Fire Shelter Inspections

Firefighters are expected to inspect their fire shelters upon issue, and periodically throughout the fire season. While fire shelters do not have a specified shelf life, their condition determines their serviceability. You should also check them if anything out of the ordinary happens – a heavy rainstorm, it falls off a shelf, or your pack rolls down a hill – among other situations.

The condition of a shelter can be determined based on the wear of the protective bag surrounding the shelter.

There are three signs, in particular, that point to excessive shelter wear:

1.       A bag that had turned dark gray.

2.       Holes in the bag.

3.       Water in the bag.

PVC bags turning dark gray are the result of aluminum rubbing off the shelter onto the bag. Therefore, the more aluminum that has rubbed off the more likely that the shelter may be damaged. Holes in the bag allow debris inside which can degrade the aluminum on the fire shelter. White film or dust on the foil is a sign of corrosion – meaning that water had entered the bag. This makes shaking the shelter open difficult and can degrade the bonds between layers.

However, sometimes just the bag is worn out and the shelter inside is still serviceable if this is the case there are two things you can do:

1.       Replace the carrying case, if needed.

2.       Rebag the shelter, if needed.

Carrying cases have been redesigned to reduce wear and tear on shelters. If the shelters themselves meet any of these criteria, they should be removed from service: 1.) they show evidence of moisture, 2.) they have so much aluminum rubbed off that the paper label inside the bag is not readable, or 3.) they have already been through a rebag.

Do you have a shelter that needs to be taken out of service? Give it another purpose by marking it for training purposes. Use them as serviceability examples for your next training session, or practice deploying with them. The practice shelters, while a good tool to use, don’t have the same feel or weight as a real shelter. Use them to train in high-stress simulations, in different positions, and with time constraints. *NEVER practice deployments in an actual fire.

Have you inspected your fire shelter yet this year? If not, take the time to do so before the fire season really gears up, and before you get sent on an assignment! Remember, this is a lifesaving tool, inspect and treat it as such.

For more detailed information regarding fire shelter inspection and rebagging please click here.