A photo of a bush fire in Australia shows interesting smoke behavior. Photo provided by New South Wales Rural Fire Service. (click to enlarge)
For a newspaper located in a country that is not ever plagued by huge vegetation fires, the UK-based Guardian does a surprisingly good job of covering them when they occur in North America or Australia.
On their Teacher Network the Guardian has a resource that could be of value for classes that want to learn about fires, and specifically, bush fires in Australia. The article has links to photos, videos, maps, news program transcripts, and PowerPoint presentations that should be able to capture the interest of students.
Several of their resources are about the family in Tasmania that was forced by an advancing fire into a saltwater bay. A PowerPoint presentation has several photos taken by a man of his grandchildren on a pier and in the water surrounded by smoke. If a teacher decides to cover this in a class, it will not be boring, and might even be scary. But the students will remember it.
Today we have the fifth article of our series in which we ask current and retired leaders in the wildland fire service to answer 12 questions.
We appreciate everyone who is cooperating with this project. Some of their responses may add to the knowledge base of our new firefighters coming up through the ranks.
Below we hear from Harry Croft, who retired from the U. S. Forest Service as the Deputy Director, National Fire Plan; the first Deputy Director for Fire and Aviation Management in the National Office.
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Harry Croft
When you think of an excellent leader in the fire service, who comes to mind first?
There are so many great leaders at all levels and at different times in my career, but John Chambers and Chuck Mills stand out among the best. I learned so much from both of them…both had integrity and expected nothing but the best from their people.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone before their first assignment as an Incident Commander?
I assume you mean Type 1? Take care of your people, expect results, and trust your staff!
If someone is planning a prescribed fire, what is one thing that you hope they will pay particular attention to?
Follow the plan!!! Expect the best outcome and plan for the worst.
One of the more common errors in judgment you have seen on fires?
Doing the same thing day after day with no change in outcomes. This is especially true on large fires.
One thing that you know now that you wish you had known early in your career?
Holding people accountable is a career killer. No one really wants negative oversight, at any level, local or national. Everyone wants to wear the “white hat” of being a good guy. I knew this early on, but didn’t realize the political capital that is involved at very high levels of the organization.
The stupidest mistake you have seen on a fire?
A better word or phrase would be a “dumb decision”; wasting resources and money on a fire best left to burn itself out.
Your most memorable fire?
I was a green Acting District Ranger in So Cal when a fire broke out on the Morongo Reservation and I became the line officer for the decisions. Luckily, Chuck Mills walked me through it!
The funniest thing you have seen on a fire?
I really can’t say I’ve seen anything funny
The first very large fire you were on?
Probably in So Cal. I was part of a crew from Oregon and was scared to death!
BAe-146 air tanker makes a drop on the Karney Fire. Inciweb photo.
Another volunteer firefighter has been identified as an arsonist. According to the Idaho Statesman, 19-year old Nathaniel Bartholomew pleaded guilty on Thursday to starting the 440-acre Karney Fire Sept. 17 in Boise County, Idaho.
Mr. Bartholomew was arrested the next day.
The charge he pleaded guilty to Thursday was one count of felony third-degree arson which could result in 10 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March and could include restitution for some of the $2.3 million costs of the fire.
The fire destroyed one residence and caused the evacuation of 80 homes. A Type 2 Incident Management Team and 350 firefighters were able to keep the fire out of a subdivision with 275 homes.
Today we have the fourth article of our series in which we ask current and retired leaders in the wildland fire service to answer 12 questions.
We appreciate everyone who is cooperating with this project. Some of their responses may add to the knowledge base of our new firefighters coming up through the ranks.
Below we hear from L. Dean Clark, who retired from the National Park Service as the Deputy Fire Management Officer for the Intermountain Region, working out of Denver.
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L. Dean Clark
When you think of an excellent leader in the fire service, who comes to mind first? Tom Zimmerman
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone before their first assignment as an Incident Commander?
Make sure your pants are zipped / buttoned up.
If someone is planning a prescribed fire, what is one thing that you hope they will pay particular attention to?
Interactions of the winds & lay of the land.
One of the more common errors in judgment you have seen on fires?
Poor timing of actions, not basing actions on expected fire behavior. Examples: tactics dictated by the clock & calendar (or other human/administrative/fire cultural factors) rather than timed for advantage with natural factors.
One thing that you know now that you wish you had known early in your career?
The other guy’s point of view might improve my own.
The stupidest mistake you have seen on a fire?
I kicked a burning Digger Pine cone over the trench I had just built on a steep side slope. I wanted to see if the trench would hold. It didn’t. Dumb squared.
Your most memorable fire?
Fan Fire in Yellowstone National Park, 1988
The funniest thing you have seen on a fire?
My Bud doing a spontaneous Yellow Jacket-up- the-pants dance in front of misc. bosses and overhead.
The first very large fire you were on?
Del Puerto Canyon 1970, west of Patterson CA. Rancher was killed when his cat [dozer] rolled over on him. Our Engine crew (Tank Truck 4265) had backfired behind him on his range earlier in the evening.
Your favorite book about fire or firefighting?
Young Men and Fire for the literary value… Fire Weather the single most useful reference.
The first job you had within the fire service?
Forest Firefighter with the then California Division of Forestry in Mariposa, CA. Stationed at White Rock FFS in June 1969.
What gadgets, electronic or other type, can’t you live without?
Pocket knife and cell phone. Smart phone will be there soon, I foresee.
NSW Operations Center. Photo: NSW Rural Fire Service
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has a very impressive Operations Center in Sydney, Australia which they activated on January 7 when the bush fire activity increased. The Center provides support and assistance to local Fire Control Centers and Incident Management Teams across the state.
As you can see, it has a HUGE video wall, which is reported to be the largest in the southern hemisphere. It has 100 individual LCD screens which can display either one large visual, such as a map, or up to 32 different inputs including graphs, statistics, weather predictions, and live feeds from various sites.
Does the dispatch center in your local area look pretty much like this?
Our friends in Australia seem to do a better job than we do in the United States of educating the public about being prepared for wildfires, or bush fires as they are known down under.
The Rural Fire Service of New South Wales in Australia has an interesting publication titled Myth Busters, covering some of the common myths about bush fires and bush fire safety. “Not knowing the facts can be life threatening for you and your family”.
The text on the image is a little hard to read, but here are the myths that are listed:
There will always be a fire truck available to fight a bush fire threatening my home.
It won’t happen to me.
Fire travels slower up hill.
I’ll be fine; the bush is a few streets away.
Standing on my roof and hosing it down with water will help.
Filling the bath tub when a fire is approaching is to sit in.
If I know the back streets in my suburb or town really well, it will be okay for me to leave at the very last minute.
A house can explode if it catches on fire.
HERE is a link to another publication about bush fire myths, this time from the state of Victoria. And another one from the Christmas Hills Fire Brigade in Victoria.
