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.

Act Now: $25 VISA Gift Card Offer

Update: As of 11:00 AM today, all six VISA Gift Cards have been awarded to new FIRE CAMP CHAT members and to our three new volunteers interested in serving as chatroom moderators and contributors. I thought it would take days… not hours to accomplish. Thanks to everyone for your continued support. leadership. and participation.

As an effort to get the over 400 unique visitors to this site so far… and the nearly 220 return visitors to participate in FIRE CAMP CHAT… I am offering the next three folks who register on FIRE CAMP CHAT the following incentive:

A $25 VISA Gift Card

In addition, I am offering a $25 Visa Gift Card to members already registered who are interested in becoming a moderator for FIRE CAMP CHAT. Currently, we have five moderator positions available with three vacancies that must be filled.

These six gift cards were generously donated by a strong supporter of wildland firefighter issues and of this blog.

Additional offers will be randomly given away in the future as things are donated in support of this website and our goals. Check back often… you’ll be amazed at what’s go’in on.

Admin Note: This website and blog is entirely not for profit. All owners, members, moderators, and contributors are volunteers and not compensated in any way. All proceeds generated from this website are donated directly to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, a 501(c)3 charitable foundation supporting the families of fallen and injured wildland firefighters. None of the views presented here are intended in any way to represent the views of the Wildland Firefighter Foundation or any other group.

Note: No personal information or contact info is obtained during the FIRE CAMP CHAT registration process. It is completely confidential and provided as a free service to the firefighting community at our expense.
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The Systematic Dismantling of Fire Leadership / Fire Program Management Within the United States Forest Service

In a fully anticipated show of top down bureaucracy and lack of understanding about it’s very own fire program, the Forest Service has once again canceled the Region 5 Chief Officer’s Workshop. As some of you might understand, the Region 5 Chief Officer’s Workshop was a yearly multi-level workshop featuring collaboration and information exchange. The workshop has been instrumental in addressing federal wildfire issues such as recruitment & retention; firefighter safety; emerging technology; risk management; and countless other wildland fire topics. The workshop is probably best known for the synergy and voice gained after the 2003 Southern California wildfires, and the realization by firefighters and fire managers that several past events (South Canyon, Thirtymile, Cramer) were crippling the federal land management programs… or per se.. the various “Land Management Agencies” in their inability to manage complex wildland fire programs. In all actuality, it showed exactly why a complete re-organiation of the federal wildfire program is needed… and soon.

The workshop participants typically consisted of the following groups working collaboratively on issues:

• The Chief Officers Group
• The Hotshot Group
• The Engine Captains Group
• The Helicopter Managers Group
• The Prevention Group
• The Dispatchers Group

Here is what the Region 5 Fire Director sent out as an explanation:

I am deeply disappointed that we will not hold the Chief Officer’s Workshop yet another year. Your committee did everything asked of them to the detail and in the time asked. The failure was not theirs, and as Allen pointed out we received excellent support from Joni Cook in the Chief’s Office. Just exactly why or how our request languished in the Washington Office for six-months without action or inquiry is unknown.

It was my responsibility to do all I could to impress on others the importance of this meeting to our cohesion and our effectiveness. I should have been more diligent in keeping the issue fresh and the pressure on to move it forward. For these failures I alone am responsible.

I will engage with the committee shortly after the first of the year to begin the process anew; with greater determination and focus.

In the meantime it is important that the key attributes of the workshop not die with it. I urge all of you to hold video conferences, informal meetings, and use whatever other methods that are available to communicate within and among your groups and committees. The intent of ensuring cohesion and the sharing of lessons learned within and between forests, crews, and leadership must be realized regardless of whether we have a workshop or not. I would recommend inter-forest preparedness reviews and meetings, resource type-specific workshops within your province or group of provinces, or other creative means that achieve the end-state of honing yourselves to meet the challenges of 2010. Knowing your creative genius, I have every confidence you will do just that.

May we all have a successful and safe 2010!

-ed-

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Ed Hollenshead

Director – FAM

Pacific Southwest Region

Instead, someone at the Regional Office and Washington Office levels  has determined it is more important that Fire Managers and Incident Management Team Command and General Staff members attend the following:

Date: December 11, 2009

Subject: GACC Level Continuous Improvement Sessions

To: Forest Supervisors, Fire Managers and Staff

I am requesting you to attend one of two important 2-day wildland fire management workshops to be held between March 8 and 15, 2009. I want each of you to be in attendance or have an acting that will bring back information. Please hold these days on your calendar. Exact dates will be announced soon. Workshops will be held at McClellan and at a yet to be determined location in southern part of the state.

To prepare for the upcoming fire season and develop a more common approach to fire management, a “Continuous Improvement in Decision Making on Large Fires” workshop is being held at the Geographic Area Coordination Center level. The purpose of these sessions is to provide an opportunity for dialog regarding the challenges fire managers and line officers are facing; and potential methods and alternatives that could be implemented.

In recent years the agency has been experimenting with systematic changes in fire management to ease resource demands, mitigate firefighter exposure and reduce costs of large “problem fires”.

Even though phenomenal efforts have been made to improve effectiveness and reduce risks, additional refinements in managing these “problem fires” are needed. The focus of the GACC level workshop is to share information with leaders at the Forest, Incident Management Team and Coordination/Dispatch level throughout the state. I expect these leaders to have a common understanding of their roles and engage in a collaborative effort of decision making when managing large fires.

Two sessions have been scheduled for agency administrators and their staffs and Incident Management Team Command and General staff members. The workshops will be facilitated by the Atlanta NIMO team, who will provide the framework for a common approach to fire management and the protocols involved in Continuous Improvement in Large Fire Management.

The sessions will last two days. Day One will be an overview of Continuous Improvement with Forest Service expectations as to how large fires are managed. It will include topics such as risk management, line officers roles, social networking, importance of preseason stakeholder engagements and resource allocations. Day Two will be centered on a simulation involving multiple fires within the GACC and the decisions and expectations that can arise from these.

With our busy schedules and constant demands I felt it was important to get this information out to you now, so that time can be set aside for this important engagement. More information will follow within the next month.

If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact (snipped to protect the innocent).

/s/ Randy Moore

RANDY MOORE

Regional Forester

It is a pretty disappointing time within the Forest Service and other federal wildland fire agencies. All I can say is WTF are they thinking everytime decisions like these are made. The truth of the matter is… these decisions aren’t being made by firefighters nor by fire managers… but by folks who are not qualified to be setting policy and direction for a fire management program that they are not qualified to lead, supervise, or manage…. or in any way provide effective oversight.

When folks are allowed to stop communication as they are currently being allowed to do… things crumble from the inside – out…. and it’s usually from the backlash in which the first small cracks & holes appear… presenting ripe conditions for latent conditions to overwhelm, and active failures to occur with regularity in the system. We can do better. One senior fire manager stated it like this: “It is hard to gain supporters for positive change while you [as an agency] are circling the drain… especially when all you’re used to giving them is toilet paper and promises to hold on to … and fond memories of great sunsets that they all used to enjoy.”

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Thoughts? Please comment by clicking the comments link…. or by e-mailing your thoughts to: Admin@RamblingChief.com

FORUMS – MODERATION OR NOT?

Blast from the Past (November 22nd):

Forums and Blogs: Moderation or Not?
Link Here

When does “moderation” become “censorship” ? Look at some other blogs and websites as an example of ways to not perform…. as countless Leaders have ran away over the years (Some ran away early on… some limped away injured…. some stayed but were eventually censored).

In some blogs and discussions forums, the administrators, moderators, and some users exhibit characteristcs of:

Multiple Moniker Disorder Syndrome (MMDS).

Not a very good discussion format or family friendly atmosphere trying to gain supporters and friends.

JMHO.

Folks who are so afraid of peer-to-peer communication and must rely upon monikers and anonymity…. not so good. Bad discussion model to follow and promote if folks are interested in improving firefighter safety and mission effectiveness.

At this blog, we stress “Everyone is welcome to view and contribute to this blog, and share your experience and wisdom. Take a look around and enjoy your visit.”

By the way… We also have a free and minimally moderated chatroom for all firefighters (Toolbar: Top Left). The only times folks get booted are if they violate the basics….. Duty…. Respect… Integrity. In my experience as a firefighter, rarely do those basic tenants ever get abused….. and so far…. nobody has ever gotten booted, moderated, or censored here….. and we’re up to over 300 unique visitors… and over 140 return visitors. Not too shabby for a three week old blog… JMHO.

This Week’s Spotlight Award: The FWFSA

This week’s SPOTLIGHT AWARD goes to the FWFSA

The FWFSA (Federal Wildland Fire Service Association) is an employee association seeking to improve the pay, benefits, and working conditions for federal wildland firefighters nationwide. As part of this employee directed and sponsored mission, the FWFSA hopes to also participate in (and foster) advances in safety, effectiveness, and efficiency within all wildland fire programs.

The FWFSA is comprised of firefighters, family members, supporters, and retirees from the following federal wildland firefighting agencies:

Bureau of Land Management
U.S. Forest Service
National Park Service
Bureau of Indian Afairs
Fish and Wildlife Service
DoD – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Park Rangers)
DoD – U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (Park Rangers)
DoD – U.S. Air Force (Park Rangers)

In all of the above employee groups, the profession of wildland firefighting, EMS, visitor protection & safety has been relegated to “other duties as assigned” without any emphasis on their actual duties and responsibilities….. commonly known in such archaic federal employee classification systems as “forestry technicians”, “range technicians”, “park rangers”, and “biological sciences technicians”.

The FWFSA has a large membership spanning all levels: From GS-2/3/4 “Entry Level Firefighters” to GS-9/11/12/13 “Chief Officers” across all agencies.

The FWFSA also has a diverse spectrum of membership throughout the United States… primarily dependent upon where the above wildland firefighting agencies exist and where wildland fire is a concern to communities.

The Current FWFSA Board of Directors (BoD) are:

President – Mike Preasmeyer (Klamath National Forest)
Vice President – Kenneth Kempter (San Bernardino National Forest)
Secretary/Treasurer – Jim Huston (Cleveland National Forest)

There are also several BoD Chapter Directors who have also volunteered in areas of membership and leadership.

The FWFSA employs Casey Judd as their Business Manager, advocate, and lobbyist to represent their membership goals. Casey Judd has many years of experience navigating the Halls of Congress as a firefighter advocate and former 6th District Vice President of the California Professional Firefighters. Casey has never been a wildland firefighter though, even though he shares the same passions that we all do…. through the synergistic partnership (between the FWFSA leadership and Casey Judd) that started back in the late 1990’s, the FWFSA’s goals and objectives are ongoing… and gaining momentum… and are stronger than ever before.

Recently, the FWFSA has been working on getting the National Wildfire Infrastructure Improvement & Cost Containment Act introduced before the Congress.

For more info on the FWFSA, please visit the following links:

FWFSA Home Page: http://www.fwfsa.org/index.htm

FWFSA Membership Info: http://www.fwfsa.org/membership.htm

FWFSA News & Info: http://www.fwfsa.org/news.htm

Conflict of Interst Statement: Ramblings of a Chief Officer is currently on the FWFSA BoD.

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