Perspective of Fire

My perspective of fire has changed, because when I was younger it was a fascinating flame that I wasn’t allowed to touch and easily was started by my dad with a little newspaper, wood, and matches. Through school the fire triangle was always preached as a safety matter, the physics and science of it were taught, but it was to show how you could put it out or what to do in a fire situation. For example, it was taught that you could remove heat, fuel or oxygen to stop a fire if needed. Through high school and into college fire began to be taught with a science purpose. I started to learn the differences in how fire burns depending on more in-depth factors than just ignition, fuel, and oxygen. I learned the pros and cons with fire for habitats and ecosystems. However, the most drastic change was when I met my boyfriend who is a wildland firefighter. I now see fire through his eyes out on the line. After every fire he comes home and brings maps and pictures, like the one above, and explains what he did on the fire. Through him I have learned more than in school or through personal “campfire” experiences. I realize there is more to fires than heat, ignition, and oxygen. They have an operations team and meteorologists that monitor the weather and others who make tactical plans depending on the topography of the land and the fuels they are dealing with, aka the fire behavior triangle. Through his experiences and mine waiting for him to come home after a month of being out on a fire, I have a whole new respect for the power fire has to burn anything in its path, but also the cons and benefits it can have on ecosystems.