When you read reports, don’t expect the lessons to be spoon-fed to you on paper. That’s not where the learning is. Learning comes from the intentional interaction you engage in after the reading.
Risk Management
Insights on Learning from the Redding Hotshot Crew Superintendent
The culmination of our crew’s training is the South Canyon Staff Ride. That’s where a lot of tremendous lessons are learned up on that hill during this Staff Ride experience.
Transitions, Demob, and Reassignment
As the seasons change, so does the job of a wildland firefighter. How do you manage transitions, reassignment, or demob?
Fruit We Can Reach
"The language is messy." This was the mantra our professor would reiterate to emphasize how difficult it can be to talk about risk. Having just completed a master's level risk management program, I have a better appreciation for the complexities of risk analysis. Thankfully, as Travis Dotson offers in The Summer 2017 Two More Chains, … Continue reading Fruit We Can Reach
‘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.
Learning from the Bridger Foothills Entrapment and Shelter Deployment
Three members of a helitack crew are overrun by fire inside the meadow that serves as their helispot. Only two of the firefighters have fire shelters.
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.
Blowing Up Hazards
“This use of blasting as an available tool proved critical to meeting incident objectives and successfully reduced risk exposure to firefighters.”