The pulaski is a special hand tool used in wildland firefighting

Wildfire

A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...

.

The tool combines an axe

Axe

The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...

 and an adze

Adze

An adze is a tool used for smoothing or carving rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. Generally, the user stands astride a board or log and swings the adze downwards towards his feet, chipping off pieces of wood, moving backwards as they go and leaving a relatively smooth surface behind...

 in one head, similar to that of the cutter mattock

Mattock

A mattock is a versatile hand tool, used for digging and chopping, similar to the pickaxe. It has a long handle, and a stout head, which combines an axe blade and an adze or a pick and an adze .-Description:...

, with a rigid handle of wood, plastic, or fiberglass. The pulaski is a versatile tool for constructing firebreak

Firebreak

A firebreak is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon...

s, as it can be used to both dig soil and chop wood. It is also well adapted for trail

Trail

A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

 construction, gardening

Gardening

Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...

, and other outdoor work. As a gardening or excavation tool, it is effective for digging holes in root-bound or hard soil.

The invention of the pulaski is credited to Ed Pulaski

Ed Pulaski

Edward C. "Ed" Pulaski was a U.S. Forest Service ranger based in Wallace, Idaho. Pulaski traveled west and worked as a miner, railroad worker, and ranch foreman before joining the forest service in 1908.-Great Fire of 1910:...

, a ranger

Park ranger

A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...

 with the United States Forest Service

United States Forest Service

The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...

, in 1911, although a similar tool was first introduced in 1876 by the Collins Tool Company. Ed Pulaski was famous for taking action to save the lives of a crew of 45 firefighters during the disastrous August 1910 wildfires in Idaho

Great Fire of 1910

The Great Fire of 1910 was a wildfire which burned about three million acres in northeast Washington, northern Idaho , and western Montana...

. His invention (or reinvention) of the tool that bears his name may have been a direct result of the disaster, as he saw the need for better firefighting tools. The pulaski came into wide use by the Forest Service after 1913, and in 1920 the Forest Service began contracting for the tool to be commercially manufactured.

See also

• Driptorch
  Driptorch
  A driptorch is a tool used in wildfire suppression, controlled burning, and other forestry applications to intentionally ignite fires.The driptorch consists of a canister for holding fuel with a handle attached to the side, a spout with a loop to prevent fire from entering the fuel canister, a...
  
  
• Fire flapper (tool)
  Fire flapper (tool)
  A flapper is a wildland firefighting tool also called a swatter or a beater. It is designed for extinguishing minor fires in rural areas such as heaths. A flapper is built with a long handle and a series of lamellas which allows firefighters to stand well back from the fire...
  
  
• Flare (pyrotechnic)
  Flare (pyrotechnic)
  A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications...
  
  
• McLeod (tool)
  McLeod (tool)
  The McLeod is a wildland firefighting tool with a large hoe-like blade on one side and tined blade on the other. It is commonly used in the mountains of the American west. This tool is called a "Rake Hoe" in Australia and a "Streif" in the American southwest....
  
  
• Fire rake
  Fire rake
  A fire rake is a wildland fire fighting tool. A fire rake has a wooden or fiberglass handle with a rake head consisting of four very sharp, serrated, triangular steel blades. It is used to rake a fire break with the sharp teeth enabling it to reach fire in undergrowth in addition to loose surface...