Firefighting in Antarctica

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Firefighting in Antarctica encompasses various organizations and procedures designed to fight fires on the continent of Antarctica. Firefighting in Antarctica is complicated by the harsh conditions of the continent, the remoteness of the locations to be serviced, and the importance of protecting life-supporting shelter from immolation.

Contents

Conditions and considerations

Although there are no wildfires in Antarctica, fire represents a serious threat to human activity. Antarctica is the windiest place on earth, so there are often winds sufficient to quickly fan any flames. Due to the low temperatures, liquid water is often hard to obtain in large quantity. [1]

Because of the harsh conditions, shelter is a necessity of life and significant loss of shelter to fire could be disastrous to the survival of a base's residents, exacerbated by the remoteness of the bases from outside aid. Because of this, bases in Antarctica are often designed to mitigate the devastation of a fire by being made up of a number of separate buildings with a significant distance between them. [1]

In addition, many Antarctic bases have emergency supplies stored near to the base, but far enough away that even a large fire will not immolate them. If the base burns, the supplies are intended to be sufficient for base personnel to survive until help can arrive. [1]

Antarctic Fire Department

Antarctica fire truck McMurdo Research Station's firetruck, in Antarctica -a.jpg
Antarctica fire truck

The Antarctic Fire Department is based at McMurdo Station. It is the only full-time professional fire department in Antarctica, and the largest and best equipped. [2]

The department maintains two fire stations at McMurdo: Station 1 is at central McMurdo and Station 2 serves the station's airfields. The Station 1 fleet consists of two fire engines, a water tender, an ambulance, a rescue vehicle, and a SCAT (Self Contained Attack Truck) firefighting vehicle. The Station 2 fleet consists of an ambulance and seven ARFF (Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting) vehicles, which are fully tracked to handle the deeper snowcover that surrounds the runways. Station 2 apparatus is distributed and dispatched to different airfields depending on the current flight activity. [3]

During the Antarctic summer (October–February), McMurdo's population is at its highest, and the Antarctic Fire Department maintains a staff of about 46, including 21 firefighters (the other personnel being dispatchers, lieutenants, and command staff). In the winter (February–August), McMurdo's resident population declines to 200 or less and the Antarctic Fire Department staffing decreases to twelve. [2]

As well as fires and fire alarms, the department handles medical calls, hazmat spills, odor investigations, assists, dive emergencies, and other tasks as needed (including herding seals and penguins off runways for incoming flights). Department dispatchers monitor all off-base foot travel, and all off-base vehicle movements during extreme weather. [2] [4]

Southernmost Fire Department

The Southernmost Fire Department serves the American South Pole Station. [5]

Firefighting at South Pole Station was long the responsibility of a volunteer fire brigade, staffed by station personnel, who receive one week of training. Because of the cold climate, dry chemicals rather than water are usually used to extinguish fires. [5] [6]

In the twenty-first century, a professional contingent of six firefighters of the Antarctic Fire Department, designated as Station 3, was added to the station for the summer months. Their equipment is a tractor that pulls two modules on sleds, each containing 500 pounds (230 kg) of dry chemical and 600 pounds (270 kg) of foam. [5]

Other fire departments

Other research stations in Antarctica, such as Vostok Station (Russia), Scott Base (New Zealand), and Terra Nova Station (Italy) are protected by part-time fire brigades. [2]

Fires in Antarctica

The first known fire in Antarctica was during the British Southern Cross Expedition of 1898–1900, when a candle set fire to a hut and nearly burned it down, which would have been disastrous to the expedition. [1] [7]

The British Hope Bay Station was completely destroyed by fire in 1948. Two of the three staff were killed, the lone survivor lived alone in a tent for sixteen days until rescued. [1]

On April 12, 1984, the Argentine leader of the Almirante Brown Base burned the entire base down on purpose to avoid having to stay the winter. There were no injuries and personnel were evacuated by a United States Navy ship. [1]

The Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station fire at Brazil's Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station on February 25, 2012, destroyed much of the station, and materials and equipment used for research. Two people were killed and another injured. [8]

On October 5, 2008, a building at the Russian Progress Station burned down, with one person being killed and two seriously injured, and radio contact with the outside world being lost for a few days. [1] [9]

Related Research Articles

Transport in Antarctica has transformed from explorers crossing the isolated remote area of Antarctica by foot to a more open era due to human technologies enabling more convenient and faster transport, predominantly by air and water, but also by land as well. Transportation technologies on a remote area like Antarctica need to be able to deal with extremely low temperatures and continuous winds to ensure the travelers' safety. Due to the fragility of the Antarctic environment, only a limited amount of transport movements can take place and sustainable transportation technologies have to be used to reduce the ecological footprint. The infrastructure of land, water and air transport needs to be safe and sustainable. Currently thousands of tourists and hundreds of scientists a year depend on the Antarctic transportation system.

McMurdo Station American Antarctic base

McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand–claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is the largest community in Antarctica, capable of supporting up to 1,258 residents, and serves as one of three year-round United States Antarctic science facilities. All personnel and cargo going to or coming from Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station first pass through McMurdo. By road, McMurdo is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from New Zealand's smaller Scott Base.

Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station US scientific research station at the South Pole, Antarctica

The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is the United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the southernmost point under the jurisdiction of the United States. The station is located on the high plateau of Antarctica at 2,835 metres (9,301 ft) above sea level. It is administered by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation, specifically the United States Antarctic Program (USAP). It is named in honor of Norwegian Roald Amundsen and Briton Robert F. Scott, who led separate teams that raced to become the first to the pole in the early 1900s.

McMurdo Sound Geographic location

McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. The sound, which extends about 55 kilometres long and wide, connects to the Ross Sea to the north, and to the Ross Ice Shelf cavity to the south via Haskell Strait. The strait is largely covered by the McMurdo Ice Shelf. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 4,205 metres on the western shoreline. Ross Island, an historic jumping-off point for polar explorers, designates the eastern boundary. The active volcano Mount Erebus at 3,794 metres dominates Ross Island. Antarctica's's largest scientific base, the United States' McMurdo Station, as well as the New Zealand Scott Base are on the southern shore of the island. Less than 10 percent of McMurdo Sound's shoreline is free of ice. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world.

United States Antarctic Program U.S. Government agency which maintains U.S. presence and research in Antarctica

The United States Antarctic Program is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the Antarctica continent. Founded in 1959, the USAP manages all U.S. scientific research and related logistics in Antarctica as well as aboard ships in the Southern Ocean.

Colonization of Antarctica Establishing permanent human societies in Antarctica

Colonization of Antarctica refers to establishment of civilian settlements in Antarctica having humans, including families, living on the continent of Antarctica. Currently, the continent hosts only two civilian colonies, the Argentinian-administered Esperanza Base and Chilean-administered Villa Las Estrellas, as well as about 70 scientific and military bases with a largely temporary transient population of scientists and support staff from people from all over the world. Antarctica is the only continent on Earth without indigenous human inhabitants, despite its proximity to Argentina and Chile at the Antarctic Peninsula.

Brazilian Antarctica Zone of Interest

Brazilian Antarctica is the Antarctic territory south of 60°S, and from 28°W to 53°W, proposed as "Zone of Interest" by geopolitical scholar Therezinha de Castro. While the substance of that designation has never been precisely defined, it does not formally contradict the Argentine and British claims geographically overlapping with that zone. The country formally expressed its reservations with respect to its territorial rights in Antarctica when it acceded to the Antarctic Treaty on 16 May 1975, making the first official mention of the Frontage Theory, which states (simplified) that sovereignty over each point in Antarctica properly belongs to the first country whose non-Antarctic territory one would reach when travelling north in a straight line from such a point. The Frontage Theory was proposed by Brazilian geopolitical scholar Therezinha de Castro and published in her book Antártica: Teoria da Defrontação.

Research stations in Antarctica Research stations in Antarctica

Multiple governments have set up permanent research stations in Antarctica and these bases are widely distributed. Unlike the drifting ice stations set up in the Arctic, the Research stations of the Antarctic are constructed either on rock or on ice that is fixed in place.

South Pole Traverse Highway in Antarctica

The South Pole Traverse, also called the South Pole Overland Traverse, is an approximately 995-mile-long (1,601 km) flagged route over compacted snow and ice in Antarctica that links McMurdo Station on the coast to the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, both operated by the National Science Foundation of the United States. It was constructed by levelling snow and filling in crevasses; flags mark its route from McMurdo Station across the Ross Ice Shelf to the Leverett Glacier, where the route ascends to the polar plateau and on to the South Pole.

The Antarctica Marathon® may have been the first for-profit sporting event held in Antarctica, on January 28, 1995. The event is now held every year in late February or early March. The 42.195-kilometre race is held on King George Island, one of the largest Antarctic Islands just off the Antarctic Peninsula. There is also a half-marathon held at the same time. The start and finish is at Bellingshausen Station, and the course passes the Artigas Base (Uruguayan), the Frei Base (Chilean) and the Great Wall Base (Chinese). The course follows a gravel road that connects the bases and changes each year based on the base operations as well as road and weather conditions.

Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station Antarctic base

The Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station is a permanent Antarctic research station named after the Brazilian Navy Commander Luís Antônio de Carvalho Ferraz (1940-1982), who visited Antarctica many times with the British exploration team and managed to convince his government to create a self-guided Brazilian Antarctic Program.

Military activity in the Antarctic

As Antarctica has never been permanently settled by humans there has historically been little military activity in the Antarctic. Because the Antarctic Treaty, which came into effect on June 23, 1961, bans military activity in Antarctica, military personnel and equipment may only be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose on the continent.

ANDRILL

ANDRILL is a scientific drilling project in Antarctica gathering information about past periods of global warming and cooling.

Territorial claims in Antarctica Land claims of the continent

Seven sovereign states–Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom–have made eight territorial claims in Antarctica. These countries have tended to place their Antarctic scientific observation and study facilities within their respective claimed territories; however, a number of such facilities are located outside of the area claimed by their respective countries of operation, and countries without claims such as India, Italy, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, and the United States have constructed research facilities within the areas claimed by other countries.

Telecommunications in Antarctica take place between research stations and either other stations or external contacts. Communication infrastructure is provided by the country which administers each base.

The Brazilian Antarctic Program is a program of the Brazilian Navy which has presence in the continent of Antarctica. It coordinates research and the operational support for research in the region. It currently maintains a year-round research station in Antarctica, as well as several seasonal field camps. It also maintains two research vessels that sail in the Antarctic waters.

The Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station fire was a fire at the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station in Antarctica, on 25 February 2012 that killed 2 people and injured another. The fire destroyed approximately 70% of the research station.

Pegasus Road

Pegasus Road is an 18-mile (29 km) long road of dirt and packed snow constructed by the United States Antarctic Program on Ross Island and the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The trip along the road from McMurdo Station to Pegasus Field takes approximately 45 minutes in a "Delta" wheeled vehicle, although on occasion high temperatures have damaged the runway and caused the road surface to deteriorate enough to lengthen the trip to two hours.

Timeline of women in Antarctica

This is a Timeline ofwomen in Antarctica. This article describes many of the firsts and accomplishments that women from various countries have accomplished in different fields of endeavor on the continent of Antarctica.

While crime in Antarctica is relatively rare, isolation and boredom affect certain people there negatively and may lead to crime. Alcoholism is a known problem on the continent, and has led to fights and indecent exposure. Other types of crimes that have occurred in Antarctica include illicit drug use, torturing and killing wildlife, racing motorbikes through environmentally sensitive areas, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, and arson. Sexual harassment also has been reported.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Paul Ward. "Antarctica Fire History". Cool Antarctica. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Randall D. Larson (November 30, 2014). "From the Archives: Antarctica Fire: Public Safety Under Down Under". 9-1-1 Magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  3. ↑ "About the Antarctic Fire Department". Antarctic Fire Department. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  4. ↑ John M. Eller (November 20, 2014). "From the Archives: McMurdo Station, Antarctica: The Ultimate Dispatch Challenge". 9-1-1 Magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Peter Rejcek (March 2011). "Standing ready". The Antarctic Sun. United States Antarctic Program. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  6. ↑ Peter Rejcek (October 26, 2007). "Learning the basics". The Antarctic Sun. United States Antarctic Program. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Carsten Borchgrevink". South-Pole.com. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  8. ↑ Marilia Brocchetto (February 25, 2012). "Fire at Antarctica station kills 2 Brazilian sailors". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  9. ↑ "One dead in fire at Progress Station". Adventure Antarctica. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
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