• Bluetreefrog@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      I’ve been a wildland firefighter for twenty seven years, and an urban firefighter now for about 1 year. Both can get hot to the point of discomfort, but it’s better than the alternative. The wildland clothing is designed to protect you from radiant heat while allowing body heat to escape, and the structural gear to basically encapsulate you, trapping in your body heat, but keeping out the hot gasses and radiant heat around you.

      A big wildfire will put out the equivalent of 20000 single bar radiators per meter. A compartment fire at the point of flashover can be up to 600 degrees C.

      You don’t really want to be in either of those situations, even with the right clothing.