News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
At every fire briefing, the message is the same: the top priority is firefighter safety.
The woods ablaze abound with dangers - falling snags, a rock rolling underfoot, being caught in the deluge from a 2,000-gallon helicopter water drop. The Black Crater Fire has been exceptionally safe and injury free.
But there are a couple of health and safety problems that just can't be evaded: blisters and "camp crud."
As of Monday, medical unit leader Tim Exline from Tampa, Florida, reported treating 101 blisters.
"Some of them are just to the point where their feet are just raw," he said.
"They are such absolute troopers," he said. "They can barely walk when they get here; you put second skin on and and wrap 'em up and they go back out on the line."
One woman's blisters were infected to the point where she had to go to a medical clinic in Sisters to get a prescription for antibiotics.
In the early season, blisters are often the result of an insufficient break-in period for new fire boots. First Aid personnel at the medical unit at the Sisters Middle School fire camp shook their heads describing how some firefighters wait till their first fire to break their boots in. They pay for it.
In late season, blisters are resurgent because firefighters' feet are just worn out.
Here, in the peak of the season, First Aid personnel attribute most blisters to firefighters being on on their feet 12 to 16 hours a day, often in steep terrain.
By late last week, Exline said, his crew was "starting to see some people with chest colds (and sinus problems)."
That, of course, is due to days of breathing smoke.
Instances of actual smoke-inhalation injuries are quite rare, according to medical unit staff. That's because forest fire smoke does not contain the hot gasses of a house fire, nor the kinds of toxins associated with man-made products.
As one medical staffer put it, "Wood smoke is good smoke."
Still, it's an irritant, and combined with short sleep on the ground in the cold Central Oregon night, firefighters are vulnerable to germs. Upper respiratory ailments tend to rage through fire camps after a few days.
That's one reason why fire managers constantly remind firefighters to wash their hands. A hand washing station is right on the chow line leading to the mess tent and a wash-before-eating rule is strictly enforced.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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