https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-edbwu-10e02ec Kelly Woods talks with Erik Apland about his assignment to read all of the entrapment reports housed in the LLC Incident Review Database. Erik provides perspective on the evolution of reports spanning over a century. He highlights how old reports contain modern topics and he also provides some unique thoughts on PPE. In addition, … Continue reading Reading, Reflecting, and Changing Behavior
Burn Injuries
One Ash Pit Ate Two Firefighters
This blog post was compiled using several excerpts from two separate documents on the Laguna Fire Burn Injuries. At approximately 1010 a crew member from the Type 2 crew fell into an ash pit, after ground gave way on a mechanically constructed berm the crewmember was mopping up with a branch line. The crewmember advanced a hose … Continue reading One Ash Pit Ate Two Firefighters
Sorting the Lumps
As our work on the 2017 Annual Incident Review Summary continues, we've got some more analysis to share with you. Read this. Do the Exercise and give us some feedback. The final version of the 2017 Annual Incident Review Summary will be out soon! By Travis Dotson There it is - the 2017 season boiled … Continue reading Sorting the Lumps
Fatal Attraction
We love to know how many firefighters died.
Mic Drop
As our work on the 2017 Annual Incident Review Summary continues, we've got some more analysis to share with you. Read this. Do the Exercise, and give us some feedback. The final version of the 2017 Annual Incident Review Summary will be out soon! By Travis Dotson You got a mic? Are you a wrapper? … Continue reading Mic Drop
“I Noticed My Skin Falling Off”
By Travis Dotson This quote: “I had been hit by IED in Afghanistan. I’d rather go through that than be burned again.” Damn - for real? That says a lot. That scares me. This quote: “When the hose burst it got me in the groin. I spun around. I ran to the shade. I was … Continue reading “I Noticed My Skin Falling Off”
Minor Rhabdo Fatal Burns
By Travis Dotson Look at this word cloud: I collect very simple notes about the types of injuries listed in the reports submitted to the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. I took all of the notes from 2017 and used a word cloud generator to make this one. The size of the word is relative … Continue reading Minor Rhabdo Fatal Burns
This Hotshot Was Burned When His Saw Geysered – Listen to His Lessons.
By Travis Dotson Nic bucked up the tree he had just put on the ground. Then he shut the saw off and sat with his saw partner for 15-20 minutes. Nic got up to cut another tree. The saw wouldn't start. He had heard all the stories. He had talked about geysering in training. He … Continue reading This Hotshot Was Burned When His Saw Geysered – Listen to His Lessons.
Burn Injuries – Wrong Hurts
By Alex Viktora Wildland Firefighters receive burn injuries every season. Often times some sort of flammable liquid ignites resulting in a burn, like the rather common drip torch leg burn scenario mentioned in this NWCG memo. Other times we fall in stump holes and ash pits—sometimes up to our waist! And then there is the … Continue reading Burn Injuries – Wrong Hurts
Socks Matter
By Alex Viktora I used to work for the National Park Service. One of the sweetest things about working for the NPS was the official socks. That’s right. Socks. As a member of a wildland fire crew, I rarely had much need to be in official NPS uniform, so my annual uniform allowance was spent … Continue reading Socks Matter