Documentary: "Where There’s Smoke"

“Where There’s Smoke” is a documentary about wildland firefighters. It is directed by firefighter and filmmaker Sean Wilson, and examines the experiences of several wildland firefighting crews as they battle the elements during the largest wildland fires of the 2006 fire season.

The film follows various firefighting units from May to October of 2006.

• CAL FIRE Hemet Helitack (Helicopter 301)
• CAL FIRE Valley View Crew 3
• The Sierra Hotshots
• The Honeydew Volunteer Fire Department
• Fire Apparatus Engineer Douglas Record

It was shown widely on the Film Festival circuit, as well as on the Documentary Channel. Recently, it is currently being hosted at Sling.com . It is an excellently produced documentary and well worth taking the time to view… or share with friends.

Sean Wilson graduated from Humboldt State University with a Bachelors Degree in Film Production and is currently pursuing a career with CAL FIRE. This last fire season, Sean was promoted to a Limited Term Fire Apparatus Engineer (LT-FAE) position.

Note: In order to view the documentary, you might need to up date whichever Flash Media Player you are using. I recommend the Adobe Flash Player 10 if you are unable to view. It is easy to download and completely free. It works with the latest web browsers such Windows Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and Opera.
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CAL FIRE TV – CAL FIRE Hiring Seasonal Firefighters (Application Deadline Jan. 29)

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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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.”

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USFS Camp Pendleton Interagency Fire School – 2009

CAL FIRE – Riverside Co. Fire Department

It’s really bad when a Fire Captain (PIO) uses the term “back burn”……. What exactly did he actually mean to say??? “backfire”…. or “burn out”????  Those are two distinct and related terms (but not interchangeable) taught and tested of all entry level firefighters…. and S-110, S-130, and S-190 graduates. Proper terminology needs to be used by PIOs. There is a difference… and it matters… JMHO.