Two Helitack members are struck by lightning on a remote fire. What are the lessons?
Fire Culture
Rethinking When, Where, and Why We Carry Fire Shelters
While I am not an advocate for eliminating the use of fire shelters, when we understand and train for their proper application and importance, we will be able to move beyond our reliance on shelters when their presence is either unnecessary or dangerous.
Hello Darkness . . .
Transparency, vulnerability, honesty, bluntness . . . Thom gives it to us straight about what resilience actually looks like.
You are a Land Steward
The fire lines you put in, the burn outs you conduct, the retardant you call for, the fires you let burn, they are now a part of the land.
‘And Then What?’
I think the single-most dangerous thing for a Logistics Chief is indecision, the inability to make the uncomfortable decision with limited information.
Smug and Satisfied
We are not “a special breed” or uniquely tough or deserving of anything extra—especially not a cape. Falling down the hero hole will halt your growth.
The Quicksand of Complacency
A first responder can only relax when they are retired or dead, and sustaining that pitch of mindfulness is a hard road.
Where Do We Go From Here?
What do we want to take with us moving forward and what should we leave behind?
See You On the Other Side
Reality set in quickly as I tore the plastic on my fire shelter. There was no longer any hesitation, no stigmas to worry about, this was survival. I remember saying “I will see you on the other side” to my partners as I fumbled with unfolding my shelter.
Fatigue Management
Agency Administrators and Fire Staffs have the ability to encourage modules and individuals to manage fatigue. To set it as an expectation and then to support it.