Pulaski (tool)
ThePulaskiis a specialty hand tool used in fighting fires, particularlywildfires,[1] which combines anaxeand anadzein one head. Similar to acutter mattock,it has a rigid handle of wood, plastic, or fiberglass. The Pulaski was developed for constructingfirebreaks,able to both dig soil and chop wood. It is also well adapted fortrailconstruction, and can be used forgardeningand other outdoor work for general excavation and digging holes in root-bound or hard soil.
The invention of the Pulaski is credited toEd Pulaski,an assistantrangerwith theUnited States Forest Servicein 1911.[2][3]Similar tools were introduced in 1876 by theCollins Tool Company.A tool that serves the same purpose was used in the Alps for over 300 years forplanting trees(Wiedehopfhaue) or thedolabrain ancient Rome. Pulaski was famous for taking action to save the lives of a crew of 45 firefighters during the disastrous August 1910wildfires in Idaho.His invention (or reinvention[4]) of a combination axe and adze may have been a result of the disaster, as he saw the need for better firefighting tools. Pulaski further refined the tool by 1913, and it came into use in the Rocky Mountain region.[1]In 1920 the Forest Service began contracting for the tool to be commercially manufactured but its use remained regional until the tool became a national standard in the 1930s.[4]
An initialed ( "E.P." ) tool, which purportedly belonged to Pulaski himself, is part of the collection of theSmithsonian Institutionat theWallace District Mining MuseuminWallace, Idaho.[1][4][5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abc"The Big Burn-What's a Pulaski?".American Experience.PBS. 3 February 2015.Retrieved23 January2019.
- ^Spadafora, Ronald (2007).McGraw-Hill's Firefighter Exams.McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 230.
Invented by USFS ranger Ed Pulaski in 1911.
- ^Egan, Timothy (2009).The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & the Fire that Saved America.Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp.259–260.ISBN978-0-547-39460-2.
- ^abcDavis, James B. (1986)."The True Story of the Pulaski Fire Tool"(PDF).Fire Management Notes.47(3).US Department of AgricultureForest Service: 19–21.RetrievedApril 22,2016.
- ^"The Pulaski Axe"(Video).Mysteries at the Museum,Season Six.Travel Channel.2014.RetrievedApril 22,2016.
External links[edit]
- "The Pulaski Axe"(Video).Mysteries at the Museum,Season Six.Travel Channel.2014.RetrievedApril 22,2016.
| Tree planting, afforestation |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Mensuration | ||
| Fire suppression | ||
| Axes | ||
| Saws | ||
| Logging | ||
| Other | ||
