Stanza Fire Engine Rollover (California) – July 28, 2002

This Day in History is a brief summary of a powerful learning opportunity and is not intended to second guess or be judgmental of decisions and actions. Put yourself in the following situation as if you do not know the outcome. What are the conditions? What are you thinking? What are YOU doing?

Incident Summary:

On July 22, 2002, a lightning strike started a fire in Stanza Creek on the Klamath National Forest. The area is steep, rugged, and has limited access. Slopes range from 40 to 90%, with rock outcroppings and talus slopes. Roads are narrow and winding, often with precipitous drop-offs. The lack of access precluded the efficient use of heavy equipment such as bulldozers.

At 2146 on July 25, an engine (E-11) from Lassen National Forest was ordered as a part of a strike team assigned to the Stanza Incident. The engine module was composed of an Acting Captain (experienced, qualified Engine Operator), Senior Firefighter (Acting Engineer trainee), and three firefighters. The Acting Captain and Acting Engineer were the only licensed drivers on the module.

E-11 is a Type 3 engine with a manual transmission. For operation of this type and size of engine, a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) was required. The Acting Engineer had recently received a Class B learner’s permit. This allowed the trainee to get driving experience while accompanied by a fully licensed driver with the same type of CDL. The license was restricted to automatic transmissions only. To get experience, the Acting Captain has the Acting Engineer do most of the driving.

July 26, 0830 – The module departed from their home base, tie in with the strike team, and arrived at the Stanza ICP around 1600. Indirect strategies had been effective in securing line along existing roads. Safety concerns included steep, inaccessible terrain, rolling rocks and debris, burning snags, and narrow roads.

Night shift, July 26-27, 1800 – The strike team was assigned to support a burnout operation along a road and, after a briefing, departed for the fireline. The road, normally 14 feet wide, has since been narrowed to 10 to 12 feet wide by falling debris from the fire above the road. The road is a winding, dead-end road, 0.7 miles long with a native soil surface. There is a steep drop off on one side. The Acting Captain informed the Division Supervisor (DIVS) that he has a fairly inexperienced driver and it is agreed that the engines will only be used when needed and that, due to the narrowness of the road, they will drive the length and turn around at the end.

July 27, 0630 – E-11 was released from the fireline and off duty at fire camp at 0900. They had been on duty for 24 hours.

Night shift, July 27-28, 1730 – E-11 was assigned to patrol the same location.

0120 – A water tender drove the narrow section of road that E-11 had been patrolling and reports that his rear tire was directly at the outside edge of the road as he moved over to drive around firefighters on the inside of the road.

0200 – E-11 made another pass on the road. E-11 approached the firefighters on the side of the road, and like the water tender, moved over. (The firefighters would later report that the engine seemed unusually close to the outside edge of the road). The rear tires slid off the side of the road and E-11 plunged 1,059 feet down the steep hillside, killing three firefighters and injuring the other two.

Discussion Points:

We all function in the capacity of trainee many times in our careers. On-the-job training is a necessary and valuable part of our learning.

What can you do to help ensure that your trainee opportunities are challenging and successful?

Many fireline situations are challenging and in an unforgiving environment.

As a supervisor what can you do to set your trainees up for success?

Of the dual tires that slipped off the road first, the inside tire had significantly less tread than the other tires (less than the acceptable standard). There was an entry in the vehicle logbook that the left inner dual needed replacing.

For your crew, what is the protocol to follow for documenting and correcting a deficiency in your crew vehicles?

The length of duty time for drivers for July 26-27 exceeded the standard driving duty limitation of 16 hours with 10 hours driving. Both drivers of E-11 exceeded the driving limitation by 8-9 hours.

If you or your crew are being asked to exceed your duty limitation, what do you do?

At the rollover site, the road is only 27 inches wider than E-11.

When you and your crew are faced with a situation that has a very narrow margin for error, what are some of your options?

Have an idea or feedback?

Share it with the NWCG 6MFS Subcommittee.

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NWCG Latest Announcements

NWCG Equipment Technology Committee Releases New Equipment Bulletins

Date: September 27, 2024
Contact: Equipment Technology Committee

The Equipment Technology Committee (ETC) has released three new Equipment Bulletins:

ETC-EB-24-003 Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) in fuel containers.
ETC-EB-24-004 Two-compartment fuel and oil container (Dolmar) unavailable in the United States (US) and reminders for upkeeping current inventories.
ETC-EB-24-005 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Inspection, Care, and Maintenance.

These bulletins remind field going personnel of important issues related to equipment for wildland firefighting efforts.

References:

NWCG Alerts

ETC-EB-24-003 Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) in fuel containers

ETC-EB-24-004 Two-compartment fuel and oil container (Dolmar) unavailable in the United States (US) and reminders for upkeeping current inventories

ETC-EB-24-005 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Inspection, Care, and Maintenance

The Experiential Learning Subcommittee is looking for your feedback on Staff Rides

Date: September 20, 2024
Contact: Ashleigh D'Antonio and George Risko, Leadership Committee

The Experiential Learning Subcommittee needs to hear from the field about where the greatest need lies regarding staff rides and their accessibility.

Do you have an event you would like to turn into a learning experience?
Do you have a staff ride built, but are struggling to implement the delivery?
Do you need help building capacity?
What other ideas do you have to support experiential leadership training?

Fill out this short survey below to help us help you.

References:

Staff Rides: Feedback

Staff Rides

Updated NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934

Date: September 19, 2024
Contact: Incident Business Committee

The Incident Business Committee has updated the NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934. This update expands the provisions for hiring emergency personnel.

References:

NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934

IBC Memorandum 24-03

NWCG 2024 Spring/Summer Highlights

Date: September 13, 2024

Welcome to our latest highlights from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, where we explore the latest updates, insights, and efforts that develop interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners.

The Performance Support Package, which for ABRO includes the Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book were developed through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. The Performance Support Package will support trainees, those qualified in the position, and evaluators.

NASA JOINS NWCG!

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is officially an associate member of NWCG. As such, NASA is beginning to collaborate with wildland fire management agencies with the goal of increasing collaboration across agencies and leveraging NASA data, technology, and innovation for nation-wide efforts in wildland fire management. NASA has a rich history of research, development, and technology transfer in the areas of Earth science, space technologies, and aeronautics that support the NWCG mission.

WWW.NWCG.GOV HAS A NEW LOOK AND DESIGN

The NWCG web team dedicated the past two years to making a significant upgrade to the www.nwcg.gov site. This upgrade involved a comprehensive redesign of over 7,700 web pages.

The modernization of NWCG’s website involved migrating to Drupal 10, a cutting—edge content management system, and leveraging Amazon Web Service GovCloud for secure and efficient hosting. These upgrades help ensure that the NWCG website remains current in content management practices, offering enhanced customization, improved performance, and an overall superior user experience.

NWCG Leadership Committee

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program announced the Professional Reading Program’s 2024 list!

The years books include:

Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog by William H. McRaven
The Art of Clear Thinking by Hasard Lee
Emotional Agility by Susan David
Writing to Persuade by Trish Hall

Learn more at the NWCG Leadership Committee

INCIDENT PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING MODERNIZATION

In 2023, NWCG kicked off the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. A training system overhaul focused on developing a performance-based training system designed to shift training to on-the-job when appropriate.

Over the next five years, NWCG intends to analyze all positions within the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1. To date we are currently working on 30 incident positions, and planning for 20+ in calendar year 2025.

Subject Matter Experts from a variety of geographical areas and agencies recently completed the position analysis for 16 positions. From this analysis, Incident Positions Standards and a Next Generation Position Task Book will be developed for each position.

Incident Performance and Training Modernization

NEXT GENERATION POSITION TASK BOOK

In April 2024, NWCG launched the new Next Generation Position Task Book (Next Gen PTB) which is a key component of the IPTM effort. This revised evaluation tool is designed to work in conjunction with the newly developed Incident Position Standards.

Major Next Gen PTB changes:

Structured to improve constructive conversations between evaluators and trainees.
Reference new Incident Position Standards.
Include only tasks required to be evaluated for successful performance.
Trainees will be rated on their performance vs. initialing whether a task was completed.
Must include written feedback when trainee does not meet the standard.
Will be position specific (no combined PTBs).

Screen shot of the Next Gen Position Task Book

Banner image of the Wildland Fire Learning Portal website

NWCG’s training course catalog is now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP).

To access the training course catalog, visit WFLP and either set up an account or login as a guest.

6MFS

Stanza Fire Engine Rollover (California) – July 28, 2002

Incident Summary:

Discussion Points:

Additional Resources

Have an idea or feedback?

Share it with the NWCG 6MFS Subcommittee.

NWCG Latest Announcements

References:

References:

References:

NASA JOINS NWCG!

WWW.NWCG.GOV HAS A NEW LOOK AND DESIGN

NWCG Leadership Committee

INCIDENT PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING MODERNIZATION

NEXT GENERATION POSITION TASK BOOK

NWCG National Wildfire Coordinating Group

NWCG

National Wildfire Coordinating Group