Surviving Fires: Fire Shelter and Wet Cloths

Hi Ferfal,
I thought this video might pique your interest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJsY6foLh8o

It’s
one of the videos about fire shelters I have to watch every year to
keep my fire line qualifications. From 13:26 to 13:54 is where they talk
about not wetting your clothing or handkerchief.
I’m not actually
a firefighter. Most of the time I’m a Hydrologist. But sometimes they
still call out “the militia”. In 2008 we had a storm come through around
June 20 with a bunch of lightning and started 400 fires in one night.
We got most of them out in a day or two, but some burned together and
some burned until it snowed in November. I worked 6 days a week for 8
weeks that summer. Fortunately, I don’t have to swing a tool on The Line
anymore, but I still need to be Red-Carded so I can go where I need to
unescorted on the fire.
Anyway, here’s my reference for my remarks (told you I was a scientist!) and frankly, I thought you might like it.
Cheers,
-Adam

Hi
Adam, thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge. Those fire shelters sure
are something.  They seem to have outstanding insulation, seems like a
good shelter for extreme cold weather as well.
 

New Generation Fire Shelter with Case – Large

Use a Wet Cloth or Not?
The
video above clearly explains that when trapped by fire and especially
when fighting heat, a wet cloth will do more harm than good because it
transmits heat better and the vapor burns your respiratory system. Water
evaporates at 100 Cº, so we’re talking about some serious heat here.
This would be the case of someone trapped in a forest fire or otherwise
surrounded by burning flammable material. Having said that, if the
threat you are dealing with is smoke rather than heat this may not be
the case.
During World War I, British troops used clothes soaked
with urine against chemical attacks (chlorine). At the same time many
seem to have died because of the use of poorly designed wet cotton pads
intended to be used as filters. Soldiers could not breathe through these
when soaked with water. The effectiveness of a wet cloth over your
mouth and nose is limited, yet it is still recommended in some cases:

“According
to the fire safety guidebook Get Out Alive, which is endorsed by the
U.S. Fire Administration, the recommended and almost universally
endorsed method of filtering smoke during a fire is to place a wet cloth
over the nose and mouth before escaping. The wet cloth absorbs some of
the smoke particles and filters noxious substances in the smoke, thereby
reducing smoke inhalation. While the use of a wet cloth will not
eliminate smoke inhalation, its purpose is to reduce smoke inhalation
for a sufficient amount of time to escape the smoky condition. The more
time that is available to the person to escape before being overcome by
smoke, the greater the likelihood of survival.”

http://www.surechem.org/index.php?Action=document&docId=2950437&db=USPTO&tab=desc&lang=&db_query=0%3A%3A0%3A%3A0%3A&markupType=all
The FAA makes a similar recommendation:

“A wet cloth held over the nose and mouth provides some protection from smoke inhalation”

http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/Smoke_Web.pdf
Another
common event during club fires seems to be that as the sound 
insulation material and various plastic decorations start burning, they
start dropping over victims in ignited melted form. Some accounts from
“Republica Cromagnon” nightclub victims indicate that burning plastic
would shower them as they escaped, dropping from the roof, in some cases
igniting their hair. In this case I believe that if you do have a
bottle or cup of water already at hand, soaking your head and clothes as
you evacuate may help.

So, do you use a wet cloth as a respirator
or not? The answer is, it depends. If you are mostly dealing with smoke
(burning plastic, carpet, etc), a wet cloth over your nose and mouth
will help provide some protection. If the fire is closing in and the
heat is your greatest enemy, then do not use it since it may do more
harm than good.  With flames closing in around you the soaked cloth
around your head and upper torso may prevent your hair and clothes from
catching fire. Typical clothes made of cotton and nylon are highly
flammable. Either way, your priority should be escaping the fire, not
finding water to soak a tshirt or other cloth.

FerFAL