Building A Better Fire Shelter
The deadliest fire season in seven years has already claimed the lives of four young Washington State firefighters who died inside their standard issue fire shelters as fire exploded over them, reports CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes.
"After this last tragedy in Washington, I was angry because after seven years of hard work, a lot of money, a lot of time, we still have fire shelters that are inferior," says Jim Roth of Storm King Mountain Technologies.
Roth knows about the dangers of fire shelters first hand: his brother Roger died in 1994 fighting a fire on Storm King mountain.
"When I found out he died in his fire shelter, that's when I realized I had to do something to make a difference," says Roth.
An aerospace engineer, Roth has spent seven years developing a safer fire shelter.
Roth's shelter is heavier, with a full floor; he's eliminated the lamination that holds the current shelter together and can break down and allow toxic gasses to kill a firefighter:
The fire shelter now used by the U.S. Forest Service – known as the "shake and bake" – is supposed to deploy in about 30 seconds; Roth's shelter provides almost instant protection.
The U.S. Forest Service has even done testing itself comparing their current fire shelter to Roth's. After a firestorm, the Forest Service shelter is destroyed; Roth's shelter is intact.
CBS News obtained results of an independent test that shows Roth's shelter holds up to direct flames for 35 seconds, while the current shelter lasts less than six seconds.
That's why firefighters are flabbergasted that they don't have this tool in their arsenal.
"For the ground-pounder, when all else has gone wrong, this is all they have left," says Assistant Chief Scott Jones. "And as far as I'm concerned, they ought to have the best we can give them."
The father of one of the latest casualties feels the same way:
"How can we ask these people to defend our property if we haven't equipped them to defend their lives?" says Ken Weaver.
Roth's shelter is four pounds, one pound heavier than the standard issue shelter, and five times more expensive. But this year's federal fire budget is $3 billion, equipping every Forest Service firefighter with Roth's shelter would only cost $3 million.
But the Forest Service still isn't interested. It refused a request last year to field test the fire shelter created by Roth. The National Interagency Fire Center told CBS News Tuesday that it is still developing parameters for testing.
Says Roth: "We just want them to try it out, give it a wear and tear test." A test that might make the difference as this fire season heats up.
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