How Creating A Hole In The Fire Can Save You From Bad Habits

In Environment, We Trust: You can change your environment to protect you.

Thought Things First: This story is about controlling your environment instead of allowing your environment to control you.

Most People Run From Fire - These Men Ran Towards Danger

It was August 1949, an arid day in Montana with near 100-degree heat. Some heat lightning had ignited a blaze that burned over 3,000 acres, and controlling it required the efforts of more than 400 firefighters.

An Out-Of-Control Fire: Fifteen brave firefighters parachuted into remote Mann Gulch to fight the raging wildfire. Shortly after the smokejumpers were on the ground, the fire jumped across a ravine, flared up, and trapped them between the flames and a steep slope.

The fifteen firefighters panicked and ran, desperately trying to make it up a 76% grade in hopes of reaching a crest for safety. It was hopeless, but they all dropped their heavy gear and ran, except their commander. He knew the climb was too great and the fire too swift; it wasn’t going to work. So he stopped, took out matches, and lit a fire in front of him in the tall, dry grass between him and the slope.

A Hole In The Fire: The commander's fire rapidly spread up the slope, creating a hot area that couldn't burn anymore as all of the fuel had been consumed. He followed his burned trail and yelled for his crew to come to him for safety. The others were so panic-stricken that they just continued running and climbing up the slope.

The commander went into the middle of the burned-out area and sat down. The turbulent Mann Gulch fire raged everywhere around him, except for where he was.

A Heavy Toll: Just 90 minutes after the 15 smokejumpers had parachuted, 10 were dead, unable to outrace the fire as they were consumed by a wall of flames. Two others died the next day due to burns they received. The commander of the unit lived as he had created a safe spot: a hole in the fire.

Lessons Learned (And Burned): The commander had found a way to benefit everyone; he had yelled and offered sanctuary to his crew. Ultimately, the Forest Service taught this technique to all forest firefighters, which would benefit others who became trapped while surrounded by wildfires. 

This concept became known as an “escape fire,” and it became part of forest fire training. This tragedy later spawned the 1952 Hollywood movie Red Skies of Montana.

"I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me." --Unknown

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