Dialogue – Talk with Others About Learning

 

After the 2008 Dutch Creek Fire tragedy, many people were inspired to talk about how we handle our medical emergencies on the fireground. This spectrum of voices included family members, national fire managers, and field firefighters.

With persistence and time, this coalition—talking and learning to work together—significantly changed the protocols for how the wildland fire service deals with emergency medical situations today.

The same approach can be used at the crew or work unit level to discuss past operations and decisions. The wildland fire service has normalized this through the adoption of the After Action Review process. Every day a crew or team can incrementally improve its performance if they are willing to make time to talk and learn from their pasts actions.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]