It was the darkest day in David Harrison's long career with the state Forest Fire Service.

On July 22, 1977, four firefighters died while battling a blaze that blackened 2,300 acres of forest in Bass River Township - one of the highest death tolls from battling a forest fire in the state's history.

Harrison, then a division warden in the service, was directing firefighting efforts from a helicopter when he spotted an ominous column of black smoke.

Below, he saw a burned-out truck and two bodies laying about 600 feet away. Two more bodies later were found inside.

The four dead firefighters were volunteers from the West Creek Fire Company in Eagleswood Township, Ocean County. No one knows for sure what happened, but the best guess is that their truck conked out and they were trapped in the burning woods.

"It was the closest I ever came to quitting," said Harrison, who has worked 34 years for the fire service. "Four men are dead for what?. Nobody ever tells you thanks because you saved a couple trees in a forest fire."

Today, a framed picture of the charred fire truck hangs in the Trenton office of the 50 year-old Harrison, who is now head of the state Forest Fire Service.

Beneath the picture are the words: "That others may live."

Since the state Forest Fire Service was organized in the 1920s, a spokesman said, seven firefighters have died in the line of duty.

The Forest Fire Service can marshal more than 2,000 paid firefighters from three divisions that cover the northern, southern and central portions of the state.

Both men and women are on the force. At least four women are on firefighting crews. Another woman is a firetower observer and one more has been assigned to that job.

Firefighters have to be at least 18 years old. Most get an hourly salary between $3.35 (minimum wage) and $5.35.

If their worst fears are realized and the Pinelands becomes an inferno again, their resources will be tested to the fullest.

Ray Holmes, in charge of firefighting units that protect Burlington County, said there is never enough help or equipment under such circumstances, but the service is better prepared today than it was in April 1963, when numerous fires swept through more than 186,000 acres of woodlands around the state for three days.

He said the service has that experience under its belt. it also now has more trucks, tractors and plows and a bigger firefighting force. In an all-out effort, crews would be drawn from every division to the most dangerous trouble spots, Holmes said.

The emphasis would be on saving lives. Protecting property is usually left to local fire companies, which are better equipped to do the job.

Unlike structural fires, forest fires move, and sometimes shift directions, unexpectedly. They accelerate at great speeds, sometimes sounding like a runaway freight train, and generate intense, stifling heat.

"The potential of death is ever-present," said Alfred Smith, training officer for Division B, which covers Burlington, Ocean, Monmouth and parts of Middlesex Counties.

The leading edge, called a head fire, releases the most heat and energy and is the hardest to control.

Initially, the aim is to contain the fire to a specific area before working to extinguish it, Smith said. If a direct attack fails and the fire grows too large, crews fight fire with fire.

They set a backfire in an area bordered by a lake, road or plowed field. A backfire is set to clear vegetation in the path of the head fire. Nothing is left to burn and its advance is stopped.

It takes a good rain, ultimately, to put out many fires, which continue to smolder in the ground, sometimes for weeks.

Smith said firefighters are trained to work as close as possible to the burning edge of a fire. This way they can find their way to safety and catch a breather.

"We usually do not take more people with us than can fit in the (fire truck) cab," Smith said. Normally that means a driver, hoseman and helper, who can climb in the cab and close the windows for protection from the heat, he said.

Most people rub their eyes when smoke starts to burn sting. But the debris can tear the eyes up, Smith said.

"We tell our people don't rub, just let them get wet," he said. "Things will get blurry but you'll be able to see what you're doing."

A course designed by the state teaches recruits the ropes. An introductory eight-hour course includes methods of attack and suppression, water handling, weather observations and other basics.

A minimum of 40 hours classroom time is required, followed by at least two months of on-the-job training. Division B conducts the training at its headquarters in Woodland Township.

Volunteer firefighters in most Pinelands municipalities have some experience and knowledge about forest fires but they are trained mainly to fight structural fires. Some are trained, however, by the Forest Fire Service and are taken out on controlled burns to get the hang of it.

The training, Smith said, boils down to several basic commandments:

Know what the fire is doing.

Know the weather and the forecast

Fight the fire -aggressively -but always take safety precautions.

Maintain radio contact -with surrounding forces and never venture off alone.

Always plan an escape route, because you will succumb to fatigue before you outrun a forest fire.

Fighting forest fires requires great mobility. "That's why our equipment is smaller and more compact (than municipal fire trucks), so we can actually drive through the woods to run a fire down," said Joseph Hughes, assistant state fire warden.

"You can't do that with a large pumper," Hughes said

A 1,000-gallon tanker is too large to navigate back roads and roam the woods, Smith said. Nothing larger than 500 gallons is practical, he added. The Forest Fire Service usually employs 200-or 300-gallon trucks, which fill up at creeks or small streams.

Standard equipment also includes bulldozers, tractors, plows and planes. Bulldozers allow firefighters to get past heavy growth, when trucks can't push trees over.

The backs of some bulldozers have a piece of equipment that looks like a garden plow. It turns two furrows and opens the earth to expose the fire to stop its spread, Smith said, because sand will not burn.

Every year, the Forest Fire Service rents 10 planes used in cropdusting to fight fires from the air. The planes drop up to 300 gallons of water to control the fire until ground trucks arrive.

Firefighters have to rely on their wits for protection. But heavy-duty clothing from head to toe provides an added layer of safety.

All exposed skin is covered with fire-retardant clothing to protect it from radiation burns. Heavy cotton or wool clothing is used because manmade acetates and nylons, Smith said, will melt and stick to the skin.

Goggles, which cover most of the face, are worn along with helmets, gloves, heavy jackets and boots. oxygen masks are not necessary outdoors, where, unlike a house fire, smoke dissipates. Nonetheless, oxygen is available on trucks.

A working knowledge of botany also helps in fighting forest fires. Smith said a large stand of pines with high tree tops probably won't spread rapidly because it will take a long time to fully ignite.

A young stand of pine with solid needles, leaves and branches from the ground to the tree top, on the other hand, combusts quickly Smith said.

Laurel bushes produce a lot of smoke and make breathing difficult. Fires from cedar trees flash, roar and smoke but burn out fast.

If smoke from poison ivy gets into your throat, it can cause lungs to swell, and respiratory damage.

After the fire is extinguished, the investigation begins. The division warden combs the area much like a fire marshal searches a house.

Division B Fire Warden Holmes said the tops of grass fall into the burning ground and leave a trail pointing in the direction of the fire. Holmes, who conducts the investigations, said three or four fires down the road indicate arson, the most prevalent cause of forest fires.

"I'd say 99 percent of the time the person who is responsible for the fire is going to stick around," said Holmes, who sometimes takes pictures of fire watchers to see if the same people continually show up.