NCSU forestry and textile experts develop new prototype fire shelters for firefighters

N.C. State textiles and forestry experts developed new "Fire Shelters" to protect firefighters caught in the middle of fast moving wildfires.

Posted 11:55 p.m. Jul 1, 2022 — Updated 3:05 a.m. Jul 2, 2022

RALEIGH, N.C. — N.C. State textiles and forestry experts developed new "Fire Shelters" to protect firefighters caught in the middle of fast moving wildfires. July and August are the two most active months for wildfires, mostly in western states but they can occur anywhere, including the south east U.S. which includes North Carolina.

Tragic wildfires of past years reveal the challenge for firefighters as they protect lives and property. As they fight fires, they may find themselves surrounded by flames with no way out. Portable light-weight fire-resistant shelters can help

Joseph Roise, an NC State University professor of forestry and natural resources, says no such shelter is fire-proof. "But what we can do with material combinations is give more time to the person underneath the shelter," he said.

The new prototype shelters are different from many earlier fire-resistant shelters that looked more like pup tents. The new prototype may look familiar. Roise said, "It looks like a baked potato in the ground, a big baked potato."

He says under the deployed shelter, the firefighter lies face down on the ground. "So if you get into the ground, you are in a good place because heat rises. The more time you have, the better your chances of survival."

The study is funded by the "DHS Fema Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program" and is published online in the "International Journal of Wildland Fire."

For those who took the challenge, they were tasked to find ways of adding protective material and to keep the weight of the portable shelter at about 4.3 pounds.

Roise explained, "We’re doing fractions of millimeters for each one of those layers, and those actually performed very well as long as the flames don’t hit the shelter."

Longer protection means more time for rescue efforts before flames engulf the shelters. They were tested inside NC State’s "Pyro-Dome" chamber. Inside the "Pyro-Dome", the fire-shelter is surrounded by propane burners with flames reaching up to 302 degrees Fahrenheit.

The real test is outdoors, in a real world setting. Shown in a YouTube video, the test was done in a controlled burn in a remote area of southern California. "So we really wanted our shelters to be disintegrated. That would really demonstrate how good they are as far as time goes," said Roise.

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