I held a red card for wild land fire fighting right up to the time of my retirement and also have occasionally fought fires as part of my job (NPS archeologist). I am by no means an expert, since "occasionally" is the important work in the above sentence. When I did get my red card training (1993), I noticed with some amusement that only three people in our class of forty were even alive when I held my first NPS job, which was firefighter (one summer only). We didn't even have Nomex then.<br><br>I don't think that a fire shelter is a cost effective purchase. As you point out, training in the use of the shelter is required, and even then they do not always work - -people in deployed shelters have been overcome. Having purchased the shelter, where do you get the training?<br><br>Unless you are equipped, trained, and detailed to the fire as part of the operation, the best thing to do is to bug out when in the way of a fire.<br><br>I live in SoCal, and fires are high on my list of possible emergencies requiring my attention (right up there with earthquakes). In response to one nearby fire, I had the car packed and ready to go, in accord with our prepared plan, complete with sleeping three year old right on top of the pile. That was the night four units spent the night in the lot across the street. I did not feel then, or now, the need for a fire shelter.<br><br>Keeping the brush cleared from around structures, and other standard procedures, is probably more important in preserving life and property. You need a cleared area, the bigger the better, to deploy the fire shelter anyway.<br><br>Every situation is different, and there probably are situations where a fire shelter would make sense for the non-firefighter, but don't get your hopes up - they are not a panacea. If you do plan to get a shelter, a first purchase should be Nomex clothing, sturdy leather gloves, and be sure to wear non-synthetic socks and underclothing. Now those I do have.