Tag: 12 questions

12 Questions for Dick Mangan

Today we have the third 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 to the first three questions may add to the knowledge base of our new firefighters coming up through the ranks.

Below we hear from Dick Mangan, who retired from the U.S. Forest Service as the Fire Program Leader at the Missoula Technology Development Center at Missoula. He currently is the owner of Blackbull Wildfire and is an Angus cattle breeder.

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When you think of an excellent leader in the fire service, who comes to mind first?
Of the folks that I’ve worked with over the years, former Northern Rockies IC Steve Frye comes to mind immediately as a top leader. Of non-Fire leaders who have been influential leaders in Fire, Bob Barbee at Yellowstone National Park and Oroville Daniels on the Lolo National Forest really stand out for their courage and commitment to fire.

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone before their first assignment as an Incident Commander?
Know your people, trust your people, ask the tough questions, don’t be afraid to admit you are wrong and then try again.

If someone is planning a prescribed fire, what is one thing that you hope they will pay particular attention to?
Never sugar-coat the “worst possible scenario”: plan for it, and if you can’t manage it within prescription, don’t ever light the match.

What was the first very large fire you were on?
Wellman Fire in SoCal in 1966; over 100,000 acres.

What color should fire trucks be?
Red seems to be readily identifiable to the Public, but as a USFS guy for 30+ years, I’m partial to Green.

What was the first job you ever had?
Newspaper delivery boy.

What was the first job you had within the fire service?
Engine crew member at Feather Falls Guard Station, LaPorte RD, Plumas NF in 1964.

What cell phone do you have for personal use?
Real old fashioned Flip phone.

What kind of computer do you have at home?
Dell PC and HP laptop.

What gadgets can’t you live without?
Beer hook and wine corkscrew opener.

What was the first vehicle that you bought?
1956 Chevy step-side pickup.

What was your most memorable vacation?
17 days in Italy with Barb and another couple in 2009, never staying in a hotel, eating and sampling vino in the local communities, and experiencing the local culture.

12 questions

12 Questions for Greg Greenhoe

Today we have the second 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 to the first three questions may add to the knowledge base of our new firefighters coming up through the ranks.

Today we hear from Greg Greenhoe, who retired from the U.S. Forest Service as the Deputy Director of Fire and Aviation Management for the Northern Region, working out of Missoula. Presently he is working as an Emergency Management Consultant and Instructor.

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When you think of an excellent leader in the fire service, who comes to mind first?
There are so many but the ones that touched my life are Lynn Biddison, Steve Gallegos, Tom Harbour, Chuck Mills and Jerry Williams. They were all great leaders and mentors and made a big difference in my career.

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone before their first assignment as an Incident Commander?
Make sure you have qualified, competent people filling the positions on your team and you can’t go wrong. I was blessed with the best bunch of team members when I was an IC. Made the job easy.

If someone is planning a prescribed fire, what is one thing that you hope they will pay particular attention to?
Have a good plan and follow the plan!

What was the first very large fire you were on?
The Wild Bill Fire on the Coconino National Forest, October of 1973. 7,150 acres, not sure we would call that a large fire today! I was a brand new crew boss with an Inmate Crew out of the Federal Prison in Safford, Arizona. It was a pretty miserable crew! A month later I took a Papago (Tohono O’odham) Crew to the Burnt Fire on the other side of the San Francisco Peaks; now that was a great crew!

What color should fire trucks be?
You mean Engines? I really don’t care, as long as they have a good crew and can put “wet stuff on the red stuff!”

What was the first job you ever had?
Timber Stand Improvement Crew on the Tonto NF. It was a youth crew made up of Boy Scouts from Camp Geronimo just below the Mogollon Rim. That was 1965. Our crew boss was Bob Wagenfer who was also a big influence on my starting a career with the Forest Service. He took me on my first fire in 1966.

What was the first job you had within the fire service?
Smoke Chaser on the Coronado NF, Santa Catalina Ranger District, 1972.

What cell phone do you have for personal use?
HTC Android

What kind of computer do you have at home?
HP desktop, HP Netbook and a Kindle Fire HD

What gadgets can’t you live without?
My smart phone and netbook

What was the first vehicle that you bought?
Well I had a hand-me-down 1955 Ford Victoria, but the first vehicle I ever bought with my own money was a 1973 Chevy step-side pickup. Brand new from the dealership!

What was your most memorable vacation?
Well that’s hard but I would have to say Antarctica in 2000. Just an amazing place. Isn’t that funny though… The one continent that doesn’t have a fire problem!

12 questions Tom Harbour

12 Questions for Dan O’Brien

Today we are beginning a new series of articles on Wildfire Today in which we ask some 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 to the first three questions may add to the knowledge base of our new firefighters coming up through the ranks.

In today’s inaugural installment we hear from Dan O’Brien, who retired from the National Park Service as the Intermountain Regional Fire and Aviation Management Officer, working out of Denver.

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When you think of an excellent leader in the fire service, who comes to mind first?
General Sherman… (You did mean in chronological order didn’t you?)

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone before their first assignment as an Incident Commander?
Always weigh the probability of success against the consequences of failure before making decisions.

If someone is planning a prescribed fire, what is one thing that you hope they will pay particular attention to?
If there is a 95% chance of success for each of the following: 1) a correct weather forecast; 2) equipment won’t breakdown; 3) all needed resources will arrive on time; 4) there will be no accidents during the operation; and 5) everyone will clearly understand the strategy and tactics — then there is at least a 25% chance that something will go wrong. Expect the unexpected and complete your contingency plans.

What was the first very large fire you were on?
The Johnson Bar Fire, Nez Perce National Forest, 1960.

What color should fire trucks be?
I’m personally not sure, but I think there should be an interagency committee created in order to best answer that question. No wait, I think that has already been done more than once. Following the air tanker analogy, perhaps with more time and money the answer can finally be found.

What was the first job you ever had?
Mowing neighborhood lawns and a paper route.

What was the first job you had within the fire service?
In the early 1960s there wasn’t much of an official fire service. I worked on a USFS Blister Rust Crew in northern Idaho. We spent over a month each year on large fires and were thought of by most as lowly “Brush Apes” that were overpaid at $1.63/hr. and no time and a half for overtime.

What cell phone do you have for personal use?
An Android smarter than me phone.

What kind of computer do you have at home?
A Gateway desktop.

What gadgets can’t you live without?
With a microwave, credit card, and a cell phone I can exist quite nicely.

What was the first vehicle that you bought?
A 1937 Ford coupe with mechanical brakes.

What was your most memorable vacation?
The year after I retired and I finally got to take a real summer vacation.

12 questions