Sunday, fighting fire and ride home

Today was the practical training for the course. We had to have water streams on three props: a tree, a gas outlet and a truck. The number of students allowed for each person to sit out once during the rotation. I took some pics when it was my turn.

The first one is an art shot. We has a wall of water between us and the fire, this allows us to get a lot closer to the fire and normal. The people on the sides are the safety lines, they stop the fire from coming around the attack lines.  The two lines in the middle are on full fog. The overlap, they create what firefighters call a nice ass with a crack in the middle (look at the two middle streams in the second picture).

After several runs you need a break and to fill the air tanks.

When the class was over we took off home to Vegreville. 3 bikes and a support van. The other firefighters told us of a different route, i managed to find it. (it wasn't that hard, iPhones are handy - they have GPS and maps).

I found out that my speedo is not calibrated right, when it shows I am going 120, I am actually going 130. The support van told us that.

On Highway 14 between Wainwright (army town) and Viking is heavily populated with RCMP vehicles, handing out tickets. I thought I was going 120 in a 100, well , I thought. We passed 4 cop cars at around 130, they didn't slow down, when we passed the fifth, we were behind an SMV (slow moving vehicle, going 80 in a 100, when she saw the cop she slowed down. We slowed down.

Got home, I am wiped out.

One of the firefighters on the course is from Daysland, way South of here. He is single and a bike rider. He wants to head out to the mountains sometime. Nice straight run West from his place to Columbia Ice Fields Parkway.