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Feature Stories (Vol. 109 No. 38--9/19/2007)

Forest fire was dream vacation for Kenmare volunteer fireman

By Caroline Downs

After training for three years, Dennis Heidel finally enjoyed his dream vacation: working 14 days straight on a forest fire.

"Jason [Melin, at the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge] called me and said, ‘Want to go on a fire?’" said Heidel. "I said, ‘When?’ He said, ‘Wednesday.’ This was on a Monday morning, but I’d been waiting three years to go!"

He was sent to the Sawmill Creek Complex in early August with the North Dakota Initial Attack Suppression Module. The module, based at the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, was led by Melin as squad boss, with crew members Adam Mickelsen, Curtis Golde, Chris Kringstad and Heidel. All the firefighters except Heidel are employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Heidel has volunteered with the Kenmare Fire Department for nine years. He currently serves as a truck captain and will become assistant fire chief in May. He works as an Equipment Operator II for the North Dakota Department of Transportation crew in Kenmare. With the blessings of his wife Sandy and his boss, he used the majority of his annual leave for the year to take the Sawmill Creek assignment.

The Sawmill Complex, 22 miles southeast of Missoula, Montana, in the Lolo National Forest, was comprised of three fires while Heidel was there. "We were on the Wyman 2 fire for four days," he said. "Then we went to the Fisher Point fire for ten days."

"They had us down for new (fire) starts in that area," said Melin. "It was our crew and two or three other engines."

On the payroll as a Firefighter Type I trainee, Heidel dug hand line, mopped up areas that had already burned, cut down snags (standing dead trees), and helped clear cut to build new fire line. "From the road, they wanted it all cut fifteen feet back," he said, shaking his head. "We hacked four miles of trees, beautiful Christmas trees!"

The crew started working as soon as they arrived. "We got there and they sent us out with a skidgine to put out some spot fires," said Heidel.

Given his day job, he paid particular attention to equipment used on the fire. He described a skidgine as a loader with a blade on the front and water tank in the back, and having the ability to pivot from the center.

He was also impressed by the helicopters transporting water on the fire, especially the sky cranes. "We’d watch them suck up a thousand gallons of water in 40 seconds!" he said.

The crew stayed in tents in fire camp, where a typical day started at 5 am with breakfast in camp and a trip to the supply station to load water, ice, Gatorade and sack lunches before heading to their assigned location. "We averaged 14 to 14 1/2 hours a day," Heidel said. "At night, we’d go back and clean up, then go through a food line."

In camp and on the fire line, he met firefighters from across the United States, as well as Mexico and Saskatchewan. "When we got there, there were about 480 people in camp," he said. "By the time we left, there were between 620 and 640 people, but they were demobilizing other crews, too."

He described working in mountains, canyons and meadows, dealing with fire in heavy timber, and not seeing the sun for days because of smoke. "Pictures don’t justify it," he said, even as he showed photos from the three disposable cameras he used. "It’s just not like seeing it."

Encounters with big game like moose and elk were common, and bighorn sheep were frequently seen on the forest roads. "One day, we had an elk run right by us," Heidel said. "We were sitting there eating dinner, and it came trotting down the road."

On his first wildland fire suppression assignment, Heidel was surprised by the sheer size of the fires he saw. The Wyman 2 fire is mapped at 35,528 acres and the Fisher Point Fire at 15,011 acres.

The fires left another impression, too. "It’s the roar, the sound that they make," Heidel said.

He talked about hearing a loud noise on the fire line one day as the crew worked below a ridge. "It sounded like an airplane taking off," he said. He asked Melin about it, who told him to wait a few minutes. Within minutes, flames burning 150 feet high topped the ridge.

Despite the active fire behavior they encountered sometimes, Heidel was comfortable on the line. "They kind of evacuated us twice," he said. "We went back to one of our safety zones and waited. It was roaring, but I never did feel threatened."

Lots of preparation before
the spur-of-the-moment trip
Heidel started thinking about wildland fire suppression after talking with Melin and seeing photos from fires where Melin had been assigned. Three years ago, when Melin and Doug Downs, fire management officer at the Des Lacs NWR, talked to the Kenmare Fire Department about firefighting classes available through the refuge, Heidel signed up. "They’re free classes," he said, "and it’s something I always wanted to try."

He enrolled in the first course, a basic wildland firefighter class that also covered fire behavior and weather conditions. Later, he completed the advanced firefighter course, which allowed him to be qualified as a Firefighter Type I trainee.

The opportunity for Heidel to accompany a fire crew from the Des Lacs NWR didn’t present itself until August, but he stayed current in his training by taking an eight-hour refresher course each spring at the refuge. He also had to pass the "pack test" by carrying a 45-pound backpack three miles in 45 minutes or less.

"I’ve taken it three times," he said. "The first time, I did it in 44 minutes, 38 seconds. The second time, it was 43 minutes. This last time, I did it with Jason, and I finished in 39 minutes, 29 seconds."

Heidel’s successful pack test and class work qualified him for his "red card," a national certification required for wildland firefighters. Melin explained Heidel is now entered in a database of qualified firefighters at the dispatch center in Bismarck and can maintain that certification annually with the pack test and refresher course.

"We’ve offered [the wildland fire classes] in Kenmare, Bowbells, Carpio, Tolley and Crosby," Melin said. "Dennis is the only one who has taken the classes and gone out on a fire detail so far. It’s hard to get away from work, but if they’re interested enough, it’s good experience."

Firefighters must be at least 18 years to earn their red cards and go on a suppression assignment. According to Melin, the necessary classes are also taught at the Bismarck Fire School each year.

Heidel plans to enroll in more firefighting classes at the refuge if possible. He encouraged other volunteer firefighters in the area to consider it for themselves. "They offer this to you for nothing," he said, "and they definitely know what they’re talking about."

Melin was pleased Heidel could join the suppression module for the trip to Montana. "He ended up seeing a lot of new things," said Melin. "It’s a lot different than the fires here, with the helicopters and skidgines. He got to dig line and help with burnouts, so he pretty much did everything he could see or do on a fire."

Heidel enjoyed the assignment, even with all the hard work. "To get home and sleep in my own bed, that was great," he said. "But I would go again in a heartbeat."