110' fire tower planned for Milan Hill, NH

[RoySwkr]

According to this, a 110' fire tower is planned for Milan Hill, which would make it by far the tallest in the state:

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010709179859

Note that due to budget cuts the tower personnel have gone from full-time to intermittent status - they only work when fire danger is extreme in that area. Anyone who quits is not replaced and a special deputy fire warden is used to work the tower if needed. A person was hired to do the maintenance state-wide that lookouts used to do on low danger days, causing hard feelings when the job didn't go to a lookout.

At the tower conference in June, we saw photos of the new cab for a different tower which was assembled at the base of the mountain and flown up by helicopter. A recent visitor says there is still no furniture in the cab, not even a chair - the tower has not been staffed since the cab was built. Wonder if the same will happen to Milan Hill.

 

[dug]

Interesting. We have land around there and have a pseudo-trail cut to the park. Be curious if we can see it when it's done...

 

[peakbagger]

I expect the Milan Tower is being upgraded mostly for the telecommunications aspect. Cell coverage is marginal in the area and its location gives it a good shot up both RT 16 along the Androscoggin and up RT 110 towards Stark and Colebrook. Currently the state emergency personel have significant communications issues in the area due to lack of good coverage.

It would probably be a good site for a Wi Max deployment and of course there needs to be additional cell phone coverage for the prisoners at the new Federal prison (even though cell phones are banned, there are many reports of signifcant cell phone traffic at most prisons).

My brother has a high spot nearby and he has been asked by tower developers in the past to site a tower on his hill.

There are are other high spots in the area but a lot of them arent developed and would require more extensive permitting and site work. If the state ends up getting some revenue off it, it will allow Andrew (a VFTT member) to keep up the good work at trying to expand or at least keep open recreational options in the north country. Heck he may even be able to get the road into the park repaved while they are at it.

 

[Waumbek]

If the state ends up getting some revenue off it, it will allow Andrew (a VFTT member) to keep up the good work at trying to expand or at least keep open recreational options in the north country. Heck he may even be able to get the road into the park repaved while they are at it.

This sounds like a win-win multi-use situation. Would that all mountain and ridgeline development in the North Country followed suit. My town is drafting a ridgeline ordinance to curb the building of glaring "eyesore" MacMansions above a certain elevation through natural color house exteriors (grey, green, brown) rather than bright white, minimal glass use (to cut down on reflection), minimal clearing around the house, etc. It would not and could not stop mountainside development per se, of course, if it conforms to other regulations (steep slope, etc.), but try to cut down the visual impact of houses above a certain elevation. The town is much in favor of it. So would anyone be who hikes from Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch on the AT.

 

[dug]

It would probably be a good site for a Wi Max deployment and of course there needs to be additional cell phone coverage for the prisoners at the new Federal prison (even though cell phones are banned, there are many reports of signifcant cell phone traffic at most prisons).

My brother has a high spot nearby and he has been asked by tower developers in the past to site a tower on his hill.
.

That would be SWEET! I get horrible coverage up there. Wi Max? Sheesh...I'm just happy when we can get cable and/or satellite TV. Gonna' feel spoiled...

 

[TrailwrightBratt]

Mt.Belknap

On MT. Belknap in Gilford,there is going to be a new 180 ft tower some 300 ft south of the present communication tower and eliminate the 85ft one now there situated next to the fire tower.The 3 buildings next to the tower will come down and one new building constructed to house the present users.
A hearing was held last hursday and surprisingly only the retired watchman Ritchie Stuart known as Hawkeye and myself attended.No one from Gilford Govt. More info.
http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100917/GJNEWS02/709179859/-1/CITIZEN

 

[peakbagger]

Bummer, the state just announced that the fire tower option in Milan is too expensive, so they want to set up a separate tower adjacent to the fire tower. Strange how they are trying to clear out the views of nearby towers from one site and add one to block the views from the Milan tower. There is a hearing tonight 9/23 in Milan. More info at

http://www.laconiadailysun.com/BerlinPDF/2010/9/23B.pdf

 

[RoySwkr]

Someone heard at Milan Hill hearing:

" One of the units on the new structure will be the radio communications for the 45th Parallell emergency services. They are in process of establishing a set of sites which will provide complete coverage for all of the north country, with installations on Magalloway. Milan, a border site -- exact location unclear --- and two others, one of which may be Whitcomb. "

 

[hikerfast]

why are fire towers being manned(or 'personed') again? I was told they stopped manning them years ago because of all the commercial flights and private airplanes, they were not needed anymore. Now all of the sudden they are manning them again and building more.

 

[Andrew]

why are fire towers being manned(or 'personed') again? I was told they stopped manning them years ago because of all the commercial flights and private airplanes, they were not needed anymore. Now all of the sudden they are manning them again and building more.

NH Forest & Lands has tried to continue staffing important towers up to this day, although severe budget cuts from the recent recession have kept the staffing down.

I heard a rumor that this effort was going to dust last week, but I have been hearing back and forth over the last year that it was going to be a new watch tower, then no- just a communication tower, then again a watch tower. Only F&L would get any revenue from leases though, but that's fine, the park is getting back up on it's feet with the camping revenue.

 

[RoySwkr]

Someone heard at Milan Hill hearing:

" One of the units on the new structure will be the radio communications for the 45th Parallell emergency services. They are in process of establishing a set of sites which will provide complete coverage for all of the north country, with installations on Magalloway. Milan, a border site -- exact location unclear --- and two others, one of which may be Whitcomb. "

From Bill Carpenter, DRED:
"An entirely different federal funding source secured by the NH Dept. of Safety, will expand radio communication at several sites in Coos Country for the purpose of enhancing communication abilities to NH's northern most communities and their dispatch centers for day to day operations and emergencies. The sites that I am sure of are Whitcomb Mt. in Odell, Signal Mt. in Errol, and Magalloway Mt. in Pittsburg. There may be another site or 2 that I am not sure of. please contact Peter DeNutte or Director Bruce Cheney at the NH Division of Emergency Services @ 271-6911."

 

[TrailwrightBratt]

Manning the Towers.

Hikerfast: Not sure where you got the information that the towers have not been manned in years.Here in NH they have been manned right along.We had a closing of all the towers some 12 yeasrs or so ago because of cuts but opened right back up almost immediatly and kept open since.I manned Belknap for 6.5 years straight and I replaced the previous watchman who was on duty for 6 tears.I retired and was replaced for three years, with the cutting to part time last year he left to take another job.This year I am back on a part time basis only on Class 3 Fire danger days (HIGH) as is the other towers.Working only 7 hour days.
Croyden Tower is not manned and no person to man it. Highland Hill was closed and the watchman tranferred to Miller State Park after replacing the old Cab with a new one.There are presently 13 towers manned. There are NO new towers only new replacement cabs on old towers.
As for Aircraft.They fly only on Extreme or Red Flag days. We who work the towers use them more for directing crews on the ground. or to locate with gps when towers can not cross with each other because of topography making it difficult for us to pin point locations.Many times they miss smokes that the towers have found due to the fact that most of the time they fly too high and they do not know where commercial permits are located or can not tell the differnce.
Alot more can be said but I don't want to pirate the thread. Hope this helps.

 

[SAR-EMT40]

I manned Belknap for 6.5 years straight and I replaced the previous watchman who was on duty for 6 tears.

What, no bathroom breaks or anything?

Sorry couldn't resist. Seriously though, what would the schedule actually be like? Eight hour days with commutes home at the end of the shift or how? To be honest it sounds to me like a great job. How does it work and what are the qualifications?

Keith

 

[TrailwrightBratt]

Breaks

SAR:Since you asked, Here is a little info.You get a bathroom break when the tower closes for the season, usually mid Oct.depending on conditions. I have worked in the past untill just after Thanksgiving. Yes you commute every day however you do not have to,.the cabin is available. Normaly it is a 9-5 job being on the air at 9 and closing at 5. working full time you had a schedule with days off.The last time I worked full time I worked 9 days on 2 off, 5days on two off and back to 9 again.I did not mind.The schedule was changed after I left.Now it is 9-4 or 10-5,7hrs. We only work on (High) fire danger days (class 3 and up) and until the class goes down.You are required to stay in the tower and bathroom breaks when you can fit it in.Hopefully you are not working a fire at the time.
What a job,just look at the views all day long.Can't beat that.as I have told many people that visit, it is the only job I have ever had that I looked forward to going to Work?
As for requirements.Only a high school education is needed. Be physically and mentally ready to handle emergencys including having some medical problems skills and to climb up every day.Have skills in map reading to locate fires,know your area as much as possible so you can locate fires without a cross from another tower which really means putting to memory as many visible landmarks you can find.Learning how to use the Alidade fire finder (a fancy name for a protractor).learn to use radios somtimes 2 at a time while answering a phone too. Keep good paperwork, lots of reports that sometimes are used in court beleive it or not.Gather weather to report that help in deciding the predicted class day.Being a communication center for the Rangers and fire fighters on the ground. keep tabs on air patrols as well.Be able to use GPS and UTM coordinates and obviously have good eye sight. Uderstanding weather as it could affect you,(LIGHTNING) comes to mind. It helps to be able to converse with all types of people that visit and there are a lot. 40 to 50 on an average day and 1-2 hundred on weekends is not a surprise. You must be able to answer "Is that lake all Winnipesukee" and "where is Mt.Washington and MT. Major" many times a day with a smile which is really not hard to do at all. So looking for fires locating them as best you can and reporting them to the proper agency is what it is all about. AND taking a Bathroom break and eating luch whenever you can,but not together
I probably have left out something but I can always answer questions that may be more of interest at a later time. Thanks for asking.