Lessons Learned from Line-of-Duty Deaths in the Wildland and How They Relate to Structural Firefighting

摘要

AFTER MOVING FROM NEW MEXICO to Colorado, I must admit that I had a lot to learn about fighting fire in the wildland. I was used to having resources in my former fire department such as water and somewhat adequate staffing. Providing fire protection in rural America was much different than in a municipal setting. I spent considerable time contemplating the similarities and differences between structural and wildland firefighting. One of the most disturbing similarities was that both disciplines seem to have the same issue with multiple line-of-du-ty deaths (LODDs). When I took my first National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) S-130: Firefighter Training and S-190: Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior classes, our instructor told us that two books were must-reads if we wanted to learn about the culture of wildland firefighting. The first is Young Men and Fire, written by Norman Maclean and published after his death with the help of his son, John N. Maclean. The book tells the story of the August 1949 Mann Gulch Fire in Montana in which 13 young smokejumpers made the supreme sacrifice when they were overrun by a blowup (an unexpected increase in fire intensity and spread, enough to prevent fire containment and throw a wrench into whatever plans you had to control the situation) at the fire. The second book is Fire on the Mountain, written by John N. Maclean. It tells the story of the July 1994 South Canyon Fire in Colorado in which a crew of firefighters was also overrun by a blowup in terrain and conditions akin to the Mann Gulch Fire; 14 of those wildland firefighters died in the line of duty.