Wildland Fire Agencies: All Risk or Not?

“Wildland fire agencies respond to more types of emergencies than only wildland fire.They also respond to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks—any type of natural or manmade disaster or emergency could result in a request for Federal wildland fire resources. Thus, the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, may be called on to support response to and management of situations that involve multiple agencies.” ~ Gordon Sachs, Emergency Management Specialist, USDA Forest Service.

The above quote is found in the current issue of Fire Management Today. There are a couple of excellent articles in the latest edition.

• Anchor Point: Fire Management Into the Future.
• Hired for Fire: Wildland Fire Management Projects Putting People To Work.
• Response Partnerships During Disasters: Emergency Support Function 4.
• Coping With Change.
• After-Action Reviews—Who Conducts Them?
• Mitigation on Alabama’s Gulf Coast: Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge.
• An Answer to a Burning Question: What Will the Forest Service Spend on Fire Suppression This Summer?
• Teaching Fire Ecology in Public Schools.
• Plow-Line Disturbance From Wildfire Suppression in Two Florida State Parks.
• Lessons From the Hayman Fire: Forest Understory Responses to the Scarify-and-Seed Postfire Rehabilitation Treatment.
• Wildland Fire Behavior and “The Course of Science” Flowchart: Is There a Connection?
• Fuels Treatments and Fire Models: Errors and Corrections.

Check it out. Usually Fire Management Today has some excellent articles with nuggets of great information. To view back issues of Fire Management Today or its predecessor Fire Control Notes all the way back to the 1930’s: CLICK HERE . 

If you really get a kick out of history….. CLICK HERE . It’s a pretty cool look back into the past… the current… and our future within the wildland fire community. Look at the recurring themes over the last decade or so in the various websites.

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Question to our viewers and contributors: Is the Gordon Sachs described above, the same “Gordon M. Sachs” that produced the following works of fire service literature?:
Officers Guide to Fire Service E.M.S. (1999)
Terrorism Emergency Response: A Workbook for Responders (2002)
The Fire and EMS Department Safety Officer (2001)
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Organizational Leadership, Teamwork, and a Just Culture – It’s Not Rocket Science… It’s Wildland Firefighting and Fire Management

 

“Wildland Fire Management is a unique blend of firefighting and resource management; an unlikely blend of the social and engineering sciences; a mixing of cultures and perspectives; dabblings of real psychology and sometimes unneeded psycho-babble; and a committed conglomerate of friends, peers, and co-workers all working towards the same goals of making our profession safer… more effective…. and more cost efficient to the public and to the communities that we serve. You gotta know where we came from, to know where we’re going. Add in a few lost friends along the journey, and it all becomes strikingly real and personal to folks contributing.”. ~ RamblingChief (comments@ramblingchief.com)

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“Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static “snapshots.” It is a set of general principles — distilled over the course of the twentieth century, spanning fields as diverse as the physical and social sciences, engineering, and management…. During the last thirty years, these tools have been applied to understand a wide range of corporate, urban, regional, economic, political, ecological, and even psychological systems. And systems thinking is a sensibility — for the subtle interconnectedness that gives living systems their unique character.” ~ Peter Senge, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.)

Dr. Peter Senge is a Senior Scientist and the Director of the M.I.T. Sloan School for Organizational Learning. He is known as one of the original principal scientists to study organizational learning, and apply it into a systems based approach. Much of his teachings and research closely follow the basic concepts championed by Dr. James Reason, widely known for his research into “human error”; building safer systems and approaches; and introducing many of us to the Swiss Cheese Model of Accident Causation.

Dr. Senge’s background is closely related to (and complimentary of) the current research being undertaken by such scientists as Dr. Karl Weick and Dr. Kathleen M. Sutcliffe in developing the High Reliability Organization concept within the wildland fire community.

Dr. Senge’s book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization is highly recognized as a cornerstone within the Just Culture movement.

A reviewer of his book stated the following,

“He (Dr. Senge) argues that only those organizations that are able to adapt quickly and effectively will be able to excel in their field or market. In order to be a learning organization there must be two conditions present at all times. The first is the ability to design the organization to match the intended or desired outcomes and second, the ability to recognize when the initial direction of the organization is different from the desired outcome and follow the necessary steps to correct this mismatch. Organizations that are able to do this are exemplary.” ~ Reviewer, “The Fifth Discipline“.

Month in Review: Ramblings of a Chief Officer

As of this morning (28-Dec-09), we have had over 1600 unique visitors to this website in the last thirty days.  

Also, we have had just over 300 (actually 304) folks as return/continuing visitors and contributors to this website.

Not too shabby for a website/weblog just getting started a little over a month ago with such a unique audience and following as diverse as the wildland firefighting community.

Thank You to everyone who has contributed towards our continued success in this very first month. YOU are the reason our voices are being heard…. and being listened to.

We owe it all to you. We can do better as wildland firefighting Chief Officers and stewards of our profession…. and we’re listening to your comments from the entry level folks, to the long retired LEADERS from the past…. and all folks in between.

Take Care… Keep Safe and those around you Safer.
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Reorganization at the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)

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Recently, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) has been undergoing several significant changes to better serve NWCG members agencies. Here are some of the changes:

First, NWCG has been broken into three branches. Each branch has a Branch Coordinator assigned. Their duties are described as: The Branch Coordinators are advocates for the current NWCG Committees. Their mission is to improve the connections and coordination between NWCG’s Committees and the NWCG Executive Board and to streamline the development and implementation of standards and policies across the wildland fire community.

The new Branch Coordinators are:

Elaine Waterbury

Branch Coordinator

Policy, Planning, and Management

 
 
 
 

Paul Schlobohm
Branch Coordinator
Equipment and Technology

Tim Blake
Branch Coordinator
Preparedness

Secondly, the former NWCG “Working Groups” have been renamed into “Committees” and their web addresses have changed.

Under the Policy, Planning, and Management Branch sit these new committees:

1. Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee (CEPC). Contact: John Owens.
2. Fire Policy Committee (FPC). Contact: Dick Bahr.
3. Fuels Management Committee (FMC). Contact: Erik Christiansen.
4. Interagency Fire Planning Committee (IFPC). Contact: Becky Brooks.
5. Smoke Committee (SMOC). Contact: Pete Lahm.
6. Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Committee (WUIMC). Contact: Will May.

Under the Equipment and Technology Branch sit these new committees:

1. Equipment Technology Committee (ETC). Contact: Tory Henderson.
2. Fire Environment Committee (FENC). Contact: Kelly Martin.
3. Information Technology Committee (ITC). Contact: Shari Shelter.
4. National Interagency Aviation Committee (NIAC). Contact: Susie Bates.

Under the Preparedness Branch sit these committees:

1. Incident Business Committee (IBC). Contact: Sarah Fisher.
2. National Response Framework/NIMS Committee (NRF/NIMS). Contact: Gordon Sachs.
3. Risk Management Committee (RMC). Contact: Michelle Ryerson.
4. Operations and Workforce Development Committee (OWDC). Contact: Vince Mazzier.

Under each of the various committees, you will find various subcommittees such as:

Within the Fire Environment Committee, you will find these subcommittees –

* Fire Behavior Subcommittee
* Fire Danger Subcommittee
* Fire Weather Subcommittee
* National Predictive Services Subcommittee
* Fire Reporting Subcommittee

Or within the Risk Management Committee, you will find these subcommittees –

* Federal Fire and Aviation Safety Team
* Six Minutes For Safety Task Team
* Fire Fit Task Group
* WFSTAR Task Group

Undoubtedly, these changes are most likely for the better, and will help to streamline some of the NWCG processes. Likewise, I think it will help by keeping committees from working on things that the other committees have been working on, thus reducing duplicate efforts.

What is disturbing though, is the general lack of participation by the Forest Service Line Officers in providing experienced members for Chair, Co-Chair, and committee member positions on the various committees and subcommittees. Like it or not, these committees are providing some sort of national direction in wildland fire management for program safety, efficiency, and effectiveness. You have to have the appropriate subject matter experts (SMEs) from the field on these committees to provide real world credibility and accountability…. and these folks are the local fire program managers and firefighters with the greatest experience.

The Forest Service Fire Program either needs to lead, follow, participate, or get out of the way in firefighting partnerships such as NWCG… CWCG… CAL CHIEFS… FIRESCOPE… NFPA… and IAFC… etc… JMHO.

I’ve stated my opinion, now I’d like to hear yours. Please reply by clicking on the comments button below, or by commenting at comments@ramblingchief.com .
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Scheduled "Fire Camp Chat" Session on Wildland Fire Issues?

Should we schedule a regular chat session? If so, what is the best time?

Please reply in the comments section below, or send an email to comments@ramblingchief.com .

FIRE CAMP CHAT is provided by this website and blog completely free to our viewers and supporters. It does not collect personal info or save chat logs.

It is simple to register, and even more simple to share your wisdom and experience as a firefighter. Unlike some “other” websites, we will not use, share, or otherwise disclose the info sharing that folks freely contribute as they communicate among their peers.

Day to Day Thoughts, Suggestions, Ramblings, and Info Sharing for Chief Officers, Fire Officers, Leaders, and Senior Firefighters within the Wildland Fire Community… Folks who have “Seen the Elephant” while working in the Fire & EMS Services. Everyone is welcome to view and contribute to this blog, and share your experience and wisdom. Take a look around and enjoy your visit.

New California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Promo Video

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Folks,

Check this out. Here is a new California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) video depicting their expanding “wildfire” and “forestry” mission.

It is a long upload, but well worth the time waiting for it to load.

To view the video: CLICK HERE (huge 128 Mb .wmv file. Best to right click and “save as” for future viewing). Make sure you watch and listen to the new CAL FIRE video produced in collaboration between the CDF Firefighters Union (CAL FIRE L-2881) and CAL FIRE management.

Here is the previous CAL FIRE promo video:

Federal Wildland Fire Service anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
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Editorial – Station Fire Congressional Inquiry Request

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We agree with the editorial piece below. Something is critically broken within the federal wildfire program… and it needs to be fixed soon. Congressional hearings and increased oversight of the Forest Service is a positive move forward in the right direction. 

Most wildland firefighters and fire managers agree that the whitewash document (see posts below) that the Forest Service “land managers” produced didn’t fully address community concerns, nor did it address issues brought forward by cooperating fire agencies.

Folks, we can do better. We owe it to our firefighters and our community.

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Our View: The fire next time
Pasadena Star News
Link: Opinions


IT’S not that we necessarily think a congressional investigation will fully uncover what went wrong in the early fight against the Station Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains.


It’s that some authorities clearly need the kick in the pants that the threat of such an investigation by Congress will bring.


So Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, was absolutely right to say this week that he wants a hard House look at just why the United States Forest Service declined to use the aerial resources that were available to knock down the fire before it spread.


For the rest of the editorial piece, please CLICK HERE ...

When Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge, who represents the area at the front line of the blaze, asked authorities to coordinate on an analysis of what went right and wrong, “Cal Fire responded appropriately,” Portantino said. “The Forest Service was still mulling the request over and never got back to us to say if they would participate.”

Brotherhood: Life in the FDNY

Over the holidays, I was lucky enough to be introduced to this documentary. It shows many of the things such as comraderie, hazards, leadership, and the pain that exists within the firefighting brotherhood and our community. Even though it is focused primarily on FDNY, many of the key messages and lessons are applicable throughout the wildland firefighting community.

Give it a watch. Once you click it, you can re-size the video to full screen if you like. (Note: There are lots of instances of firefighters not using SCBA. This is not a practice supported by this website). The documentary was recorded/produced in 2003 and 2004.

Blast from the Past – Ever wanted to look back at your favorite websites?

If you like history like I do, you’ll love these links to archives from some of your favorite websites.

Here are some great web archives to see just how far we’ve really come within the wildland fire community in the last decade. All quotes taken directly from website archives. It’s always good to look back at where we were in the last decade… and where we want to be in the next.

The FWFSA website archives: CLICK HERE .

“FWFSA is a non-profit, non-partisan professional association established BY and FOR federal wildland firefighters with the purpose of fostering acquaintance, cooperation, efficiency and harmony amongst all firefighters. FWFSA is NOT a labor organization and will NOT form collective bargaining units for the purpose of entering into negotiations with local management officials regarding matters of employment. FWFSA is affiliated with the International Association of Fire Fighters AFL/CIO. FWFSA intends to work WITH national and regional officials to achieve its stated goals and objectives.”

The Wildland Firefighter Foundation website archives: CLICK HERE .

“To establish and maintain a Wildland Firefighters National Monumnet, at NIFC –the National Interagency Fire Center; to provide emergency financial assistance to families of fallen fire-fighters (past, present & future) and to aid with support of their young children; to educate the public about fire ecology, wildland fire and natural resource management; and to strengthen partnerships that reflect interagency and private sector collaboration.”

The Wildlandfire.com website archives: CLICK HERE .

“Greetings heroes, glad you found us! Take your boots off, put your feet up and “take five”. Here you’ll find the thoughts, opinions, rumors, experiences, and computer savvy of your peers. No Jaws-O-Life, or hooks & ladders, no bullshit, (well. . . maybe some, and more than a little smoke), no advertisements, frames or java. Just wildland fire information, links, and photos of ground pounders, engine slugs, and rotorheads.”

The Forest Service website archives: CLICK HERE .

“The phrase, Caring for the Land and Serving People, captures the Forest Service mission. As set forth in law, the mission is to achieve quality land management under the sustainable multiple-use management concept to meet the diverse needs of the people… Mike Dombeck, Chief, USDA Forest Service.”

 The Nat’l Wildfire Coordinating Group website archives: CLICK HERE .

“The purpose of NWCG is to establish an operational group designed to coordinate programs of the participating wildfire management agencies.”

The Wildland Fire Leadership website archives: CLICK HERE .

“The most essential element of successful wildland firefighting is competent and confident leadership. The wildland fire leadership development program has been established to provide an avenue for you to improve essential leadership skills during all stages of your career. The ultimate goal is to develop leaders with a bias for action who can make timely decisions in high stress situations and who are effective at getting the job done without compromising firefighter safety.”