State Police are now Firefighters too?

[RESERVE172]

I was browsing the website of my State Police last night and came across this, http://www.mass.gov/msp ( you have to go to News and Updates and click on Airwing Fire Watch ) While it is comforting to know that the State Police Airwing reports any fires it discovers to the local Fire Departments, especially during this very dry brush fire season, I was surprised to learn they actually put fires out. Why can't they just let the Fire Dept. handle it? Even the City of Boston has two Brush Fire Units for its remote wooded areas.

I wasn't aware that the State Police provide this type of service. Does anyone else know if this exists your state?

[Dalmatian90]

Connectict does as well, and I think NYSP may as well.

MA National Guard is also equipped with bambi buckets they deploy off their Blackhawks.

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And indeed last Wednesday my company was at a 64 acre brush fire under Red Flag conditions (64 is big by CT standards -- state only sees 2-3 100 acre class fires a year usually). Though we were toned first, it was in another town. Hampton, Mortlake, and Scotland provided the handcrews & forestry trucks. Not sure if State Forestry was formally involved, too.

CSP Trooper 1 took aerial photography, landed and handed print-outs of the photos to a courier who brought them to the Command Post which greatly aided the Chiefs where to send hand crews & how to get trucks in as the fire was deep in the woods with no obvious access. Trooper 1 then deployed it's Bambi bucket to make water drops.

[Dalmatian90]

CSP:

http://www.barkhamstedhistory.org/Diary%20March%202003.htm

http://www.aviationtoday.com/cgi/rw/show_mag.cgi?pub=rw&mon=1102&file=1102connpolice.htm

[DennisTheMenace]

If they have the helicopters, which are kind of expensive for the average small town fire department to have, what is the problem with having them help out with water drops? Should the police also stop helping with medivacs, since that might be incroaching on the fire-ems territory?

[LeuitEFDems]

We have used the MSP birds here on a few occasions. From my experience with them, this is about the only useful thing thye do with them. We've had them out for SAR's a few times, but it awlays seems they decide to go home early (IE don't wanna be all the way out in the berkshires) or are unable to locate anything (yes, I know they don't work 100% of the time, but their batting average with us is .000). I think it's a good idea that they're flying around looking for fires, because the fire tower spotters have gone the way of the plectron. They know they are not firefighters, and listen to the FD's on what they want done...They just don't go in and take over and decide when/where they're gonna drop.

[Dalmatian90]

because the fire tower spotters have gone the way of the plectron.

Does make you wonder sometimes...

Seasonal maintenance / "fire patrolmen" making probably $10-14/hour in towers already bought & paid for. And days that aren't high or above fire danger, they go do maintenance work...

Vs. the paying Pilot, Trooper, & Operating Cost of the Helicopter :)

Yes, I know there's a lot of other advantages...but I wonder sometimes for the few weeks a year we can really use fire towers for quick spotting how they could've been too costly to run!

[LeuitEFDems]

The best part Dal, The last time we used MSP birds was for a stubborn brush fire on top of Mt. Washington (the OTHER Mt. Washington) on the Mt. Everett reservation in the southwest corner of the state. There was an abandond tower there, literally 100 yards from the fire. There had been talk of removing it because local citizens were scared telcomm co's would put antennas on it. They made the final walk through and decision as we were right near the tower fighting the underbrush...Kind of ironic that they would decide to dismantle a fire tower when there was a fire right near it...

[Dalmatian90]

Mon Dieu!

We know how much more noticeable cell-phone antennas would look on a fire tower! (BTW, Massachusetts makes good money on those -- they have a whole unit called "Highlands Managment" to run the contracts!)

[Berks2Montco84]

Read Colorado laws sometime. I'm thinking about joining a Sheriff's department out there, so by doing some research, I found out that County Sheriff's are actually responsible for putting brush fires out. All the more reason to go out there :-D

[Dave1983]

The county Sheriff has a bambi bucket for their helicopter as we dont have any aircraft.

[ChiefReason]

While the turf wars are heating up, the turf is burning!
Sheesh!
CR

[RESERVE172]

Are the pilots out West that fly the C-130's over forest fires, firefighters or State Police troopers? Paid or volunteer?

In Massachusetts, using a State Police helicopter to extinquish a brush fire is news to me. I never heard of this program; it must be fairly new.

We rarely have what you could call a "forest fire" around here. It is usually just classified as a brush fire, which to me is much smaller and is contained by the local Fire Department.

[LeuitEFDems]

Reserve,
It;s been in effect for at least 3 years now...I think since they got the new birds. We last use dthem on the previously mention brush fire that only burned 18 acres, but was burning for a week and a half in the mountain laurel and in the roots. We used them thinking a large amout of water dropped at 1 time would help...No such luck. They also send out 2 divers to stay at the water source in case something happens to the bird.

[DaSharkie]

You need to remember that MSP lost a copter a few years ago and since their aviation program was pathetic before the crash, they have gotten pretty strict with flying.

There was talk a few years ago of MSP also doing med-evacs but that went bye-bye too. I don't think that their helicopters are as equiped as well as they should be either.