Lessons Observed Collection

(By Johannes Moreelse (after 1602–1634) - Own work, Public Domain,)

"No person ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and it's not the same person." Heraclitus

The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center and OMNA International have teamed up to create a web-based collection form that allows firefighters to input lessons they have observed. Data will be used for trend analysis and integration into training and education curricula.

We thank you for helping to make the entire wildland fire community a learning organization, able to effectively integrate lessons from the past into the fluidity of a rapidly-changing operating environment.

IGNITE: Behavior Matters

Titles are granted, but it’s your behavior that earns you respect. – Kouzes & Posner, The Leadership Challenge

[Photo credit: Thanks, Tatanka IHC, for being our partner to IGNITE the Spark for Leadership!]

An Hour and a Half in a Shelter

Trees are torching. Saws are buzzing. Dirt is flying. Your division is working hard. Seems like a typical day until your entire division of 118 people becomes surrounded by wildfire. Seventy three (73) deploy their fire shelters and ...

This event was a reality for firefighters on the Butte fire on August 29, 1985. Take a moment to review the events of that fateful day and create a slide for future reference.



More information on the Butte fire shelter deployment:

• Butte Fire Shelter Deployment Review
• Fire Management Notes, 1986

L-580 Strategic Leader Program - San Diego County Megafires: An All-Hazards Interactive Case Study

Participants should be senior incident managers, senior leaders of emergency response agencies, public utilities and other critical infrastructure; leaders in the agency administrator role, elected officials and appointees who would likely be involved in setting the strategic direction of a large scale event.

Historical Firestorm events in the San Diego region have been on unprecedented, fast moving scales of complexity. The scope of the Political, Security, Economic, Social, Infrastructure and Information (PSESII) dimensions have presented huge challenges to incident and emergency managers.

Can We Talk?

(Photo credit: Thinkstock/Ablestock.com)

[This article is a joint effort between Firehouse magazine and the Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program to promote firefighter health and wellness. We hope all firefighters, regardless of volunteer, structure or wildland, will glean something valuable. Although from May, this information applies year round.]

How do you deal with emotional problems? The range of options is as varied as the problems and personalities involved.

When something has you bogged down, do you find a good friend and talk it through or do you keep to yourself? Everyone has their own way of dealing with life’s bigger issues. Some find relief through exercise or other physical activities. Others need someone to talk to, while others—me included—will take pen to paper and write out their thoughts and feelings.

IGNITE: Sieze the Opportunity

On a chaotic and rapidly developing wildfire, one person taking the initiative can make all the difference in seizing and taking advantage of an opportunity. – Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 27

Learn As If You'll Live Forever

"Live each day as if it is your last," said Mahatma Gandhi. "Learn as if you'll live forever." - Ben Dunlap

In "The Life-long Learner," Ben Dunlap shares many leadership stories. We share this video with you as promotion of the 2016 Wildland National Leadership Campaign—Never Stop Learning. Fire leaders are duty-bound to develop their subordinates for the future. Followers are duty-bound to own their development. By working together, teams can accomplish their missions as well as grow in the process.

IGNITE: Growing Others

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. – Jack Welch

Ron Garcia on the South Canyon Fire

South Canyon from The Smokey Generation on Vimeo.

"But to realize the potential of the present, we need to heed the wisdom of the past." - Eric Greitens

There are defining moments that shape every person. Those moments become the slides one uses for future events and decisions. Not every event will be the magnitude of a South Canyon or Yarnell Hill, but influence us regardless.

Ron Garcia shares his experience of responding to the South Canyon fire in the days following the tragic event.

IGNITE: Bringing Order Out of Chaos

Fire leaders trade the indulgences of complacency, second-guessing, and fault-finding for the responsibilities of bringing order out of chaos, improving our people, and building our organizations. –  Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 67

[Photo credit, Wayne Grieff, Cedar fire, 2016]

Is Your Team Safe?

(Photo credit: We Forum)

Is Your Team Safe? 

By asking if your team is safe, I'm not talking about do you have your safety zones and escape routes lined out or if you are wearing proper PPE. I'm questioning your team culture. Providing a psychologically safe workplace where team members admit mistakes, learn from failures, openly share ideas, innovate and make better decisions is critical to the overall safety of your team. When members of the team fear speaking up or admitting mistakes, the entire team suffers. In the worst-case scenario, accidents and incidents occur.

IGNITE: Management vs. Leadership

You manage things; YOU LEAD PEOPLE. – Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper

[Photo credit: Kari Greer, Pioneer fire, 2016]

Risk Management Publications

RMRS-GTR-349: Risk Terminology Primer: Basic Principles and a Glossary for the Wildland Fire Management Community

Lead author HD Research Forester Matt Thompson, Missoula, and his team recently published RMRS-GTR-349, “Risk Terminology Primer: Basic Principles and a Glossary for the Wildland Fire Management Community,” in order to create a common understanding of risk concepts and terminology (see page 1). We increasingly promote risk management as an appropriate method for addressing wildland fire management challenges; however, a lack of a common terminology hinders effective application. In response, Matt and his team provide a set of clear, consistent, and usable definitions for terms associated with wildland fire risk management, facilitating the clear exchange of data, information, and ideas among fire management officers, staff, and scientists.

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RMRS-GTR-350: “Risk Management: Core Principles and Practices, and Their Relevance to Wildland Fire

In RMRS-GTR-350 (see page 1), “Risk Management: Core Principles and Practices, and Their Relevance to Wildland Fire,” HD Research Foresters Matt Thompson and Dave Calkin and colleagues discuss a future for the Forest Service of increasing complexity and risk, pressing financial issues, and the inescapable possibility of loss of human life. These issues are perhaps most acute for wildland fire management, the highest risk activity in which the Forest Service engages. The authors designed this report as an introduction to Risk Management (RM), repackaging and repurposing information from RM literature to help readers develop a sound, science-based understanding of RM concepts. They outline what adoption of RM would look like in practice, and recommend next steps as the Forest Service continues on its RM journey.

IGNITE: Power Isn't Influence

The less explicitly leaders rely on power to accomplish tasks, the greater their power actually is.

– Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 38

Crafting Your Design

Does the concept of design come to mind when you think of leadership development? If not, it should.

Leadership development is an art, and like those individuals presented in Alice Rawsthorn's TED talk, you, too, are a designer. Design is a powerful tool that can be honed to create a very powerful image and influence the leadership environment.

IGNITE: Making Connections

GREAT LEADERS find ways to connect with their people and help them fulfill their potential. – Steven J. Stowell

Our Values!

You Are a Work in Progress

Technology has a huge affect on the way we learn, earn, live, and play. Few can deny that technology is a vital part of our lives. Some might even go as far as to say that technology has destroyed our lives. These thoughts are said by every generation. Regardless of your opinion, technological advancements happen and will continue to do so. The real questions are whether or not you are aware of the changes that affect your way of learning, earning, living, and playing and how you deal with those changes.

IGNITE: Set the Example

Set the example.

• Share the hazards & hardships with your subordinates.
• Don’t show discouragement when facing setbacks.
• Choose the difficult right over the easy wrong.