Massachusetts fire chiefs say managing fatigue, stress is key during wildfires
BROCKTON - Massachusetts' chief fire warden is keeping an eye on the raging wildfires in California. Chief Dave Celino sent local firefighters to Idaho and Montana last year to fight similar wildfires and said crews on the west coast are likely working double or triple shifts under extreme conditions.
"It's the weather, the fire behavior and the terrain all coming together," Chief Celino said. "There were long 16, 18, 20-hour shifts and the same thing is happening there. It's a long duration event."
"Zero to 100 - like that," Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli added. "That's the difference."
Chief Nardelli is giving us a glimpse of what it's like in the thick of a massive fire.
"They're under great stress"
"A lot of the logistics with them is the terrain, getting them out of the terrain, getting them back to hydrate them. So they're under great stress right now," Chief Nardelli said. "Mentally, physically."
Add the weight of the equipment while navigating through intense heat and smoke. The key, these chiefs say, is balancing that work-rest ratio.
"It's fatigue and we have to manage that on every fire that we go on, not just in California but even here in Massachusetts," Chief Celino said.
"Whether it be brush, or whether it be a building fire, the unbelievable stress it puts on the body," Chief Nardelli said.
He added that Massachusetts firefighters will likely not be called to help in California because emergency crews are called region-by-region.
Los Angeles fires
More than 54 square miles have been burned by fires across the Los Angeles area. At least five people have died, and thousands of structures have been destroyed.
More than 200,000 people are under evacuation orders.
