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Bay Area firefighters prepare for early wildfire season ahead of Red Flag Warning
Bay Area firefighters prepare for early wildfire season ahead of Red Flag Warning

Yahoo

time18-05-2025

  • Climate
  • Yahoo

Bay Area firefighters prepare for early wildfire season ahead of Red Flag Warning

The Brief Hundreds of firefighters from across California gathered in Santa Rosa over the weekend for the three-day Fire Nuggets NorCal Conference. The conference focuses on the latest firefighting technologies and tactics, including the use of thermal imaging cameras. The training comes just as the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for Solano County and parts of the Sacramento Valley. SANTA ROSA, Calif. - More than 500 firefighters from across California gathered in Santa Rosa this weekend for a major training event. The three-day Fire Nuggets NorCal Conference focused on the latest firefighting technologies and tactics, including the use of thermal imaging cameras, under the guidance of some of the nation's top instructors. "It's kind of a who's who within the modern fire service, so being able to get trained by them is super beneficial," said Adam Elliott, a captain with the Livermore Fire Department. Why you should care The training comes as firefighters across the Bay Area are gearing up for what could be an intense wildfire season, as vegetation fires have already begun sparking across the region. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for Solano County and parts of the Sacramento Valley beginning Sunday morning. "We've already seen some of the products from the National Weather Service, looking at above-average conditions for wildfires much earlier this season than we typically see, so all that together, isn't necessarily to scare our community, it's to let them know what the conditions are like," said Santa Rosa Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal. "Hopefully they'll start adhering to the defensible space, maintaining vegetation management, weed abatement, and just be generally prepared a little bit earlier than they typically would be." At Saturday's conference, the training largely emphasized structure fire tactics, which organizers said were increasingly relevant as wildfires begin encroaching on developed areas. "Often times there are structure fires taking place as wildland fires are taking place, and there are a lot of tactics that are learned during these training opportunities that play into large scale wildfires," said Lowenthal. Joe Schuler, co-organizer of the conference, demonstrated how thermal imaging tools assist crews. "It's got a screen on here, and it tells us what the temperature is right," said Schuler. "And [you're] able to locate hidden fires, as we call it." The technology is similar to the thermal systems used by CAL FIRE helicopters to combat wildfires at night. The Red Flag Warning is set to take effect at 8 a.m. Sunday and will remain in place through Monday evening. It covers Solano County and parts of the Sacramento Valley. The Source KTVU original reporting

Firefighters from across the country get hands-on experience at annual training in Santa Rosa
Firefighters from across the country get hands-on experience at annual training in Santa Rosa

CBS News

time18-05-2025

  • CBS News

Firefighters from across the country get hands-on experience at annual training in Santa Rosa

As the weather warms up, the threat of fire increases. Over the weekend in Santa Rosa, firefighters from around the state gathered for an annual training event providing hands-on experience. They call it 'fire science' for a reason, and the technology that's used to save lives isn't just for the public's benefit. It's also for the firefighters themselves. The annual Bay Area Fire Conference alternates between the East and North Bay, and this year, Santa Rosa hosted the event that drew more than 500 professionals from around the state and nation. It was a chance for firefighters to brush up on their practical skills, like the proper way to break into a steel door to save someone on the other side. "Fire department! Victim! Victim! Victim," shouted a firefighter as he and his partner dragged another student through the now-open door. The rescue scenarios are taken seriously because a life-and-death situation is possible on any given day. "We talk about firefighters being professionals," said Joe Schuller, vice president of the training company, Fire Nuggets. "Being like professional athletes, they practice every day. And so, we can't ever be too good at our job. Our job presents a lot of challenges." But to help in those challenges is an array of technologies that have evolved over the years. One of them is the thermal imaging camera, or TIC. It's a handheld device that produces a black and white picture from heat being radiated. At the training, a fire was started inside a cluster of shipping containers. Normally, the smoke would make vision impossible, but the TIC cut right through it to produce a clear picture of what was happening for the firefighters inside. "With these technologies, it only makes us better, right?" said Santa Rosa Fire Captain Michael Musgrove. "So, when you're in an environment like this where there's smoke and fire and you can't see anything, with that thermal imager, you not only can see what's going on, you can actually see the energy moving through the building." But equally important to the devices is knowing the right way to use them. That's what the hands-on drills were all about. "We're scanning, and what did we talk about? We're scanning high or low first?" an instructor asked his students. "Low first. That's where we find victims. That's where the stuff that can come get us is. So, I'm scanning low first." Finding victims is important, but so is not becoming one yourself. When one group of firefighters came back outside, the thermal imager showed how hot they had gotten. Their helmets and shoulders showed up yellow, registering a temperature of more than 300 degrees. Instructor Andy Starnes wanted his students to understand what they were actually dealing with. "There's a point of learning. You burn to learn. Not burn them to learn," he said. "We're burning the building, we don't want to burn the student. The whole point is for them to avoid heat, not experience heat and pain." He said the special heat-resistant uniforms they wear, which are another form of technology, can actually mask the true danger of the situation. "Many firefighters were taught to base their whole paradigm of how bad the environment was through feeling. This gear censors that and basically deprives you of your senses. You don't feel pain until it's way too late," Starnes said. "So, just because you wear this, doesn't make you invincible. You have to have knowledge, awareness and education." Knowledge, awareness and education are what the 5th annual Bay Area Fire Conference was all about. And a chance to experience today, in a controlled environment, what they may face tomorrow, when just about anything could happen.

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