San Bernardino National Forest Offers Emergency Medical Technician Training (EMT)

The San Bernardino National Forest has been authorized as a Basic Life Support (BLS) provider agency since it was first accredited by the Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency (ICEMA) in 1996. The San Bernardino National Forest BLS program operates under the strict medical direction and program oversight of ICEMA, and participates in a QA/QC program as mandated by California Title 22. As provided for in Title 22, medical direction for BLS programs in California is provided by local EMSA regulation, authorization, and protocols, as well as participation in a QA/QC program.

The San Bernardino National Forest’s BLS program was developed directly in response to a horrific line of duty death that happened during the 1987 fire season. Captain Bruce Visser tragically died after being struck by a motorcycle on the Klamath National Forest. He died after local fire department responders chose to cancel an air ambulance and transport him via ground “since he seemed stable” and the Forest Service folks couldn’t argue. He died of internal hemorrhage enroute to the hospital over 90 minutes away.

Over the next decade, folks started going to EMT classes, and advocating for EMS training and equipment. Unit by unit, folks started buying EMS gear with their limited station budgets.

As time went on, the word spread that the USFS firefighters had trained and equipped fire engines. Soon, local cooperators started requesting them since they were the closest responders. A Duty to Act developed.

Recently, the San Bernardino National Forest has equipped all of their fire engines, crew carriers, and helicopter modules with Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDS) . In addition, each of those modules carry Epi-Pens for employee administration if needed. BOTH of these programs have direct medical direction and authorization in place for their specified use.

In addition to the BLS programs, San Bernardino National Forest instituted a citizen AED program (also authorized by Title 22). In each District Office and the Forest Supervisors Office, AEDS are placed for both the protection of employees as well as the visiting public. Employees receive basic first aid training…. and American Heart Association CPR Training….. both include modules on the use of AEDS.

I’m pretty honored to have been around in the earlier days of EMS in the counties I’ve served… and participate as a “forestry technician” in EMSA QC Reviews… I’ve been even more blessed to help bring a successful program to the agency that I love and see struggling so bad to embrace the future. We have a functioning local model… that can be applied regionally and nationally as needed. It’s not rocket science…. It’s Fire Science.

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Danny Rhynes Interagency Training Center

602 S. Tippecanoe Ave.
San Bernardino, CA 92408
(909) 382-2984 Fax (909) 382-4192
Email: drtc@fs.fed.us
Course Dates: February 13, 2010 – May 22, 2010

Hours: This class will be held one day a week on Saturday from 0800-1800.

Location: Danny Rhynes Interagency Training Center 602 S. Tippecanoe Ave San Bernardino, CA 92408.
Length: Estimated 160 hours of lecture and 72 hours of lab for a total of 9 units.

Nomination deadline: January 15, 2010

Tuition: $300 per student (Upon successful completion of the course, students are eligible for certification as an EMT Basic, and are able to register for the National Registry examination).

Instructor: Provided by Victor Valley College who is affiliated with the San Bernardino National Forest.

Prerequisites: High school Diploma or GED. Student must be 18 years of age to be certified. Current Healthcare provider CPR Card is required. Current negative tuberculosis test is also required.

Course Description: The Emergency Medical Technician course is an intensive 16 week course that will provide training in the recognition of the signs and symptoms of illness and traumatic injuries. The course will consist of classroom lectures, manipulative skills, and clinical internships. The internships require a minimum of four (12) twelve-hour shifts in a local emergency room and transport ambulance. This course is approved by the Inland County Emergency Medical Agency (ICEMA). For orientation information visit the EMT website at www.vvc.edu/academic/emt/

This class meets EMSA regulations and upon successful completion of the course, students are eligible for certification as an EMT Basic, and are able to register for the National Registry examination. The estimated fee associated to sign up for this exam is $90.00 which will need to be paid for by the student.

All Students must be in Uniform

Items to bring to class: Safety Gear full Personal Protective Equipment; nomex shirt, boots, eye protection etc.

Nomination Due Date: Please submit NWCG Nomination Forms through your training officer to the Danny Rhynes Interagency Training Center (DRTC) via email at drtc@fs.fed.us or fax (909) 382-4192.

Coordinator: Questions can be directed to Kristel Johnson (909) 382-2984, or by email at drtc@fs.fed.us.
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Want more info in our participation in such things as:

• Firefighter Burn Treatment Success: Re-Institution of the CDF Burn Treatment Standard and The NWCG Standard Protocols for Wildland Firefighter Burns?
• Firefighter Trauma Treatment Recommendations
• Smoke Exposure and Research?
• Cyanide Exposure and WTF?
• Excellent Knowledge of the Federal OWCP Processes?
• Forest Service Honor Guard?
• Why we support the Wildland Firefighter Foundation?

Email: Comments@ramblingchief.com

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“.

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.”

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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Introducing the "Fire Camp Flea Market & Commissary"

As some of you may have noticed, over the last two days, a new link on the left column has appeared. It is titled, Fire Camp Flea Market & Commissary – Books, Gear, and Gadgets for Firefighters.


The Fire Camp Flea Market & Commissary is an online store associated with this weblog. 100% of the proceeds earned through this humble online storefront will be donated to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.


Please…. check it out. I’m sure you’ll like some of the items that are on display. If you have suggestions on additions, please let us know by sending an email to: Admin (at) RamblingChief (dot) com.


Here are the current categories of items included in the store:

— Must Have Firefighter Gear
— Books on Leadership
— Books on Wildland Fire
— Books on Safety & Survival
— Fire Videos and DVDs
— Firefighter Clothing
— Firefighter Gadgets
— Ideas for Christmas Shopping