Hard and slow lessons come full circle

Two of these issues are leadership training and the ability to demonstrate practical leadership under stress. These have recently taken a critical step forward in the wildland fire community due to the new fire leadership program. This program includes actual operational implementation and use of technical skills that require a real world demonstration of their use along with leadership capabilities. This dynamic approach encourages supervisors and managers to show they can make decisions while still being in a monitored training environment. This is a significant improvement to the relatively static environment that existed during previous classroom-only based training exercises that lacked actual consequences as a result of one's decisions.

Until recently, people were “paper-qualified” and applied for a position, they often were assigned to that position whether or not they had previously demonstrated their actual skills or leadership abilities to perform the function. Fire personnel are now encouraged to demonstrate their leadership and technical skills in a live-incident environment.

Consistent application, continual practical training and a realistic evaluation system that aids improvement in core competencies are needed for this newly enacted leadership program to progress beyond the success of the initial implementation phase.

Awareness of how to properly refuse unsafe assignments among crews has significantly increased within the wildland fire community. But at the same time, fire managers must learn to recognize when they themselves are failing to adhere to established safety protocols in a changing fire environment. When firefighters and crews are put in a position where they feel they must turn down an assignment, it's generally because of a failure to adhere to safety protocols. It's every firefighters' right and responsibility to know how to state and document their reasons for using the turn-down protocols.

Individuals and crews may turn down an assignment as unsafe when:

• There is a violation of safe work practices,
• Environmental conditions make the work unsafe,
• They lack the necessary qualifications or experience, or
• Defective equipment is being used.

Until recently, there was a general mindset that only Hot Shot crews were able to turn down or offer alternative means to accomplish assignments based on established safety criteria. Now, the entire community has a standard protocol and a way to present their concerns and alternatives. “How to Properly Refuse Risk” is outlined in the Incident Response Pocket Guide at www.wildfirelessons.net/ Libr_RiskMgt.html.

An example of unreasonable-risk refusal occurred on a large fire during the 2000 season. An incident management team requested five separate Hot Shot crews to complete an unsafe indirect frontal assault down a ridge. The crews repeatedly turned down the initial assignment and offered alternatives.

The Hot Shot crews were subsequently criticized by overhead, including over the radio, for having “unfounded safety concerns.” The viable practical alternatives offered by the Hot Shot crews were not given consideration and dismissed as unacceptable. Five contract crews subsequently expressed that they felt they were then “forced” to take the assignment. The contract crews were all reported as stating they felt they had to take this inherently dangerous assignment because if they refused any assignment as contractors, word would get out, and thus jeopardize their ability to get future work.

A monitoring system needs to be established to ensure that the written turn-down standards are being properly used among all types of crews. Division supervisors, branch directors, operations sections chiefs and other overhead also need to ensure that they're making sound decisions on crew assignments based on the most current and expected fire behavior.

A most difficult challenge to overcome is getting resources to the line in a timely manner to be able to communicate with line overhead, noted two superintendents. On many large incidents, briefings last nearly an hour. By the time the briefing is over and crews reach their assignment location, some prime work time is lost.

We need to remember that the information given at the briefing is important, but it serves as only a guideline. Objectives set by the incident management team provide an outline of what is to be accomplished. Personnel can best discern the specific objectives of the work assignments once they are at the fire line. The goal should be to obtain the briefing information quickly, and take it out to the division to see how it works on the ground. Once at the work location, discuss any necessary modifications to the plan with the division and finalize tactics that can be used to get the job done safely. Clear and open communication with all division resources is imperative for success in this environment.

Likewise, operational debriefings at the end of each operational period contribute to the planning section receiving the most current fire information, including situational changes.

A Southern area Hot Shot crew devised a means to cut down on its multi-day, long-distance, back-and-forth drives during fire season. Contracted haulers using lowboy trailers are regularly employed by the crew to transport its rigs to the incident and back to its home unit. Implementing this procedure has improved the morale of the crew and its efficiency because crew members can go home and rest instead of constantly driving three to five days across the country. Wear and tear on the crew vehicles has been significantly reduced. Contact Tim (T.J.) Wharton, Cherokee National Forest Hot Shot superintendent, at 423-743-5926 for details.

A large fire in Colorado burned across the valley from the station where a newly organized Hot Shot crew was undertaking seven weeks of initial training. The crew, based at 9,300 feet, performed daily physical and classroom training while a large smoke column rose into the sky behind them as a constant distraction. Adding to the challenging training environment was that everyone there knew that many other Hot Shot crews were already working on the fire. In retrospect, this was possibly the most challenging time for the crew the entire year, wanting to be dispatched but knowing that they could not accept a fire assignment until they had finished all training requirements, approvals and inspections.

It became important for the Hot Shot superintendent to stay focused and keep the crew centered on their training and development. The superintendent did this by continually speaking about and reinforcing the long-term importance of high-quality training while — along with other supervisors — coaching and mentoring the training crew daily. The superintendent also made the training as realistic as possible by developing field practice scenarios that involved long hikes to remote peaks, where they conducted safety discussions, overnight “coyote” tactics, chain saw and hand-line construction drills, and field shelter deployment exercises. These discussions and exercises were held incorporating the actual fire as a training backdrop.

The crew also was able to stay focused because of strong and effective leadership. Supervisors were upfront and honest with crew members from the first day about what it would take before they could be dispatched. Everybody knew they had a responsibility to help build strong crew cohesiveness. They knew this would be achieved through a demanding physical training program with emphasis on conduct and safety. The goal was to become a solid Type I Hot Shot crew that believed in its future.

A resulting recommendation is that all newly formed Hot Shot crews should go through a minimum five-week training curriculum before being considered available for fire assignments. During this period it's suggested that these crews be referred to as “expansion” crews and not “training” crews.

The Learning Curve is a collection of recent lessons learned and best practices from the field, collected and summarized from after-incident reports by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center, an interagency program supported by the Federal Fire and Aviation Leadership Council. The center works in cooperation with the Federal Fire and Aviation Safety Team, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group's Safety and Health Working Team and Training Working Team, and the National Association of State Foresters. Visit the center or subscribe to their newsletter Scratchline at www.wildfirelessons.net.

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 improving essential leadership skills during all career stages.

The Leadership Program components include:

• Values and principles,
• Leadership Toolbox, and
• Training courses.

To learn more about this new program, visit www.fireleadership.gov.