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The fire shelter is a mandatory protective item issued to firefighters working for most federal, state and local wildland firefighting agencies.  Many firefighters, having deployed shelters in an emergency situation, indicated that they would not have survived without using one.

The United States Forest Service (USFS) is now worried about a bad vinyl bag holding the shelter issued to some firefighters.

According to a recent USFS safety alert - "Some clear polyvinyl bags for fire shelters are defective. The pull strips can break off before the bag has been opened enough to remove the fire shelter. This possibility is unacceptable."  An incomplete bag tear can cause precious lost time and puts the firefighter at increased personal danger.

"The problem is not with the fire shelter. The problem is with the polyvinyl bags" states the alert. "Fire shelters will not be recalled until new improved polyvinyl bags are available."

In the meantime, every firefighter should start the tear before going to a fire.   He or she needs to prepare the fire shelter by doing the following:

1—Remove the fire shelter from its hard plastic case.
All photos provided by the U.S. Forest Service

2—Pull the tabs halfway down on each side of the polyvinyl bag

3—Reinsert the shelter into the hard case.

More from the U.S. Forest Service Fire Shelter Alert:

"Current direction provided in the document Your Fire Shelter: 2001 Edition (PDF) recommends against opening the polyvinyl bag. It is critical that firefighters be able to quickly remove their shelters from the polyvinyl bags without taking their gloves off. Pulling the tabs halfway down each side is a stopgap measure designed to ensure the shelters are easily accessible until they can be rebagged."

"Follow the direction in Your Fire Shelter: 2001 Edition for bimonthly visual inspections of the fire shelter. If the shelter has holes or tears longer than ¼ inch or if the shelter has turned the clear polyvinyl bag dark gray or black, replace the shelter."

"All fire shelters that meet the inspection criteria outlined in Your Fire Shelter: 2001 Edition will soon be recalled to refit them with improved polyvinyl bags. This is a change from the initial fire shelter recall that included only those shelters made by International Cases and Manufacturing, Inc."