Welcome to the Antarctic Fire Department
antarcticfire.org
antarcticfire.org
I sent it on to my father who spent time in Antarctica during the early 80s so it'll probably jog some memories to tell me.
(edit: As proof, here's Amentum's listing for a McMurdo firefighter: https://www.amentumcareers.com/jobs/firefighter-mcmurdo-stat...)
Anyway, I'd imagine they mainly get oil/gas fires or electrical fires, for which it'd be better to use foam or whatever is best for electrical. If they use water, they'd keep the hoses dry and warm and use a de-icer like glycol.
It is also very dry.
> What do they do for heat anyway?
Waste heat from the diesel gensets providing our electricity, supplemented by additional diesel burners.
> big logistic challenge away from any ports
It is, we (Davis station) have storage for about a year and a half worth of fuel, and refuel via icebreaker bunkerage once a year.
> Anyway, I'd imagine they mainly get oil/gas fires or electrical fires, for which it'd be better to use foam or whatever is best for electrical. If they use water, they'd keep the hoses dry and warm and use a de-icer like glycol.
We use dry chemical extinguishers as a first response. Most buildings have sprinklers and sensitive areas have hi-fog. We have a Hagglund (tracked vehicle) with a water tank and pump and can hook up to the ring main at hydrants around station.
Unlike McMurdo we don't have dedicated fire-fighters so we all got a week of firefighting training before departure and a third of the station is on call at any time as the emergency response team.
But yes, if a fire alarm occurs: the entire station gathers at the muster point while the on call ERT goes to the fire cold porch and the emergency vehicle shelter. From there the on duty team lead and an electrician don fire turnout gear and take dry chem fire extinguishers to the site of the alarm, the first BA team don their breathing apparatus and follow the instructions of the team lead and the second BA team prepares the firefighting Hagglund for deployment.
Not at my station, Davis. Mawson has had a few historically but I think the program overall has avoided any fires that threatened life or property for a few decades.
There was a fire in the engine room of the icebreaker MPV Everest that retrieved the Davis crew a few years ago and the ERT from the station assisted in firefighting.
Some AAD media releases:
https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations/...
https://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/stations/davis/2023/this-...
> Are you accessing this site via satellite from there?
Yes, there are no fibre cables to Antarctica. We have a connection provided by the government using multiple satellite links as backhaul (ANARESAT, some alternate geostationary satellite and soon Starlink) plus one of the expeditioners* has a personal Starlink that we contribute to and utilise communally.
* unlike other Antarctic programs, Australia has decided to stick with the 'expeditioner' title from the olden days of exploration.
I wondered, as IIRC newspaper doesn't burn (sustained) on top of Everest (9 km)... But it seems trash is burned (or buried) in "highest permanently inhabited place" La Rinconada Peru (5 km). South Pole is only 3 km, and Antarctica's Mount Vinson is 5 km. Though nicely cold. Anoxic caves like Movile Cave seem a pO2 equivalent of 6 to 9 km.
https://wandereatwrite.com/how-i-got-paid-to-live-in-antarct...
(one of the few things I remember from the myriad videos they make you watch before you go down to the ice)
IANAL, YMMV, etc., etc.
[1] https://documents.ats.aq/cep/handbook/Annex_II_e.pdf#page=2
[0] https://www.9news.com.au/national/all-the-job-openings-in-an...
> There's perks, bonuses etc on top of that.
No, the 150,000-170,000 pay range for most of us (everyone but the station leader and doctor) is inclusive of all our allowances. There are a few extra duties like deputy station leader and fire chief that get an additional allowance.
> I wonder if they pay for their own room and board or if that's one of the perks; given they have a cook I suspect they have communal food at least.
All food and accomodation (and utilities, internet, phone calls, recreational equipment and trips, cold weather survival clothing) is provided to us. I have essentially zero expenses.
Out of curiosity, since I've always had the idea of visiting one day, what do you reckon is the most feasible way to do so, short of stationing there for a living like you are?
I don't have much familiarity with the tourism side. The majority of tourist will go via cruises out of Ushuaia to the Antarctic peninsula and sub-Antarctic islands. The advice I've always heard is to go with the smallest ship you can as there are IAATO regulations on how many passengers can go ashore per ship per day and you want to maximise opportunities to get ashore. Price can vary a lot depending on cabin, quality of the operator and last minute deals to fill berths.
If you have a lot of money (>100k USD) burning a hole in your pocket then there are high-end tourist camps run by groups like Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions and White Desert that will fly you to the continent and then around to penguin rookeries, mountain climbing and the South Pole.
Is there something lost in (your) translation, or are your single word post just extraordinarily hard to comprehend?
If you had a question, please use more words. Seems like you are just being stubborn or otherwise not wanting to add to the discussion.
Recently I learned about cats starting fires. Cat arsonists leap up onto kitchen counter tops and walk across the glass hob with touch buttons to turn the hob on. A chip pan fire then ensues.
Because of the rise in fires cause by cat arsonists, the British fire services now carry oxygen masks for cats. Since there is a reasonable chance that a house fire is caused by a cat arsonist, it only makes sense to take the cat-sized oxygen mask. They don't want the culprits deceased if they are to interrogate them.
There are two grains of truth in the above tall tale, the fire service do carry oxygen masks for cats and cats do start fires from walking on hob buttons. Put together it sounds ludicrously credible, verging on urban myth.
I now need to work on 'penguin arsonists' to combine with the fact that there is an Antarctic fire service.
> "Valid state driver's license is required."
hmm. This led me down a Reddit rabbit hole with no perfect answer to the obvious question.
https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/aircraft_rescue_...
Ultimately, EMS/Paramedic spent most of his time performing his secondary duty - clearing the runway of penguins. They were not allowed to touch them, so they were instructed to keep their hands in the air and shimmy sideways in order to shoo them to safety. He did demonstrate this penguin shooing dance to us around the fire, which led to him gaining the nickname Zoidberg.
I’m looking through the lens of nostalgia for the internet around 2000, but I often I wish we could return to this sort of world of lightweight and simple web design.
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