Fire Equipment Dropped by Airplane – New Fire Truck Also – 1936
Airplanes Prove Success as Fire Protection Aid
25-Man Outfit Is Delivered in Pattee Canyon as An Experiment
Delivery of a 25-man outfit for Forest Service crews, made as an experiment in Pattee canyon, near here, by airplane, in a rugged terrain, covered by timber, rocks and down logs, was so successful as completion of a series of experiments that it is likely that tools and equipment for men dispatched to remote fires will in many cases be delivered by airplane this year.
The latest experiment, just performed, comprised delivery of 12 shovels, 12 Pulaski tools (combination mattock-and-axe), two cross-cut saws 5 ½ feet long, beds and food for 25 men for one day. The entire outfit weighed 556 pounds, packed especially for dropping from a plane. White canvas wrapping was used to facilitate identification of the packages in the forests.
A small fire had been built to act as a guide target. The packages were dropped from elevations of 200 to 400 feet above the ground, 12 minutes being required to deliver them. All fell within a radius of 250 feet. No damage was done to the contents of the packages, and only one wrapper was injured, a six-inch hole being torn.
The plane was piloted by Bob Johnson of Missoula, while Dick Johnson and W. B. Apgar, regional communications officer, threw out the packages. Pilots experienced in mountain flying are essential if the deliveries are to be accurate.
“We will have 12 outfits for delivery by airplane on hand at all times, six at Missoula and six at Spokane,” said Theodore Shoemaker, chief of fire control.
The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on May 22, 1936.
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Forest Shops at Work on a Fire Fighting Truck
To Be Built on Lines of Vehicle Model Brought Here From Coast.
Construction of a new fire truck completely equipped with pumps, water tank of 300-gallon capacity, hose facilities of various sizes and accommodations for a fire crew of six to eight men, has been undertaken at the Forest Service machine shops on the South side here. A truck used in California in the past has been obtained by region No. 1, to be used for emergency fire calls and as a model for the new construction.
Necessity for mobile equipment in fighting fires has arisen in the forested country, especially due to the prevalence of rapid-flashing fuels, such as cheatgrass, in areas along the public highways. Water equipment as provided by the new fire trucks may smother such blazes quickly, it is believed.
The truck also contains backpack and hand equipment for use in climbing hillsides to smother fires (sic) So the metropolitan fire departments may be emulated by Forest Service trucks in cases where they can accomplish the most good, when the new equipment is available.
The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on May 22, 1936.
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