The Pulaski

The Pulaski

This article relates to Hotshot

In Hotshot: A Life on Fire, author River Selby states more than once that their favorite firefighting tool is a Pulaski. The implement is similar to an axe one might use for chopping wood, but it terminates in a two-sided head, with an axe blade on one side and an adze or mattock on the other. (An adze is similar to a hoe, with the blade mounted perpendicularly to the handle, more appropriate for digging than cutting.) It's regularly used in all sorts of forest maintenance work, as the axe blade can chop through roots and downed logs while the adze blade can be employed to dislodge smaller debris and pull the hacked material out of the way.

The Pulaski has an interesting history, tracing its origins back to The Great Fire of 1910. Also known as The Big Blowup, the wildfire is thought to be one of the largest in U.S. history; an estimated 1,736 fires burning across Washington, Idaho, and Montana merged together, scorching some 3 million acres over just two days, August 20-21. It claimed the lives of 87 people, 78 of whom were firefighters.

Edward "Big Ed" Pulaski was one of the hundreds battling the blaze. At 42, the Ohioan had been a member of the Forest Service for just two years when the fire broke out. He was responsible for a crew of 45, working near Wallace, Idaho, when on August 20 the wind shifted, trapping them. What happened next is the stuff of legend. Relying on his knowledge of the area, Pulaski led his men through swirling ash and embers to an old mineshaft, the opening of which was just six feet high and five feet wide, and it only went back 250 feet. He stayed at the mouth of the tunnel protecting his men, urging them farther back into the cavern even while the fire began sucking the air out of it. The entire group soon passed out from a lack of oxygen. After a few hours the fire had burned past the mine, and the men started to regain consciousness. They expected to find Pulaski dead, but although he was badly injured, he was able to lead them back to Wallace (which had been destroyed by that time). He lost one eye, his lungs were permanently damaged, and he spent a month in the hospital recovering from severe burns, but he saved the lives of 39 of his men (one was killed by a falling tree on the way to the mine, the others succumbed to asphyxiation). The mine entrance is now known as The Pulaski Tunnel and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Pulaski went back to work as soon as he was released from the hospital, and in 1911 was approached by his supervisor, William G. Weigle, about creating a multipurpose firefighting tool that would combine a shovel, an axe, and an adze. Pulaski created several prototypes in his home blacksmithing shop, eventually dropping the shovel from the design. A final version was available by 1913, and by 1920 he’d convinced the Forest Service to issue the tool—already being called a Pulaski—to its firefighting crews; by 1936 it was standard issue equipment.

The Pulaski has changed very little since its creation; at some point the Forest Service modified the shape of the adze blade to improve its cutting ability, and the wooden handle is often replaced with plastic or fiberglass to make it lighter. Otherwise, it looks very similar to Pulaski's original design. His personal tool, with his initials etched into the side of the axe head, is on display at the Wallace District Mining Museum.

A Cal Guardsman practices with a Pulaski hand tool during hand crew training at Camp Roberts. Photo by Capt. Jason Sweeney, California National Guard, courtesy of Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

Filed under Medicine, Science and Tech

This "beyond the book article" relates to Hotshot. It originally ran in August 2025 and has been updated for the May 2026 paperback edition. Go to magazine.