at improvements to the neck shrouds (Figure 3), fire shelters (Figure 4), and chaps.  In the near future, the MTDC team will begin looking at improvements to the wildland firefighter’s helmet.  If you are interested in learning more about the Fire Shelter project, you can refer to the Fire Shelter page on the NIFC site.

Figure 4 - Tony Petrelli, Equipment
Specialist, Explaining Fire Shelter Project

Short haul extraction (Figure 5) is another project that the MTDC personnel are working on, in an effort to improve the safety of the gear and the survivability for the injured firefighter.  Having all of the equipment needed for extractions in one, easy to use, package is critical.  The MTDC project is reviewing the equipment and making improvements as necessary.

Figure 5 - Gadot Apuzzo, Equipment
Specialist, Explaing technical details of
Short Haul Project

It is imperative that we learn from the elements that wildland firefighters are exposed to during any given day/assignment.  The MTDC Physiologists are working on projects to study items like heat stress, smoke exposure, and hearing exposure on the wildland firefighting communities.  They have developed specialized sensing equipment that is designed to track information such as air quality/particulates (backpack sensors), heart rates and core body temperature (Figure 7 – the “purple pill”), and other physiological information.  Information gathered will likely be used to make improvements to existing technology and/or safety gear and will be used to make physical training safer and more effective for the wildland firefighters.

Figure 6 - Joe Domitrovich,
Exercise Physiologist, Explaining
Heat Stress, Smoke Exposure,
and Hearing Exposure Projects

The MTDC is looking for Incident Management Teams (IMTs), Crews, or individuals who are willing and interested in assisting with this testing; so if you are interested, please contact any of the individuals identified above or contact Joe Domitrovich, Exercise Physiologist.

Figure 7 - Heat stress core temperature
measurement capsule