Smokejumper Information
A smokejumper is a wildland firefighter who parachutes into a remote area to combat wildfires.
Smokejumpers are most often deployed to fires that are extremely remote. The extra risk associated with this method is justified by reaching a wildfire shortly after ignition when it is still relatively small. Another argument for delivering wildland firefighters by parachute is that the fixed-wing aircraft that carry smokejumpers are cheaper to operate over long distances, carry more personnel and equipment and have higher top speeds than the helicopters often used for other fire deployments. While remoteness is one reason parachute deployment is used, it adds to the risk inherent in smokejumping as crews are often hours away from help if the wind shifts or someone gets injured. The ordinary risk of a parachute jump, the adverse conditions for the jump, and the lack of resources for firefighting and rescue once on the ground in a remote area give smokejumping a reputation as exceedingly dangerous work.
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Smokejumpers worldwide
Smokejumpers are employed in large numbers by the Russian Federation and the United States of America. Russia maintains more smokejumpers than any other nation in the world (several thousand) and has the longest history of established smokejumping of any nation (reportedly established in 1936; smokejumping was established in 1939 in the United States). Smokejumpers are also employed by Mongolia and Canada.
History
US Forest Service smokejumpers, based in Deming, New Mexico, 1948Prior to the full establishment of smokejumping, experiments with parachute insertion of firefighters were conducted in 1934 in Utah and in the Soviet Union. Earlier aviation firefighting experiments had been conducted with air delivery of equipment and "water bombs." Although this first experiment was not pursued, another began in 1939 in Washington's Methow Valley, where professional parachutists jumped into a variety of timber and mountainous terrain, proving the feasibility of the idea. This also saw the first Forest Service employee jumper, Francis Lufkin, who was originally hired as a climber to extract the professional parachutists from the trees. It is believed that he made this first jump on a dare from the parachutists.
The following year, in 1940, permanent jump operations were established at Winthrop, Washington and Ninemile Camp, Montana. The first actual fire jumps in the history of smokejumping were made by Rufus Robinson and Earl Cooley at Marten Creek in the Nez Perce National Forest on July 12, 1940, out of Ninemile, followed shortly by a two-man fire jump out of Winthrop. In subsequent years, the Ninemile Camp operation moved to Missoula, where it became the Missoula Smokejumper Base. The Winthrop operation remained at its original location, as North Cascades Smokejumper Base. The "birthplace" of smokejumping continues to be debated between these two bases, the argument having persisted at this time for approximately 68 years. After observing smokejumper training methods at Ninemile Camp, Major General William C. Lee, U.S. Army, went on to establish the 101st Airborne Division.
The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion gained fame as the only entirely black airborne unit in United States Army history. The battalion did not get the chance to serve overseas during World War II; however, in May 1945, it was sent to the west coast of the United States to combat forest fires ignited by Japanese balloons carrying incendiary devices, an operation designated Operation Firefly. Although this potentially serious threat did not fully materialize, the 555th fought numerous other forest fires while there. Stationed at Pendleton Field, Oregon, with a detachment in Chico, California, unit members participated in dangerous firefighting missions throughout the Pacific Northwest during the summer and fall of 1945, earning the nickname "Smoke Jumpers".
The 555th was purportedly not sent to combat because of racism within the military. Today many contemporary smokejumpers are extremely proud to call the men of the "triple nickel" their brother smokejumpers.
In May 1978, members of the Army National Guard's 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and other Western military units began airborne training at the Missoula Smokejumper School. Although in years past the Army has conducted basic Airborne training at various locations, it has since been consolidated at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Safety record
Despite the seemingly dangerous nature of the job, fatalities from jumping are rare. The largest disaster involving smokejumper deaths on the job was the Mann Gulch fire blowup of 1949 which occurred north of Helena, Montana at the Gates of the Mountains area along the Missouri River. Thirteen firefighters died during the blowup, 12 of them jumpers. This disaster directly led to the establishment of modern safety standards used by all wildland firefighters. Noted author Norman MacLean, described the incident in Young Men and Fire (1992). Maclean is also the author of the well known A River Runs Through It and Other Stories (1976).
Statistically, smokejumping remains as safe as ground-based wildland firefighting as a whole. Although jump injuries do occur, they are not frequent, and smokejumper personnel take deliberate precautions before deciding whether to jump a particular fire. Multiple factors are analyzed, and then a decision is made as to whether it is safe to jump the fire or it is unsafe. Bases tend to look for highly motivated individuals who are in superior shape and have the ability to think independently and react to changing environments rapidly. Because of their fire experience and physical conditioning, most Hotshots make good smokejumpers. Smokejumping is not a crew-based firefighting tactic, and it takes time for firefighters who have been entrenched within the "crew mentality" to break free and think independently.
It is argued that smokejumper operations are expensive to maintain and marginally effective; however, the comparable cost is that of many more helicopter deployments. The range of smokejumper aircraft is greater than a helicopter, the speed is greater than a helicopter, and the payload is greater also. In a realistic assessment, the two delivery systems bring different advantages and disadvantages, as both the primary vehicles and delivery method (fast-roping vs. parachute) are so different in capability. A typical smokejumper mantra is "Speed, Range, Payload." Advocates of smokejumping believe that, due to their extreme initial-attack function, smokejumping is one of the most — if not the most – cost-effective wildland firefighting method employed in the U.S. today.
See also
References
External links
- California Smokejumpers Official Site.
- National Smokejumper Association (USA), including history
- US Forest Service - National Interagency Smokejumper Training Guide, including history (in PDF format)
- Smokejumpers and Smokejumping: Information and Photos
- Spotfire Images: Quality Smokejumper and Fire Photos.
- Earl Cooley - Daily Telegraph obituary
Categories: Forestry occupations | Parachuting | Wildland fire suppression | Aerial firefighting | Firefighting in the United States
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