Using machine mulchers could be a welcome addition to the toolbox for forestry and firefighting, as new trials are planned to test them in a variety of applications.

FPInnovations – Feric Division researcher Greg Baxter says the mulchers could provide a much-needed service for industry as well as for communities looking for cost-effective fire protection.

The mulchers could be used for firefighting, to create fire guards, or for community protection to reduce the fuels around towns. Baxter is in the process of lining up several trials of mulchers working with these tasks in mind. He’ll monitor the results, and he’s especially keen about the possibility of cost savings when it comes to the use of these machines.

“For example, when a community thins a forest to FireSmart their town, and makes piles of debris, we can look at the cost effectiveness of using the mulchers to reduce the volume and flammability of that fuel; a big part of the treatment cost is going back and burning all those little piles.”

 

For the oil and gas industry, the trials could also be very applicable – when it comes to fire protection of well sites and important installations. Baxter says with so many mulchers in Alberta right now, people in the fire community started to wonder if they could be used on fires.

“On a big fire usually a bulldozer may have to go back and fix up the (fire) lines,” he says. “And that’s a huge cost, but with a mulcher, you wouldn’t have to go back at all and would potentially save a lot of money.”

 

While Baxter and the other Feric researchers don’t have a figure on the possible savings, he says on large fires going back in and fixing lines that have been built is a major cost.

 

Trials are planned for several locations over the coming year. Feric’s research site just south of Fort Providence, NWT for next June and work near Lac La Biche this winter are slated for the work. The research has momentum behind it too, with interest from Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, British Columbia Transmission Corp., and Encana.

By GAVIN MEALING