Monday, August 31, 2015

IGNITE: A Foundation of Communication

Communication is the foundation upon which we build trust and enable our teams to develop cohesion. –Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 22
Communication is the foundation upon which we build trust and enable our teams to develop cohesion. - Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 22
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Friday, August 28, 2015

What Almost Wasn't - The Butte Fire Shelter Deployment


Double arrow road sign
(Photo credit: Jupiter Images)
 Obviously being caught in the position we were with an entire division in front of that run was not what was intended. We actually intended to pull anybody out from in front of anything. We just didn’t have time. By the time we knew we had a problem, it was too late to move anybody. – Bill Williams, Operations Section Chief


August 29, 2015, marks the 30th anniversary of the Butte fire shelter deployment on the Salmon National Forest. In what could have been one of the deadliest days in wildland fire history, an entire division of 118 people walked away; 73 off those deployed their shelters.

We challenge you to watch the Butte fire shelter deployment video, discuss the importance of fire shelters with your team, make a commitment to checking the status of your shelter, discuss updated safety zone and escape route recommendations, and reflect upon this personal story below from blog contributor Paul Talbot about his family (Flamingo Crew Boss Terry Dunford). What happens on the fireline affects our past and our future.

The Past



More information on the Butte fire shelter deployment:
The Future - What Almost Wasn't
by Paul Talbot, Wildfire Response Lead
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources



This is a picture of my cousin Mary. Mary would never have been born had her dad not survived the Butte fire shelter deployment in 1985. Her dad, Tracy Dunford, was the Crew Boss of the Flamingos you see him in the middle of the Butte Fire Shelter Deployment video and at the end saying that when he dies he’ll go to heaven because he spent his time in hell that day.

I often use this incident as a reference during S-130/190 trainings. I try to instill the fact that firefighter safety, safety zones and the shelter deployment training is of the utmost importance not only to the men and women on the line, but for who or what they will become in the future as well.

Mary was born 9 years after the Butte fire incident. At the time of the deployment, Tracy obviously had no idea what his future would hold. He could not foresee marrying Janet and creating a child who would become a beautiful, intelligent, successful and driven young woman. He could not foresee his future as a wonderful father, a great husband, or as a fire leader for the state of Utah and eventually an Incident Commander on a Type 2 Incident Management Team. Multiply that by 72 who deployed with him.

The point of this blog is to express to all of us that we are much more than firefighters on the line; we are family men and women, friends, future leaders, and good people who will create beautiful things in the future.

So keep that in mind, there’s more than just you out there. There’s you and everything you will create and become in the future.

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We would like to thank Paul Talbot and the Dunford family for their willingness to share their personal story with us.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

IGNITE: More Than One Way

Where there's a will there's a way; where there's a team, there's more than one way. –Rex Murphy
Where there's a will there's a way; where there's a team, there's more than one way. – Rex Murphy
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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Beyond the L-Courses

Plan ahead graphic
(Photo credit: Dynamic Graphics)
So, you've taken that fire leadership course. Now what? Do you wait for your supervisor to approve the next course in line? Do you throw the student workbook on the shelf and get back to work? What is your plan?

Learning is a continuous process that requires a series of learning events. Assuming that becoming a leader in the wildland fire service is accomplished through completion of the leadership curriculum is short-sided and limits your potential as a wildland fire leader. This incremental approach to learning assumes that we will all become leaders of organizations and that learning is a one-time event that often occurs in a "classroom" event (whether in a room or the field). We need a series of learning events and actions that take what we learn and turn them into behaviors. A self-development plan should include a combination of training and events that complement each other and result in overall change. Additionally, creating a culture of knowledge sharing ensures that your organization as a whole is growing.

Every wildland firefighter is a leader; and as such, has a duty to be fit for command. Fit for command goes beyond the physical. Whatever level of leadership you assume, you have a responsibility to those with whom you serve. Your learning does not stop when a class is taken or publication is read. Effective students of fire and leadership routinely make time in their schedule for personal development. They don't wait for a supervisor to approve them for the next L-course. They continually review the lessons from courses, read, serve in outside organizations, watch movies, join forums, etc. They control their destiny and never stop learning or sharing their knowledge with others. They share what they learn with others.

We never know when a situation will develop that requires us to leap into action and make critical decisions that could save the lives of our fellow firefighters or even our own life. We challenge you to be the best you can be. Go beyond what is required of you and make a difference in the world around you.


Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge--Digging a Little Deeper
Develop a plan to foster your self-development.
  • Watch Charles Jenning's video "Continuous Learning." Does your organization have a culture that enables learning? Is training more than 10% of your learning plan?

  • Visit the self-development website and download the self-development guide and appropriate template.
  • Set aside time in your schedule to learn and develop yourself regularly if not daily.

Monday, August 24, 2015

IGNITE: Unity of Effort

No matter the challenges at hand, fire leaders work together to find common ground and act in the best interests of those responding to the incident, the public, and our natural resources. –Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 16
No matter the challenges at hand, fire leaders work together to find common ground and act in the best interests of those responding to the incident, the public, and our natural resources. – Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 16
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Friday, August 21, 2015

Chaos and Exhaustion


Chaos and Exhaustion from The Smokey Generation on Vimeo.

"Fire leaders bring order to chaos, improve our people's lives, and strengthen our organizations. Leading enables us to leave a legacy for the leaders of the future so that they can take our places well prepared for the road ahead." (Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, p. 6)
Fire season around the globe doesn't seem to be going away. Resources are stretched beyond capacity. Wildland firefighters from around the world are traveling to areas and fuel types different from their own. And...fire behavior is extreme in areas in and around the wildland-urban interface. Chaos and exhaustion are present, and we must step back, Take 5 @ 2, and assess the situation, and bring everyone home safely.

Today we share, a personal story on chaos and exhaustion from U.S. Forest Service District Fire Management Officer Dan Garcia.

Wildland Fire—A High-Risk Operational Environment 

We are asked to make tough decisions under a compressed time frame, given limited information, in a complex and high-risk environment. This operational environment routinely brings together people, machinery, and the destructive energy of wildfire in the close, three-dimensional space of the fireground and its airspace. 

Wildland fire operations have inherent risks that cannot be eliminated, even in the best of circumstances. Incident management and response is a competition between human beings and the forces of nature; leaders struggle to manage the effects caused by wildfire and other natural and man-made events. The environment can rapidly and unexpectedly change from normal to emergency conditions to complete chaos.


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What is your story? We challenge you to become a part of this amazing  project and share your leadership stories. Bethany Hannah began The Smokey Generation: A Wildland Fire Oral History and Digital Storytelling Project for her master's thesis. All members of the wildland fire service, not just hotshots, can share their stories by following her example. Click here for potential leadership questions. Visit The Smokey Generation website for complete information.

The Smokey Generation logo

Thursday, August 20, 2015

IGNITE: Listen, Learn, Then Lead

Successful leaders don't only take action. Good leaders listen, learn, and then lead. –John Maxwell
Successful leaders don't only take action. Good leaders listen, learn, and then lead. – John Maxwell
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Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Smoke Jumping Into History

Thomas McFadden (left) and Joe Murchison (right)
Although not original members of the first Triple Nickles Platoon, Thomas McFadden (left) and Joe Murchison (right), who is the current President of the Triple Nickles Association, attend an event at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum honoring their comrades. (U.S. Forest Service photo)
Most people don’t conjure up images of the U.S. Forest Service when they think of the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum. But every fire season the work of the Forest Service’s planes and helicopters, carrying smokejumpers, are vitally important to controlling the spread of wildland fires.

This is why the Smithsonian recently honored the legacy of 17 of some of the most lionized smokejumpers in Forest Service history. Known as the Triple Nickles, these smokejumpers were the first all-African American crew in American firefighting.

“It was World War II. You have to remember this was a time when segregation was still a part of everyday life. But 17 black men stood up to serve their country and become the first African-American paratrooper unit,” said Deidra McGee, a Forest Service employee who has been promoting the Triple Nickles since 1994. McGee met these valiant men that year in Washington, D.C. at the Ellipse near the White House, during a ceremony commemorating Smokey Bear’s 50th birthday.

The men wanted to join the fight in Europe during World War II, but their dreams were shattered when military leaders in America and Europe feared racial tensions would disrupt war time operations. At about the same time, the Forest Service asked the military for help to minimize damage caused by balloon bombs launched by the Japanese across the Pacific Ocean with the intent to start forest fires in the western U.S..

“In the end, few of the incendiary devices reached U.S. soil, but the Triple Nickles were instrumental in helping the Forest Service fight naturally-caused fires,” said McGee. “They became history’s first military smokejumpers who answered 36 fire calls and made more than 1,200 jumps that summer of 1945.”

Sadly, the event at the Smithsonian saw none of the original Triple Nickles as only platoon member Clarence Beavers remains alive and he is physically unable to leave his bed for any extended period of time. Instead several others, with close ties to the original 17, attended to represent their comrades.

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Thanks to the USDA for sharing this story on their blog. Posted by Robert Hudson Westover, U.S. Forest Service, Office of Communications, on June 2, 2015.

Monday, August 17, 2015

IGNITE: Followership

He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader. –Aristotle
He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader. – Aristotle
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Friday, August 14, 2015

Building Teamwork at Rocky Mountain Engine Academy

A BLM engine waits for a military helicopter to land before navigating the Evasive Driving Course.
A BLM engine waits for a military helicopter to land before navigating the Evasive Driving Course. 
In the dynamic and ever-changing fire community, it's good for disparate units to find time to train together with common purpose. The annual Rocky Mountain Engine Academy provides that time. The academy includes students and instructors from BLM and U.S. Forest Service units across Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

"It's great to see so many students coming together for a common purpose before fire season," said Kyle Cowan, BLM Wyoming State Fire Management Officer. "These are the people who will be out fighting wildfires all summer and the more training we can do now, the better success we will have in the future."

At the Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center in Wyoming, 32 students recently worked with interagency partners to learn about fire engine operations. Skills taught included driving, pump operations, and working together as a unit so that when fires happen, everyone is ready. The time spent planning and developing the academy is just as valuable as interagency partnership and collaboration.

Students learn about air brakes in the classroom.
Students learn about air brakes in the classroom. 
"The academy really is a chance to work together across the board with people we do not see each day, but who we will depend upon when fire season arrives," said Cowan. "That partnership and learning taking place at the academy is building relationships that will benefit us all in the long-term."
Students get hands-on training with pumping and hydraulics.
Students get hands-on training with pumping and hydraulics.
Story by Carmen Thomason

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Reprinted from BLM Daily, August 10, 2015.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

IGNITE: Reforming Self


The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others, and no one thinks about reforming himself. –Peter Alcantara

The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others, and no one thinks about reforming himself.  – Peter Alcantara
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Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Do Staff Rides Help Move the Forest Service Towards Its Goal of Becoming a Learning Organization?

Do Staff Rides Help Move the Forest Service Towards Its Goal of Becoming a Learning Organization?
On today's blog we share U.S. Forest Service Fuels Specialist Joe Harris' master degree thesis on staff rides and whether or not they help the Forest Service in its goal to be a learning organization.

We encourage students of fire and leadership to review the research and conclusions. Are we learning from our experiences? Can we do better?

Click here to download the paper or click the link above.

The Abstract

The Forest Service has declared its intention of becoming a learning organization. As a means to that end, the Forest Service has borrowed and adapted the staff ride concept from the military. This paper describes the staff ride product and compares it to what scientific research tells us about the nature of learning. Focus group sessions were conducted to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of staff rides. 

This research is intended to provide a scientific and argument basis for the digitalization of the staff ride environment for a particular organization. As such this thesis is a much a design document as it is a piece of empirical research. Designing "into the future" especially for the Forest Service's requirement, requires designing for an organization whose learning and organizations needs are quite broad and sometimes contradictory. Further sorting out of real world teaching events like the staff ride that should be transferred to digital environment at this point in time rests more on intuition than science.

The Author's Background

Joe Harris began his career with the U.S. Forest Service in 1997 on the Dixie National Forest as a timber marker. In 1998, he became a member of an Initial Attack Squad. From 1999 -2001, he worked on a Type 4 engine. After college (May 2002), he took a permanent position as Squad Boss with the Dixie Hotshots. In 2006, he detailed as a Captain (for the renamed Cedar City Hotshots), moving to Captain in 2007.

"To this day I would say that this was the best job I have ever had. But I had started a family and decided that hotshotting kept me away from the little ones too much, so I took a detail as a District FMO on a sister district in 2008. I got the job at the end of the summer."

In 2009, the Mill Flat fire--a resource benefit fire located in the Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness Area that burned four air miles in one burn period and burned into the town of New Harmony, Utah, destroying three residences--would change his career path. In the aftermath of the ensuing investigation, he met Ivan Pupulidy. Together they spoke about the Mill Flat fire, including at the FLA/APA workshop in McClellan, CA. He remains a member of the FLA workshop cadre from time to time.

In 2010, he became a Fuels Specialist where he continued to work with Pupulidy. In 2012, he applied for and was sponsored by the Forest Service to attend Lund University in Sweden, pursuing a master's degree in Human Factors and System Safety.


Monday, August 10, 2015

IGNITE: Leaders Bear the Pain

Leaders don't inflict pain; they bear pain. –Unknown via Max DePree in "Leadership is an Art"
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Friday, August 7, 2015

The "Cow Path"

Cattle trail
(Photo credit: Steve Baccon)
Cow Path

One day thru the primeval wood
A calf walked home, as good calves should,
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail, as all calves do.
Since then three hundred years have fled,
And I infer, the calf is dead;
But still behind he left his trail,
And thereon hangs my mortal tale.

The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way,
And then a wise bell-weather sheep
Sliding into a rut now deep,
Pursued that trail over hill and glade
Thru those old woods a path was made.

And many men wound in and out,
And dodged and turned and bent about,
and uttered words of righteous wrath
Because “twas such a crooked path”
But still they follow-do not laugh-
The first migrations of that calf.

The forest became a lane
That bent and turned and turned again;
This crooked lane became a road
where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And travelled some three miles in one.

The years passed on in swiftness fleet,
The village road became a street,
And this, before the men were aware,
A city’s crowded thoroughfare.

And soon a central street was this
In a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half
Followed the wanderings of this calf.

Each day a hundred thousand strong
Followed this zigzag calf along;
And over his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.

A hundred thousand men were led
By one poor calf, three centuries dead.
For just such reverence is lent
To well established precedent.

A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained and called to preach.

For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf paths of the mind;
And work away from sun to sun
To do what other men have done.

– Sam Walter Foss

Leadership Discussions for the "Cow Path"

  1. How did the calf positively and negatively influence others?
  2. Can leadership occur without the intent to influence? 
  3. What are the pros and cons of following another person's lead without collecting your own situation awareness?
  4. How can complacency and group think affect an organization's operations?
  5. How does "Cow Path"relate to the 2015 Wildland Fire Leadership Campaign - Followership is Leadership? Was the cow a follower or a leader? Can you lead without a title or authority to do so? What is "conformity bias" and how can it affect you and your team?
  6. Does your team or organization operate as "creatures of habit"? Are you hearing statements like "We've always done it this way."? What are you doing to address such comments? Why is it important to address such comments?
  7. The term "new normal" is heard across the wildland fire service. Have we changed the way we conduct fire operations, training, and workforce development to compensate for this change?
  8. What are you doing personally to avoid the cow paths of life? 
  9. What are you doing as a fire leader to ensure that innovation, creativity and effective decision making are built into the fabric of your culture?
  10. Self-awareness is the starting point for leadership development. What will you do differently having read "Cow Path"?

Pathways
(Photo credit: Dynamic Graphics)
"The starting point for leadership development is self-awareness." (p. 59)

For a slightly different look at a similar topic and from more of the leadership perspective of how to lead your team beyond the status quo, read Dan Rockwell's "Cows and New Gates." 
  • 2015 Wildland Fire Leadership Campaign logo




Thursday, August 6, 2015

IGNITE: Good Leadership


The most essential element for success in the wildland fire service is good leadership. –Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 1
The most essential element for success in the wildland fire service is good leadership. – Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 1
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Wednesday, August 5, 2015

The Art of Refusing Risk & Respecting Extreme Fire Behavior


Refusing Assignments from The Smokey Generation on Vimeo.

There is an art to risk assessment. What may seem impossible to one person may seem achievable by another. Effective fire leaders develop the art through experience as students of fire and leadership. We know from our history that human factors are critical to our success or failure. Good fire leaders  employ numerous methods, continually develop situation awareness, and develop their people to provide the critical feedback to keep everyone safe.

Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge - Digging a Little Deeper
  • Listen to Charlie Caldwell, former Redding Hotshot Superintendent, speak on refusing assignments.
  • Review "How to Properly Refuse Risk" with your crew/team.
How to Properly Refuse Risk
Every individual has the right and obligation to report safety problems and contribute ideas regarding their safety. Supervisors are expected to give these concerns and ideas serious consideration.
When an individual feels an assignment is unsafe they also have the obligation to identify, to the
degree possible, safe alternatives for completing that assignment. Turning down an assignment is
one possible outcome of managing risk.

A “turn down” is a situation where an individual has determined they cannot undertake an assignment as given and they are unable to negotiate an alternative solution.

The turn down of an assignment must be based on an assessment of risks and the ability of the individual or organization to control those risks. Individuals may turn down an assignment as unsafe when:
  1. There is a violation of safe work practices.
  2. Environmental conditions make the work unsafe.
  3. They lack the necessary qualifications or experience.
  4. Defective equipment is being used.
The individual directly informs their Supervisor they are turning down the assignment as given.
Use the criteria outline in the Risk Management Process (Firefighting Orders, Watch Out
Situations, etc.) to document the turn down.

The supervisor notifies the Safety Officer immediately upon being informed of the turn down. If there is no Safety Officer, the appropriate Section Chief or the Incident Commander should be notified. This provides accountability for decisions and initiates communication of safety concerns within the
incident organization.

If the supervisor asks another resource to perform the assignment, they are responsible to inform the
new resource that the assignment was turned down and the reasons why it was turned down.

If an unresolved safety hazard exists or an unsafe act was committed, the individual should also
document the turn down by submitting a SAFENET (ground hazard) or SAFECOM (aviation hazard) form in a timely manner. These actions do not stop an operation from being carried out. This protocol is integral to the effective management of risk as it provides timely identification of hazards to the chain of command, raises risk awareness for both leaders and subordinates, and promotes accountability.

[Incident Response Pocket Guide, pp.19-20]

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What is your story? We challenge you to become a part of this amazing  project and share your leadership stories. Bethany Hannah began The Smokey Generation: A Wildland Fire Oral History and Digital Storytelling Project for her master's thesis. All members of the wildland fire service, not just hotshots, can share their stories by following her example. Click here for potential leadership questions. Visit The Smokey Generation website for complete information.

The Smokey Generation logo

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Find Your Courage to Be Great



Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great organizations is a corporate culture that rigorously hires and promotes disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. In Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t Jim Collins shares research on why some companies are good and others are great. The principles can be applies to any fire organization. Do you have the courage to move your team from good to great?

Fundamental Principles:
  • Level 5 Leadership
    • Cause-centered ambition.
    • Fierce resolve to do whatever it takes to make good on that ambition.
    • Blend of personal humility and professional will.
  • First Who...Then What
    • Right people on the bus and in the right seat and the wrong people off the bus.
    • "Who” before what.
  • Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith) -  
    • Unwavering faith you can and will prevail.
    • Disciplined to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality.
  • Hedgehog Concept 
    • Deep understanding of 
      • What you are deeply passion about
      • What can you be the best at and what you cannot
      • What drives your economic or resource engine
  • Culture of Discipline
    • Disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and who take disciplined action—operating with freedom within a framework of responsibilities.
  • Technology Accelerators
    • Carefully select technology and use as an accelerator of momentum not a creator of it.
  • The Flywheel and the Doom Loop
    • Building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.
  • Preserve the Core/Stimulate Progress
    • Adherence to core values combined with a willingness to challenge and change everything except those core values.
    • Have a purpose.
    • Purpose translated into goals to stimulate progress.
Good to Great Resources:
Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge

Monday, August 3, 2015

IGNITE: Without Trust...

Without trust, there can be no self-confidence, nor confidence in the abilities of others--and no leadership. –Patrick Townsend and Joan Gebhardt
Without trust, there can be no self-confidence, nor confidence in the abilities of others--and no leadership. – Patrick Townsend and Joan Gebhardt
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