[2] Pulaski traveled west and worked as a miner, railroad worker, and ranch foreman before joining the forest service in 1908.

Drawing on his knowledge of the area and of the dynamics of forest fires, Pulaski led his men to safety in an abandoned prospector's mine.

Lying prone on the tunnel floor, all but five of the firefighters survived, though Pulaski himself suffered burns, eye and lung damage, and was temporarily blinded by the fire and smoke.

[9][10] American Singer-Songwriter Steve Earle wrote and recorded a song that largely recounts the story of Ed Pulaski's heroic actions and invention, "The Firebreak Line".

"[11] Planes: Fire and Rescue, the firetruck character voiced by Patrick Warburton is named "Pulaski" after the tool, or its inventor.