A group of five retired wildland firefighters has formed an organization called “Safety Matters”. Their goal is to “call attention to deficiencies in wildand firefighter safety presented by current wildland fire management systems.”
Since they came out in January, they have been soliciting input from individuals interested in wildland fire, and have been studying fires that occurred between 1990 and 2013 where firefighters were killed. Their most significant product to date is a 16-page report released Monday, titled Safety Matters Forum Briefing. The document identifies some commonalities in the fatality fires and provides suggestions for improvements in the areas of fatality investigations, the role of the Agency Administrator, fire program leadership, emergency communications, and mapping. They did not take on the issue of fire supervisors knowing the real time location of their firefighters and the fire, what I call the Holy Grail of Firefighter Safety.
Monday morning they sent the report to all members of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Some of the best stuff in the report is in the Executive summary. Here is an excerpt (emphasis added):
…Safety Matters feels that the lack of participation by management in the fire management decision process is a major failing in providing for firefighter safety. A majority of firefighter fatalities in the last 20 years have occurred after a fire has escaped initial attack and before a full incident management team has assumed management responsibilities for a fire. Given this situation we do not feel it is ever the sole responsibility of firefighters to assess the values at risk and determine the appropriate action. Investigations of firefighter fatalities due to burnovers or entrapments seldom look at management involvement, but rather focus on decisions made by the affected firefighters. It is time to quit blaming firefighters for the lack of management involvement.
We further believe that the current system tasked with protecting firefighters is seriously flawed. There are several National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) committees that are tasked with addressing the issue of firefighter safety, but there is no clear or obvious path for an identified problem to be brought forward and be addressed through a change in policy or procedure. Additionally, the current system staunchly supports the idea that only those within the system are qualified and experienced enough to provide credible input.
Safety Matters believes that the current approach needs to change both procedurally and behaviorally in order to truly make firefighter safety the first priority. A comprehensive review by a diverse and impartial group of experts would help clearly identify the shortcomings of the current system, and help craft a revised system that would best ensure that firefighter safety is the first priority.
One of the more interesting recommendations is about the structure of fatality investigations:
….We believe that a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) model of accident investigation would better meet everyone’s needs in investigating wildland fire fatalities. This approach would allow a single independent investigation of the accident by an impartial group of specialists. The advantage is that this model is not constrained by time, agency agendas or associated politics, or public pressures.
