Wildland firefighters who try to use their hand-held radios inside fire shelters will be unlikely to communicate with their supervisors and may not even be able to communicate with other firefighters inside fire shelters just 50 feet away. Transmissions from the older VHF (very high frequency, 30 to 300 MHz) Bendix-King radios were not weakened as badly as those from the newer UHF (ultra high frequency, 300 to 3,000 MHz) Motorola Astro XTS 3000 radios. The standard fire shelter being carried by wildland firefighters did not weaken the transmissions as much as the New Generation Fire Shelter that is just beginning to be carried by wildland firefighters. The tech tip includes a table showing exactly how much the transmissions were weakened in different situations. Essentially, firefighters could shout and be heard as far as if they used their new UHF radios inside a fire shelter.

Describes how to inspect and maintain a hardhat, one of the most important pieces of personal protective safety equipment. The hardhat has three parts: the shell, suspension system, and chinstrap. The shell, commonly made from a thermoplastic (such as polycarbonate), protects the wearer's head from penetration and impact injuries. The suspension system is designed to help absorb the impact of a blow to the wearer's head. The chinstrap is designed to keep the hardhat in place when it might otherwise shift or fall off. A simple hardhat field inspection involves compressing the shell from both sides about 1 inch with your hands and releasing the pressure without dropping the shell. The shell should return to its original shape quickly, exhibiting elasticity. If the shell being tested does not have as much elasticity as a new shell, or if the shell cracks, it should be replaced immediately.

The true story behind the events that inspired the major motion picture Only the Brave. A "unique and bracing" (Booklist) first-person account by the sole survivor of Arizona's disastrous 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, which took the lives of 19 "hotshots" -- firefighters trained specifically to battle wildfires. Brendan McDonough was on the verge of becoming a hopeless, inveterate heroin addict when he, for the sake of his young daughter, decided to turn his life around. He enlisted in the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a team of elite firefighters based in Prescott, Arizona. Their leader, Eric Marsh, was in a desperate crunch after four hotshots left the unit, and perhaps seeing a glimmer of promise in the skinny would-be recruit, he took a chance on the unlikely McDonough, and the chance paid off. Despite the crew's skepticism, and thanks in large part to Marsh's firm but loving encouragement, McDonough unlocked a latent drive and dedication, going on to successfully battle a number of blazes and eventually win the confidence of the men he came to call his brothers. Then, on June 30, 2013, while McDonough -- "Donut" as he'd been dubbed by his team--served as lookout, they confronted a freak, 3,000-degree inferno in nearby Yarnell, Arizona. The relentless firestorm ultimately trapped his hotshot brothers, tragically killing all 19 of them within minutes. Nationwide, it was the greatest loss of firefighter lives since the 9/11 attacks. Granite Mountain is a gripping memoir that traces McDonough's story of finding his way out of the dead end of drugs, finding his purpose among the Granite Mountain Hotshots, and the minute-by-minute account of the fateful day he lost the very men who had saved him. A harrowing and redemptive tale of resilience in the face of tragedy, Granite Mountain is also a powerful reminder of the heroism of the people who put themselves in harm's way to protect us every day.

The Wildland Fire Incident Management Field Guide is a revision of what used to be called the Fireline Handbook, PMS 410-1. This guide has been renamed because, over time, the original purpose of the Fireline Handbook had been replaced by the Incident Response Pocket Guide, PMS 461. As a result, this new guide is aimed at a different audience, and it was felt a new name was in order.

Shelter is many things - a visually dynamic, oversized compendium of organic architecture past and present; a how-to book that includes over 1,250 illustrations; and a Whole Earth Catalog-type sourcebook for living in harmony with the earth by using every conceivable material. First published in 1973, Shelter remains a source of inspiration and invention. Including the nuts-and-bolts aspects of building, the book covers such topics as dwellings from Iron Age huts to Bedouin tents to Togo's tin-and-thatch houses; nomadic shelters from tipis to "housecars"; and domes, dome cities, sod iglus, and even treehouses. The authors recount personal stories about alternative dwellings that illustrate sensible solutions to problems associated with using materials found in the environment - with fascinating, often surprising results.