Day 3 at the South Pole – wow, was it busy! The day started sleep-deprived (it is seriously hard to sleep here since it is SO dry!), but at a decent hour. There was an 8:00am meeting for all Emergency Response Team members in preparation for today’s drills. As soon as the large planes (‘Hercs’) begin flying in, our winter-overs from last year will be headed out. And with them, they take a year’s worth of emergency response experience and information. Now is the time to train with them!
At 10:30 we had our first drill. The pass-down drills were scheduled to get us newbies into the groove and see how things work. The alarm sounded in the station (surprisingly not jarring, like the insane bell alarm on the ship) and we heard on our radios that there was smoke and fire detected in the B-3 section of the station (right near the main entryway), first deck. Once it was announced where we would muster, the new guys shadowed the old hands during the drill. Because there were twice as many people as normal responding in a tight space, it was a bit crazy. As the fire team lead, I shadowed the crew member who was coordinating the victim search and fire attack teams. It was quite interesting, and a lot to keep track of. The fire team sent in an initial team to rescue the one victim we knew we had down. Once she was safely removed and transported to medical, the same fire team entered to fight the simulated fire (smoke simulation and all!). A ventilation team entered the space once the fire was secured and removed the smoke from the building with fans that blew the air out of the main doors (yes – into the -55 degree F weather). Once the scenario was secured, we broke for lunch and then it was our turn.
The simulated smoke again set off the alarm not too long after lunch. The other teams mustered immediately and the fire team donned all gear necessary to enter a scene with a fire (the ‘red zone’, as we are calling it). Donning our gear seemed to take FOREVER. I know our speed will come with practice. Once everything was on, we reported on scene. One of my firefighters was suffering with the effects of the altitude and was having difficulties breathing. Since there are only 3 of us new fire fighters at the station, we quickly changed roles within the team. I transitioned into a fire fighter on the primary search team, while our other member who could not enter the space took over command. For a last minute change, it went quite well. The new fire team lead had good control over the situation and great radio presence. Myself and the other fire fighter, a summer crew member without any fire training, entered the space, rescued the victim, and then responded to fight the fire. The conditions we had were not ideal, since there were only 3 of us on the fire team. Any time a pair of fire fighters is sent into an incident, they need an equal or greater amount of people as backup. These backup members are there to rescue any fire fighters which may become victims, and bring in additional resources to the main fire attack team. This was simulated today – it will be really nice to have a full compliment of team members in a week or two!
Although the fire drills were insane, confusing, and a little frustrating at times, I think we did a decent job. I received a few compliments myself, so I’m optimistic that we’ll pull together our response teams pretty soon and will be a cohesive team in a few months. We normally drill once per month, but in November the station will have a drill once a week so we can get in additional practice. Although drills are stressful, they are also a little fun. The fire alarm really gets your heart pumping!
After my morning and afternoon of fire fighting, I ran out to ARO – okay, I walked slowly out to ARO – and went through the daily instrument checks with Nick, Johan, and Andy. There is so much to learn! I’m really looking forward to when things calm down just a bit and I can get into a routine with these guys! When the daily checks were completed, Johan, the Ozone Master, showed me his zen techniques he uses to operate the Dobson spectrophotometer. The Dobson is an instrument which measures the total amount of ozone in the air directly above you, from the surface to space. This baby was invented in the 1920’s and is still the standard for total column ozone measurements. Since the design of the instrument is a little antiquated, it has definite quirks and must be run by a well-trained technician. This Dobson is different than the ones I have used in the past, so there is a bit of a learning curve. It is fun to use though – it feels like real science!
Tomorrow Johan (also the ozonesonde Master!) is showing me how to properly launch ozonesondes at the South Pole. An ozonesonde is basically a weather balloon with two instruments attached: one is a small chemical sensor which measures ozone in the atmosphere, and the other is a unit which transmits the ozone data back to the earth, plus additional temperature, pressure, and altitude data. I’ve only seen 3 launches, so I am quite eager to learn how it is done down here. We have to use different balloons in the winter because the air temperatures are so cold, and we also have to pay close attention to the temperatures of the sensors. I’ve heard there is a fine balance that must be taken into account. Good stuff!
One other wonderful thing I discovered tonight was one of our ‘Skua’ locations in the station! A skua is a scavenging coastal Antarctic bird. At McMurdo station, if they see you walking outside with food, they will attack you to get at what you have. They can be quite aggressive! After the winter months at McMurdo and Pole, people are ready to get rid of the items they have not used and will not be taking with them to the States. All of these wonderful things get dumped into several boxes and new guys on station can take what they want. I found a huge stash of wonderful lotions! This may sound trivial, but I must reiterate how incredibly dry it is down here! Wow. I thought Boulder was dry. No way! I now have a great cache of lotions that will beautifully supplement the ones that are on their way down here in my luggage and boxes I sent months ago. Thank you, skua!
So ends another exciting day at the Pole! Hopefully we’ll be getting more people in here soon and will fall into the Summer routine quickly! Goodnight, all!
1 comment:
You haz nice face. I like that.
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