We just published another episode of our Podcast, you can listen here: http://wildfirelessons.podbean.com
We talk about some of the “numbers” from this season. Things like four cases of early season Physical Training Rhabdomyolysis in four days (May 4-5) and nine instances of “equipment burn damage” (vehicles, chainsaws, camp equipment, etc). Are those “trends”? I don’t know for sure but I tend to resist using the term “trend” because I feel like it’s been thrown around way too loosely in our business.
How many safety officers have you heard get up at briefing and admonish the crowd about some “growing trend” we all need to look out for. In many cases I feel like those “trends” were actually two personal observations or even repetitious rumors taken as gospel. Thats annoying because it can add to the fog of misinformation and firecamp falsehoods.
All that to say we have some numbers, in addition to those numbers we have a few lessons. The lessons typically come from the reports themselves, meaning they are based on a single event – advice those involved in that particular incident would pass along to others. Sometimes we are able to extract additional lessons by looking at multiple events and identifying similarities (trends). Here are just a few from this year.
Beware of early season physical training. We had multiple instances of medical emergencies during the first several days of “critical training”. When the crew comes on for the first week – be very mindful of how the week is structured. If you are going to get started right off the bat with a “test” type of PT – what is the emergency plan and do you have emergency contact info for everyone…especially the new folks? Think about it.
Oregon PT Heat Stroke Day One PT Rhabdomyolysis Black Hills NF Rhabdomyolysis
Take the time to make sure the black is cold before you park. Yes, several vehicles caught fire this season. Yes it takes time, but think about that sick feeling you get in your stomach when you see black smoke coming from the area you parked in…and then the radio crackles to life and you know exactly whats coming. Not only parking, but anytime you stage equipment of any kind…fire surprises all of us so stay humble.
Erskine Dozer Transports RX ATV/UTV Burn Deer Creek Engine Burn
Do some homework on your tires. How old are they? How many miles do they have on them? Are they on a recall list? Better to look into this stuff than find out after a blowout and multi lane swerve…just saying.
Crew Carrier Tire Failure AZ Tire Blowout
Numbers+Lessons=Learning?
Your call.