Seconds are critical. Repeated hands-on training in shelter deployment is an essential part of fire shelter training. Firefighters have been injured or died when they delayed deployment or did not get into their shelters in time. Each year, every firefighter should practice fire shelter drills repeatedly. Drill until each step, from dropping your gear to deploying your shelter, can be done automatically. Practice should allow you to deploy the shelter in 15 to 20 seconds. Being able to rapidly deploy your shelter shows proficiency with it; however, do not delay getting into your shelter. If you suspect you will be impacted by high temperatures, heavy smoke, or ember wash from the fire and think your situation can be improved by using your fire shelter, use it.

You are much better off getting into your shelter earlier rather than later. Don’t let the heat of the fire drive you into the shelter as deploying your shelter while being burned will be much more difficult.

Some firefighters who have been through entrapments have reported that deploying the shelter had a calming effect—they were doing something they had been trained to do. The more you practice using your shelter, the more likely you are to react correctly in an emergency.

Training Scenarios

Remember, always train wearing gloves, a helmet, a full pack, and if you have one, a face and neck shroud. It is best to train in realistic conditions. For example, practicing deployments when it is hot outside, staying inside your practice shelter for prolonged periods, use real fire shelters for training that no longer meet the criteria to go on the fireline (see inspection criteria), train when fatigued, practice in a variety of differing settings, and discuss potential deployments sites while out doing project work and discuss the positives and negatives of each site as a group. It is your responsibility to insist on good, quality fire shelter training and to take the training seriously. Having to deploy your fire shelter can happen to you.

It is recommended that each individual firefighter train in the following six scenarios.

1. Standard deployment. Practice a standard deployment, first by clearing a 4 foot wide by 8 foot long site to mineral soil. Practice preparing the site so you can do so quickly.
2. Deploy your shelter while lying on the ground. If a fire approaches before you are fully deployed, your most important action is to get flat on the ground. Practice deploying your shelter from the ground by opening the shelter and pulling it over you.
3. Drop your gear and remove your shelter while escaping. When speed is essential for escape, drop your gear, and run with just your fire shelter and your tool. There is no need to practice removing the fire shelter from your fireline pack with one hand while running. If you are running from a fire you should drop your fireline pack then remove your shelter to take with you. You can move much quicker and for longer if you are not wearing your fireline pack. You are more likely to remember these steps when stress and fear set in during an escape if you practice them each year.
4. Deploy your shelter in a strong wind. Because fires are accompanied by high winds and turbulence, it is important to practice in these conditions. Some people find it easier to deploy from the ground in strong winds. Try a variety of deployment techniques to find one that works for you. Always remove your pack at the earliest stage of deployment—it is extremely difficult to deploy a fire shelter in the wind while you are wearing a pack. While windstorms provide the most realistic training, you can get a good feel for wind deployments by using one or more strong fans, such as the positive ventilation fans used by fire departments.
5. Deploy your shelter while moving. Practice deploying your shelter while on the move escaping from a fire to use as a heat shield from a fire closing in behind you. Practice running with the shelter while holding onto it and avoiding snagging it on brush and branches. Simulate both successfully escaping from the fire and having the fire overtake you and having to rapidly get into the shelter.
6. Lie in your shelter. While lying in your shelter, picture yourself in an actual entrapment situation. Fear of confined spaces and the dark, combined with extreme heat, turbulence, and noise, can cause you to panic. Imagine the sounds, heat, and fear. Imagine steeling yourself to pain and staying in your shelter no matter what. Some firefighters have suffered claustrophobia while inside their shelters. Spend enough time inside a shelter to find out whether you’re claustrophobic. If you are, gradually increase the time you spend inside a shelter to help you adapt.

Practice Fire Shelters

The practice fire shelters are made from green plastic (regular) and orange plastic (large) and can be reused many times (see Figure 1). The practice shelter’s carrying case is orange. Never mix practice and real fire shelter components. If you do, someone could mistakenly carry a practice shelter to the fireline. This is another reason to inspect your fire shelter when you first receive it and periodically throughout the field season. Practice fire shelters do not deploy like real fire shelters. From opening the PVC bag using the tear stip to deploying the shelter, practice shelters open much easier than the real shelter.