Leadership development project builds steam

             

Just ask any firefighter. Crew leaders and incident commanders make the difference between success and failure on the fireground — and sometimes between life and death.

Recognizing the need for more leadership training to improve safety in wildland fires, in November 2002 the National Wildfire Coordinating Group launched www.fireleadership.gov as part of its leadership development program.

“It's kind of a one-stop shop for the whole leadership effort,” said Tim Blake, the NWCG training project leader.

Just over a year since the Web site appeared, with prominent linking from the highly trafficked National Interagency Fire Center Web site, it's receiving robust response from the wildland fire community. During the spring training season, 8,000 to 9,000 visitors log in monthly; even during the fire season an average of 5,000 to 6,000 each month pay a visit, said Jim Cook, co-chairman and coordinator of the training project.

Feedback from users has been enthusiastic. “I just came across this and am very excited about the site,” said one visitor who identified himself as the fire manager of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. “I run the Davis Fire Crew in California, and one of the main problems that I see in most crews (including some of ours) is that nobody has been trained as a leader. They gain the skills on the fire line, but that takes years of practice, and they need a better starting point. Just wanted you to know that you have a great idea, and I am looking at it closer to see if it is something that I can use with my crew leaders.”

The site is designed to educate leaders through three focal areas: Training Courses (the curriculum), Leadership Toolbox (self development) and Values and Principles, designed to strengthen personal traits required of strong leaders. New content is added frequently, said Cook. “Every month a new tool, sometimes several new tools or references, are added to the Leadership Toolbox,” he said.

The effort is not just for crew leaders and incident commanders. “It's designed for the entire wildland community,” said Blake. “There's something there for everyone — from the entry-level firefighter to the incident commander that's been around for 30 years.”

Situational awareness, for example, is needed at every stage of a firefighting career. “Situational awareness applies a bit differently to a first-year firefighter than it does to an incident commander,” said Blake. “Their environments are different, but they still need to go through the motions.”

For more information, visit www.fireleadership.gov. Organizations that wish to post a link on their Web sites to promote the study of leadership issues may e-mail Jim Cook at jrcook@fs.fed.us.