Find the Human Factor
I would like to take the opportunity to extend a special thank you to the members of the Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire conference planning committee. This group, led by Dr. Paul Woodard from the IAWF Board of Directors, pulled together a top-notch list of presenters for the welcoming talks through the closing remarks. I've thanked them before, but it's worth doing again for the work they put into making this event really come together. Those of you who weren't able to attend missed something special.
After the Fire Behavior and Fuels conference, this was only my second conference as president of the association. In that role, I've been offered many unsolicited opinions and suggestions from the participants. Those thoughts and comments are synthesized into post-conference surveys, after-action reviews and other discussions to help us learn how to better hold an event that not only meets but hopefully exceeds attendees' expectations. We view conferences and other information-exchange events that IAWF organizes or co-sponsors as an important portion of fulfilling our association's mission statement of “facilitating communication and providing leadership for the wildland fire community.” We want these conferences to be of value to you — we want them to be a success.
The field of social science (which includes human dimensions or factors) is relatively new in wildland fire, getting its start after the publication of Burning Questions by the National Wildland Fire Coordinating Group. That book defined some of the unknowns and goals in this science of people management. That book and the eighth IAWF Wildland Fire Safety Summit in 2005 were long enough ago that the research and academic communities have had a chance to gather momentum. In this Human Dimensions conference, they hit their stride.
During and especially following this conference I became aware of something special going on. This wasn't just work — people were enjoying and learning in mass. There was energy to the people attending, and by default to the event, that was truly unique. By the end, people were standing in ovation of presenters and organizers. When was the last time you saw that at a fire conference? The international representation wasn't one of the largest I've seen, but they were the most excited. People not only discovered the most recent work about managing people either at the fireline or in residential communities threatened by fire; they discovered exciting new avenues and ideas to explore. They networked in a frenzy during intimate lunch groups, coffee breaks and poster sessions. The most common comment so far in the post-conference survey was about this opportunity. One person said, “The most beneficial aspect of attending this conference was in making contacts with other professionals, for future collaboration possibilities.” They left the conference bending my ear with “let's do this again — soon,” and “let's do this in my country next.”
Very preliminary results from our post-conference survey show that 97% of the respondents rated the conference as very productive or somewhat productive. And 78% of them would definitely or probably attend another Human Dimensions conference.
Now comes the hard part — repeating the success story. We hope to see you at our next conference in Jackson, Wyo., in September for The '88 Fires: Yellowstone and Beyond, where we will explore what we learned in that “once in a lifetime” event, and look at where fire management has come since that fire season 20 long years ago.
International Assn. of Wildland Fire
P.O. Box 261
Hot Springs, S.D. 57747-0261
ph: 605-890-2348
fax: 206-600-5113
iawf@iawfonline.org
To join the IAWF, visit www.iawfonline.org
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Wildfire Magazine
330 N. Wabash Ave.
Suite 2300
Chicago, Ill. 60611
Attn: Lisa Allegretti lisa.allegretti@penton.com
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