WARNING: GRAPHIC 2ND DEGREE BURN PIC IS ATTACHED TO THIS POST!
I was burning away some weeds yesterday evening. There was barely any breeze and it was overcast enough for the sun to not roast me. Everything was going fine, and then it happened - the wind picked up and changed direction at almost the same moment. I had engineered my burn to burn away from the house and vehicles. That change in air didn't take long to catch a stack of pallets. I grabbed the hose and started soaking it down, but it was already burning too hot. Pallets are usually really good pressure treated lumber. I tried to get a better angle and I felt an intense blast of heat. Nothing fell on me and the flames didn't even come close. There was enough radiant heat to give me 2nd degree burns on my face, hand, and forearm. I didn't put on my wildfire gear because this is so routine and it had never gotten out of hand. I admitted defeat and called my Chief. He told me to call dispatch and he rolled in. Chief's truck, a fast attack, our brush truck, and an engine showed up. I got soaked in water from head to toe. I passed off my radio and phone to my better half and a neighbor kept alternating between hosing down my face and my arm. A squad from the department just North of mine was coming back from an out of town detail so they stopped by. They put us in an SUV and ran code to meet the ambulance that lives at the hospital, a good 25 miles away. 2cc of morphine in the ambulance and 2 more at the hospital didn't dent the pain a bit. I'm feeling better this evening, but the blisters are huge. It literally looks like my skin boiled. I was stupid and complacent. I got off lucky with a few burns and scars. With radiant heat that hot, a good inhale too close could have surely sent me 10-7. Three departments from my county, all volunteer, saved me bigtime. None of my vehicles, animals, or the home were damaged in any way. I learned a lesson about complacency. I am gonna upload a pic of the burned out yard and of the burn on my arm. Please, whether you are Fire, EMS, police, or anything in between...don't underestimate that radiant heat!
IF SEEING BLISTERED FLESH WILL UPSET YOU OR MAKE YOU ILL, PLEASE STOP SCROLLING AND DON'T ENLARGE THE THUMBNAIL!
I was burning away some weeds yesterday evening. There was barely any breeze and it was overcast enough for the sun to not roast me. Everything was going fine, and then it happened - the wind picked up and changed direction at almost the same moment. I had engineered my burn to burn away from the house and vehicles. That change in air didn't take long to catch a stack of pallets. I grabbed the hose and started soaking it down, but it was already burning too hot. Pallets are usually really good pressure treated lumber. I tried to get a better angle and I felt an intense blast of heat. Nothing fell on me and the flames didn't even come close. There was enough radiant heat to give me 2nd degree burns on my face, hand, and forearm. I didn't put on my wildfire gear because this is so routine and it had never gotten out of hand. I admitted defeat and called my Chief. He told me to call dispatch and he rolled in. Chief's truck, a fast attack, our brush truck, and an engine showed up. I got soaked in water from head to toe. I passed off my radio and phone to my better half and a neighbor kept alternating between hosing down my face and my arm. A squad from the department just North of mine was coming back from an out of town detail so they stopped by. They put us in an SUV and ran code to meet the ambulance that lives at the hospital, a good 25 miles away. 2cc of morphine in the ambulance and 2 more at the hospital didn't dent the pain a bit. I'm feeling better this evening, but the blisters are huge. It literally looks like my skin boiled. I was stupid and complacent. I got off lucky with a few burns and scars. With radiant heat that hot, a good inhale too close could have surely sent me 10-7. Three departments from my county, all volunteer, saved me bigtime. None of my vehicles, animals, or the home were damaged in any way. I learned a lesson about complacency. I am gonna upload a pic of the burned out yard and of the burn on my arm. Please, whether you are Fire, EMS, police, or anything in between...don't underestimate that radiant heat!
IF SEEING BLISTERED FLESH WILL UPSET YOU OR MAKE YOU ILL, PLEASE STOP SCROLLING AND DON'T ENLARGE THE THUMBNAIL!