smoke jumpers

[arty460]

I was wondering what saws they use and how many cc's. does the goverment supply there saws /or company, or do they have there own preferance.

 

[fwf]

I was smoking a cigar when I jumped off my tractor today, and the government has never bought me a chainsaw. But maybe you are talking about something else.

Joe

 

[Monkeywitha_saw]

jonsereds mostly 45 to 60 cc's and when there done with the saws they dig a big hole and bury them in my experince any way

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I got a tour of the NIFC HQ in Boise. They had lots of Stihl saws at the time. I can't remember the size.

A while ago someone claimed that the tools were buried. That smells a lot like urban legend. When I talked with the quartermaster at NIFC he said that they have a very accurate system of check-out and check-in. The goods need to be accounted for.

http://www.nifc.gov/

 

[Lawn Masters]

Burying a saw seems like an awfully big waste of parts that could be recycled to me.

 

[BostonBull]

Burying a saw seems like an awfully big waste of parts that could be recycled to me.

Yeah especially knowing how cheap some of these government/municipal agencies can be you would figure they would use ANY damaged saw for a rebuild or at the very least salvage something from it!??!

 

[Lawn Masters]

I'd at least keep a few and make a few frankenstein saws from the junkers. save some money at least, and keep em in use till they completely die. unless its got a wrecked top end, and bad crank bearings as well, I'd salvage it. at least the fuel tank if its any good.

 

[Old Monkey]

I fought fires for ten years for the forest service and the BLM. Except for your rare crew here or there its predominantly Stihls. I was on a Hot Shot crew were you had your own individual saw assigned to you and you were responsible for it. Smokejumpers are Gypsies and move around most of the summer. They have there own gear bags, backpacks and chutes but don't travel with their own saw. When they jump a fire tools are dropped for them with cargo chutes. The local base packs these cargo drops and they use what they get. No one is all time sawyer or anything like that. Who ever grabs the saw grabs the saw. I have been out of fire for five summers but when I left the 044 was the most preferred fireline saw. My old crew dabbled with the 046 but we concluded that although it was a great saw, it was a bit of a gas hog, which matters when you and your crew have to pack enough gas and oil for the first 36 hours of cutting. A buddy of mine's dad jumps out of McCall, Idaho and runs a tree service on the side, I'd love to get him on here and mine his years of knowledge.

 

[FishhuntLA]

the DNR here in Washington is on a rotating cycle. They purchase several hundred saws every six months. They turn in the old saws to supply, not buried, and they are then first shots to other agencies, then left overs go to the public in the retail resale store. All saws I have seen are 290's with 20" bars. Some almost new, but seized, some beat to a pulp, and some in between. $125 gets you any saw. You bring fuel, and tools and look them over, fire it up, and shes yours.

I have seen several dozen of them on Ebay.

 

[njforestfire]

2 years ago when i was out west for a couple of weeks, the saw of choice was the 044. I have seen on occasion an 046, 066 and some Jonsereds.

 

[smokechaser]

Stihls and Huskys

The Jumpers in Redmond carry both. They brought out a 288 for a chainsaw re cert two weeks ago. Lots of 044s. Not too many use the 046. They're not very fuel efficient saws for their power. They do have some climbing saws, but they do end up climbing with their 44's alot. The Missoula and Grangeville jumpers also go both ways. The friends of mine who jump say its because that way if they take their saws to another region they can get parts for their saws. Really, they are just like everyone else here, everyone has their own favorite brand.

 

[P_woozel]

Those lazy loft lizards use whatever is easiest, and thats after 20 minutes of whining about who does what. Everyone knows the real sawyers are on a Shot crew. STF IHC R-5 :umpkin:

 

[Old Monkey]

I was on Entiat Hot Shots('95,96,97), Wenatchee WA. I'm not so good with me regions and abbreviations since my daughter was born. What crew were you on?

 

[P_woozel]

Chena IHC ('90, '91) Stanislaus IHC ('92, '93, '94) R-10 (Alaska) and R-5 being California. :blob5:

 

[Old Monkey]

I forgot to mention, Prescott IHC in '93. It wasn't my favorite season of fire. I also did four seasons with Davis Fire Crew, a type II out of Mendocino N.F.('89-'92) and two seasons on Keene Flight Crew. I was on Keene, or "triple nickel" for the '98 and '99 season. We flew Stanislaus Shots in on a fire and they had the biggest Supt. I've ever seen. I can't remember his name but I hear they had to cheat on his pack test to get him out on fires. I also heard he really knew his stuff.

 

[P_woozel]

"Rax' is around 6'8" 340# not a small man, Can hike still, and yes without a doubt the most experienced fireman in flashy fuels, period. I miss those days more than anything, even air. :blob5:

 

[Old Monkey]

"Rax' is around 6'8" 340# not a small man, Can hike still, and yes without a doubt the most experienced fireman in flashy fuels, period. I miss those days more than anything, even air. :blob5:

That's the guy. I remember we had a 212 Helicopter with a boost kit and still couldn't put that many people in the ship with him. I miss firefighting too! I promised myself, if I had a kid I wouldn't be an absentee dad. I love my daughter and think I made the right choice. Still wish I could fight a few grass fires though or maybe a lightning strike or two. I deliberately don't follow fire anymore. I don't watch fire footage on TV or read about fires in the news. If I do I usually get angry with all the lazy engine dudes they show, spraying the heck out of everything but never manning a tool.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Have you fire guys read Sebastian Junger's book "Fire" ? The book "The Perfect Storm" started out as a chapter in the book but grew into a book of it's own. "Fire" is a great read. He writes about people who make their living doing risky things. He used to be a hired-gun tree climber in MA.

 

[MasterBlaster]

He used to be a hired-gun tree climber in MA.

Until he cut his leg with a chainsaw. :alien:

 

[njforestfire]

woozel and monkey..you guys been around a while...either one of you do just saw or swamper work in all those seasons? Do you see any difference in how things were done back then compared to now?