The inevitable pinhole burns....

[Mack811]

Not a Pink Floyd lyric. What happens when a rookie lays a massive flare pattern and has to keep it burning for 3 hours while a roll over 18 wheeler is cleared. Burned up a new pair of pants. Doh! Man, do I feel stupid. Got a dozen little holes in my pants. 2nd night on FTO. Scored well, doing alright. Won't try to set myself on fire again :rolleyes:

[Niteshift]

I have them too, but some of mine are from cigarette ash that blew onto it. I just tell them it's from flares :)

[FLLawdog]

I can somewhat deal with the shirts getting burned, but my BOOTS...I PAID FOR THOSE, DAMMIT!!!

[SGT Dave]

A coworker was "kicking" some flares out of the road once after Vice President George H. Bush's motorcade came through (1987?) and one stuck, still burning, to his polyester pants leg.

Trust me-the Macarena is NOTHING. He did get by without getting burned though.

[Don]

Oh Jeeze, I can't imagine trying to kick a flare out of the road. The damn things can do enough damage when you try to snuff them out in the dirt!

I lost far more uniforms to cigar burns than to flares though. Another reason to pay a little more for wool and forgo the pollyuckster!

[PeteBroccolo]

One solution to burning your shirt or jacket when setting out explosive flares, or to be able to extinguish them, is to carry pieces of 2" x 6" (or 8") boards, cut into 12" long pieces, pre-drilled with 2 or 3 holes over-sized to allow the spike to be placed in without struggle. There is less chance of sparks flying back than when you try to jam the spike into the pavement, although you still have to watch when you strike them, especially in the wind. You can also pick up the board from the far end away from the still-burning flare to dump it in a near by dirt pile or water source.
I have ruined more than one uniform light jacket and winter coat before using these boards, which you can usually pick up from some lumberyard's scrap/refuse pile. Find a new or used metal or plastic tool box that you can fit the boards into neatly, and get another box just for the flares, and you're good to go!
Either that, or get your Agency to buy the batter-powered flashlight-style-with-attached-LED-wand flares, carry 6 or 8 fluorescent red or orange traffic cones, cut the top of the cones to fit the batter-flares so the LED only sticks out and set them out. Try to get the cones with reflective silver striping, or buy the reflective taping and stripe your cones and they will be VERY visible at a scene, and look more professional.