19 Firefighters Killed - How Technology Could Change That

A great tragedy has befallen our forest firefighters. A wild fire swept over 19 of the Granite Mountain "Hot Shot" team - and killed them.  My greatest condolences. They lost 20% of their force. They had no escape. No helicopter rescue. Just a raging fire changing direction and running them down.

Unfortunately, condolences will not keep this awful, unnecessary, enormous loss to 19 families from happening again, impacting more families -- unless we take action.

Like all firefighters in forest fires, they had small tents called "Fire Shelters" that were supposed to be a shelter for those caught by an approaching fire. The firefighters get into the "tent" and allow the fire to burn over them. The devices failed. They aren't designed for long hot fires - and after a decade of drought the entire ground was rocket fuel for this killer.

So why not provide firefighters with a better designed to work under fierce conditions? Who says we can't make a BETTER SHELTER for our men and women putting their lives on the line in a hot, dirty, dangerous job - protecting the rest of us? Isn't that an vital investment?

This is something we should learn how to avoid in the future. It has happened over and over again in the past, killing groups of 20 and 30 at a time. It has to STOP. 


Isn't space a fierce condition?  NASA technology could help develop the technology needed by our first responders. We need to procure more advanced FIRE SHELTERS for our brave firefighters - a better technology using the best 21st century space age materials. It will pay off by all future firefighters caught in nature's hell.

Welcome to Climate change - the local interviewed about the fire that killed this special team said "We have been under a TEN YEAR Drought."  Lightning started the fire. Winds are unpredictable. Why was there not a helicopter also available to evacuate a trapped fire team?

Fires are HOTTER. The droughts are WORSE. The hurricanes are BIGGER. And our firefighters need some Super Tools to Fight these infernos that threaten to destroy trillions of dollars of investments. We can do nothing - or fix it. I say FIX IT, or die.