Antarctica's Fire History

[Paul Ward]

(taken from the previous forum archives)

From: CTeske


I was wondering if there is any evidence suggesting that Antarctica has ever had any fire activity (i.e., wildland fires)?



From: Paul Ward, webmaster




In order to have had a fire history, there had to be something to burn, snow and ice are not flammable under normal circumstances! Antarctica was forested millions of years ago before it drifted over the pole so presumably fires were an issue then.
Fire is a major issue now on Antarctic bases and an ever-present danger. In a very dry atmosphere with often very strong winds to fan the flames and little or no liquid water to put out the blaze once it has taken hold, the main thing you can do is get everyone out and stand back. Snow-blowers have been used to try and put fires out, but with little success. Antarctic snow is often very hard and fine and may well blow in the wrong direction.This is one of the main reasons that many Antarctic bases consist of a number of separate buildings that are not interlinked, if one goes up, the other will probably survive.

I was one of the 21 winterers on base at Rothera, when our laboratory building burnt to the ground. I have uploaded pictures of it in the members' gallery. Unfortunately there was not much that we could do other than watch! Attempts were made to reduce the damage using snowblowers as mentioned above, but it was pretty ineffective as the fire had taken hold inside. It is important not to put anyone at risk in such a remote place, and therefore more effective fire fighting was just not possible.

It also turned out to be the windiest day of the year, luckily blowing the smoke away from the rest of the base...

Jenny

[Paul Ward]

Thanks for posting those pics Jenny:

http://www.coolantarctica.com/PhotoP...3/limit/recent

I heard about the fire when it happened, but that's the first picture I've seen other than the aftermath ones.

A lot of time and effort and awareness is dedicated towards the possibility of fires in Antarctica, so it must have been pretty scary to actually have one happen. Especially in the winter when all you can do is stand and watch it burn itself out.

[kr0ssk0untry]

Geez...glad everyone got out ok!

[blkphysh]

I would love to be a firefighter down there. I understand the lack of liquid water because the temprature...

[Alan]

Originally Posted by blkphysh

I would love to be a firefighter down there. I understand the lack of liquid water because the temprature...

There are LOTS of firefighters at McMurdo Station. In fact, about 4% of the population during the summer. (They had 44 people in the fire department this past summer.)

At Pole there are only 2 permanent and 2 that rotate from McMurdo.

They do have some fire extinguishers of a special type, that uses a charge of nitrogen to propel a fire-retardant powder. The new station at Pole has a sprinkler system, and in the older outbuildings special powder-based sprinklers (a combination of a fire extinguisher with a sprinkler head) are hung over the furnaces. I don't know how effective they are, but it might stop a fire before it starts - or at least buy time for people to get out.

BTW - a lot of cold weather gear doesn't handle fire very well (i.e., it melts on you if it gets hot). But there is a solution: I tried some Nomex Fleece this year, and it works great. Also, a base layer of wool isn't a bad idea. There are also some other wicking, fire-resistant materials now available.