Majority of the standard parts are made from different types of steels as well, such as zinc plated steel and stainless steel (18-8). Almost all of the custom components are made of grade A36 Steel, which is a low carbon steel that is used for all sorts of parts on heavy machinery as well as support beams in buildings, due to its strong physical characteristics.
The life span of the device is variable from part to part, but the parts should last for years, before needing replacement. Hi Chelsea here is an answer to your 3rd question: However, if the situation is really severe and the environment is easily accessible by heavy machinery, and you have it available then it makes sense to use it. Our solution can potentially aid in this by providing additional equipment, but it is not an all out replacement for existing solutions. As it stands, even firebreaks dug by heavy machinery experience this problem in severe wildfires with high winds. As stated above, our solution is not an all out replacement for heavy machinery.Ĥ) In the context of severe wildfires, it may still be preferable to use heavy machinery instead of or in addition to our solution. The advantage with our device is that it doesn’t need a tractor to pull. Additionally, farmers (at least in Michigan) do indeed use disc harrows (which our device is modeled after). Our device by contrast costs $1500 one-time. A D9 bulldozer can cost $1000s daily to rent and more than $100,000 to buy used. In the cases of severe fires it may still be preferable to use heavy machinery in spite of the cost.Ģ) The issue with bulldozers is that they are expensive. Additionally, our device isn’t a complete replacement for either one. Hey Patrick, thank you for your questions.ġ) The primary focus of the device is that it is cheaper than heavy machinery, but more efficient than digging a firebreak by hand. The drawbacks of this, are that most farm tools are much larger and require a tractor to pull, and most fire departments don’t typically use or own tractors Log in to Reply Farmers in rural areas will use actual farm tools to dig firebreaks. In general though, most firefighters know about wildfire responses as there are multiple multi-layer processes for proper response.Ĥ) In terms of devices capable of creating firebreaks, other than bulldozers, farm equipment can be used to create firebreaks as well.
The other works in Colorado with South Metro Fire, and he indicated that they do work on wildfires. It is important to note that firebreaks are typically shallow as their purpose is to bury or remove the potential fuel off of the topsoil.ģ) One worked in Michigan, specifically in an area where large wildfires are a rare occurrence. The depth of cuts is actually determined by the size of the blades, and our blades are a size of 8” in radius. The width was determined by the potential vehicles that would be used with the device, as if the vehicles cannot get there then that is not an ideal spot for the break. Ideally you would pass through multiple times, and/or use it in conjunction with hand tools. The arm position when raised would be as close to the truck bed as possible.Ģ) As dug in a single pass by the device the break is 6 inches deep, by 35 inches wide. They are just for raising and lowering the arm. Here the answers to your questions:ġ) The controls are manual. Hi there Bridget, thank you for feedback on our presentation.
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