Northern Blair County Forest Fire Crew

10/6/07 Farm City Day @ Reservoir Park

Northern Blair County Forest Fire Crew

Crew Members of Sation 38 put on a display at Tyrone's Farm City Days

6/30/07 Hookies Open House & Chicken BBQ

The members of Station 38 would like to thank Station 33 for allowing us to come out and display our equipment for all to see. Many people turned out to see all the equipment that was on display and to purchase chicken dinners. The Hookies sold out of dinners at 13:00hrs. 200 dinners were sold. At the open house all the apparatus from Station 33 were on display along with apparatus from the Northern Blair County Forest Fire Crew (Station 38) and AMED Medic Unit 401 which is housed at Station 33. Smokey Bear also made an appearance at the open house. Thanks to all of those who turned out to support us and to the members who worked hard to make this open house a success.

Northern Blair County Forest Fire Crew Asst. Fire Warden Mike Beckwith is the crew boss for Pennsylvania crew 7 The crew left for South on Aug. 27th. The crew is working the Northend Complex fire – The complex consists of 4 fires: Horse Creek (100% contained), Peters Ridge, Meadow Toe (50% contained), and Tower (50% contained). Backing and creeping fire behavior was observed yesterday as the fires burned in hardwood litter. The current threat is to powerlines and timber resources. Firefighters continue with line construction and improvement, with containment expected today. Located 8 miles NE of Elizabethton, TN. Good Luck Mike and PA crew 7.

Blair fire crew pitches in out west
“I really saw how a group of people could work together and accomplish things ...”
By Mark Leberfinger, mleberfinger@altoonamirror.com

Rick Merritts and five other members of a Blair County forest fire crew spent about 21/2 weeks in the western U.S. last month helping the federal government contain major forest fires in Idaho and Oregon.

“I really saw how a group of people could work together and accomplish things above and beyond what was expected. I think we made a real impression,” Merritts said. Merritts got the call about 10:30 a.m. Aug. 6 and was on his way to Oregon 12 hours later. He got permission from his employer, The Hite Co., to go on the trip.
Merritts, 22, is a member of the Northern Blair County Forest Fire Crew, a 5-year-old organization that fights wildland fires in Blair and other Pennsylvania counties.
Also going on the trip from the Blair County group were Kermit N. Alwine and his son, Kermit J., Mike Angus, John Otto and Chuck Wolfe.
All are volunteer firefighters in the county. Merritts belongs to Lakemont, the Alwines serve with Greenwood, Otto and Wolfe run with Allegheny Township and Angus is a member at Duncansville-Blair Township.
Northern Blair crew members receive state training on the basics of wildland firefighting, said the group’s leader, Chief Fire Warden Dave Lynch. Members who wish to fight fires outside of Pennsylvania take additional training and must pass a physical agility test, going three miles in 45 minutes carrying a 45-pound pack.
The crew is a state resource, used by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry.
It fought fires last year in the Lewistown, Renovo and Scranton areas.
Once members make the “specialized crew” list to go out of state, they wait until Pennsylvania is asked to send firefighters to supplement other states’ efforts.
Merritts and the other 19 members of his crew saw action at two fires: Spear Springs in Oregon and Poe Cabin in Idaho. The crew was from the Bald Eagle and Gallitzin forestry districts, comprised of Blair, Cambria, Indiana and parts of six other counties.
Their job was to prevent the fires from spreading. They used hand tools to eliminate hot spots, which if wind-driven could ignite other parts of the forest beyond the containment lines.
Crew members wore Nomex green trousers, yellow long-sleeve shirts, gloves and helmets. They carried their water to drink and meals, if necessary.
Whenever they were away from camp, members also carried an emergency fire shelter in which they would huddle if the fire got out of hand and overwhelmed the crew. The shelters weren’t used.
Their crew boss pulled the crew out of one fire area because of the “snags” danger. Snags are dead standing trees that could fall on firefighters.
“A storm was coming. He got us out of it. As we were leaving, we could hear the trees just dropping in the woods,” Merritts said.
Merritts said he gained experience living and working with 20 other people and saw parts of the country few people see.
Merritts’ crew arrived back in Pennsylvania Aug. 23.
“It’s a tradition we have in sending firefighters to other states,” Lynch said. “We’ve been very proud of the people who go. It not only provides a great resource for the [U.S.] Forest Service and other land resource agencies, but gives us more experienced people to fight wildland fires here.”

Mirror Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger is at 946-7462.

Out of State - PA Crew 5 Updates

Northend Complex

TN-CNF-000019

Type: WF

Start: 08/26/2007 1400

Cause: L

Priority:

Overhead Team Name: Jack Muncy

Type: Type 3 IC

Local:

GACC:

Size:
368 ACRES

% Cnt/MMA:
30 %

Est Contain:
08/28/2007

Latitude:
36° 23´ 59"

Longitude:
82° 2´ 27"

Location: 8 miles Northeast of Elizabethton, east of Hwy91

$$ Costs to Date: $148,989

Structures Threatened: NONE

Structures Destroyed: NONE

Resources Committed:

Total Personnel: 95

Report Date: Aug 29, 2007 2000

Agency	CRW1	CRW2	HEL1	HEL2	HEL3	ENGS	OVHD
BIA	0	20	0	0	0	0	1
OTHR	0	20	0	0	0	0	1
ST	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
USFS	15	11	0	0	0	2	19

Significant Events: Continued to hold lines, unable to conduct additonal burn-out due to humidity

Remarks: Currently attempting to confirm a new fire.

Observed Fire Behavior: Backing, Creeping and Smoldering

Planned Actions: Peters Ridge: Burn-out to secure lines, 30% contained. Tower: Secure and monitor lines, 65% contained. Horse Creek: monitor, 100% contained. Meadow Toe: continue to hold fire backing to line. 65% contained.

Out of State - PA Crew 5 Updates

Update Pennsylvania Crew 5 is at the Poe Cabin Fire. The fire is burning twenty-three miles southwest of Grangeville, ID in timber and grass. An IMT Type 2 (Sciacca) is assigned. Single tree torching, moderate upslope runs and short range spotting was observed. Structures are threatened. Reduction in acreage is due to more accurate mapping.

Incident Name	State	Lead Agency	Size (Acres)	24-Hour Change (Acres)	Percent Contained	Estimate of Containment	Personnel	24-Hour Change (Personnel)	Structures Lost
Jocko Lakes	MT	BIA	19,540	210	11	9/15	676	67	8
Chippy Creek	MT	ST	62,985	3,956	25	UNK	526	10	0
Skyland	MT	FS	39,820	670	34	UNK	926	-22	2
Sawmill Complex	MT	FS	22,860	1,860	5	UNK	516	-13	0
Brush Creek	MT	FS	24,270	1342	38	8/30	492	3	0
Rattlesnake	ID	FS	59,362	1,754	0	10/1	358	-7	3
Rombo Mountain	MT	FS	3,750	350	0	UNK	164	-7	0
*Poe Cabin*	ID	ST	*57,686*	*-136*	84	*10/12*	*408*	*-76*	12

Six members of the Northern Blair County Forest Fire Crew left Tuesday for fires out west. Crew Membes Rick Merritts, Kermit J. Alwine, Kermit N. Alwine, John Otto, Charles Wolfe, and Mike Angus are on PA-5. The crew boss is Bill Shaffer the chief fire warden for the Nittany Wildland Firefighters. The NBCFFC website will try to keep info up on the crew as we find it out. GOOD LUCK guys.

May 6, 2007 Church Fire

We usually do not report about structure fires on our news sight however, the Altoona Alliance Church had a fire on May 6th at approximatly 12:30 in the afternoon. A large number of fire companies from Blair County, Pennsylvania and over 100+ firefighters came in to assist with the fire, even when the call came in on a "Red Flag Warning" day for wildfires. The Forest Fire Specialist Supervisor called Chief Fire Warden Dave Lynch and placed the fire crew on standby for any fires anywhere in Blair County as first response.

May 10, 2007 Smokey Programs

Smokey Bear came to visit Pre-schools in the Tyrone area on May 10th. Smokey was accompanied by Assistant Fire Warden Mike Beckwith. Mike gave a short talk on Fire Prevention and then Smokey made a stop by each classroom. Smokey and Mike did 6 different classes in the morning and 5 different classes in the afternoon.

April 28, 2007 Public Disply for Boy Scouts

The Chief Logan District of the Boy Scouts held their spring Camporee in the PPG field in Tipton, Pennsylvania. This years theme was Emergency Preparedness with over 200 scouts and leaders in attendance. The Northern Blair County Forest Fire Crew was on hand to talk about Wildland Firefighting and Fire Prevention. The crew had the Type 3 Engine and past and present firefighting tools on display.

Members of the Nittany Wildland Firefighters held a Basic Wildland Firefighting PA-130 Class for fire companies in Centre County. Two members of the Norther Blair County Forest Fire Crew went to help out as Division Supervisors. The hands on part of the class was held at the Shavers Creek Environmental Center.

Despite the wintery weater conditions, 32 volunteer firefighters participated in the Basic Wildland Firefighting Training PA-130. The training provided them with the proper tools and techniques to protect themselves, construct a fire line and protect the origin of the fire. Along with the basic wildland firefighters, members of the Northern Blair County Forest Fire Crew were enhancing their skills in the Incident Command System. Members were placed in the following positions: Liaison Offier, Information Officer, Operations Chief, Medical Unit Leader, Crew Bosses, and Saw Team B Feller. Two members of the Nittany Wildland Firefighters came out to help with the class, and were placed in the Division Supervisor's positions. The following fire companies attended the training: Allegheny Twp., Bald Eagle, Geeseytown, Greenwood, Lakemont, Lilly, Hollidaysburg, and Pinecroft.

NBCFFC: Would like to Congratulate Asst. Fire Warden Mike Beckwith for being named Division Supervisor to the Allegheny Incident Management Team. Allegheny, Delware and Susquehanna are the three Type III teams formed by DCNR with in the State of Pennsylvania for large scale fires.

We would like to congratulate the following crew members for receiving 2006 Whip (Wardens Helping In Prevention) Awards:

Keith Pote - 7 Programs

John Otto - 9 Programs

Mike Beckwith - 9 Programs

David Lynch - 10 Programs

Kermit Alwine - 23 Programs

Thank you for your time and effort helping Smokey keep our forests safe.