We fire oil with the firebox behind us. One of our fireman this year brought with him a piece of glass, the type found in welders hoods. He kept it in his pocket and to get a good look at his fire he peered through it. Simple and darn if it works! Said he picked it up firing on the C&TS.

As an eye care professional, I am compelled to chime in on this topic.

1. Safety First! Always wear some form of eye protection in and around machinery of any form.

2. A recognized phenomena of chronic exposure of the eyes to high temperature viewing is what is known as glassblowers cataract (definition from one source and link to another reference).

glassblowers' cataract : heat cataract posterior subcapsular opacities caused by chronic exposure to infrared (heat) radiation. Chief among the workmen to develop cataracts of this kind are chain makers, glass-blowers and stokers (emphasis added).

http://www.mrcophth.com/ophthalmologyonstamps/phototoxicity/d.html

Note that the one site states that development of this form of cataract requires decades (i.e. tens of years; chronic) exposure for this type of cataract to develop. For you 'young bucks' planning on firing for the next forty years, take heed!

3. The eyeglass frames with the leather sideshields are known in my profession as 'glacier glasses'. They are usually fitted with lenses that are highly protective at the ultra-violet end of the spectrum (not infra-red) and so they may need to be refitted with an appropriate lens to absorb infra-red radiation.

sc 'doc' lewis

I think it depends on how hard your working the engine. When I fired on the D&S, shades were a must for me, but the fire was white hot mile after mile. I found it easier to spot holes with the shades. I can see where the flip top lenses would be very handy at night, or anytime for that matter. Extra practice operating them with gloves on though!

Ryan

I've always thought that relying on sunglasses to fire is sort of a crutch. What happens if one day you don't have them? I think it's a good idea to be able to tell what's going on without tinted glasses.

I also agree that with experience, under normal circumstances, provided you're just trying to maintain a healthy fire under draft and not fix a problem, you don't actually have to spend a lot of time looking into it. Quick glances at the color of it should give you enough information about what's going on in there, along with watching the stack and an occasional good look to make sure you're not missing anything.

I think being able to read what the fire needs is better than strictly adhering to a pattern, but if you consistently feed the fire where it needs it the most, you'll start to predict where the next scoop will be needed, and end up falling into one anyway, if that makes sense. When I place a scoop, I'm usually not looking at where the coal is going, but rather using the opportunity to quickly scan the rest of fire and decide where I'm going to put the next one.

All that being said, I'm a big proponent of sunglasses in general. Extreme amounts of light are stressful to your body. When it's sunny and I wear them all day - at work or whatever - I feel substantially less fatigued at the end of the day. Once you're good at firing without them, there is nothing wrong with giving your eyes a break.