2019 WOR Day 2: Willow Rappel Fatality

June 30-July 6, 2019

This Week of Remembrance is dedicated to all those who have fallen in the line of duty and is intended to serve as an opportunity to renew our commitment to the health, wellness, and safety of wildland firefighters.

Thomas TJ Marovich Jr.

July 21, 2009, at the Willow Helibase, began like most days, fairly “standard.” Crews did what crews do in the morning and then gaggled up for briefing. TJ and his crew were slated for a proficiency rappel (proficiency rappels are required every 14 days to maintain technical competency). They prepared as they normally do, checking and re-checking equipment. Rotors are spinning; several crews had gathered to watch. Imagine the mix of excitement and pressure and maybe just a little fear.

As TJ headed to the helicopter he noticed a plastic clip, intended to prevent his harness from becoming tangled, was missing. He went to his lead and got it fixed…good to go. TJ checked his own gear…good to go. TJ’s buddy checker looked head to toe and grabbed his harness and pulled… good to go. As he climbed into the helicopter TJ’s spotter checked his gear…good to go. Four people saw exactly what they expected to see. Can you immediately spot any difference in the configurations pictured? Imagine trying to spot subtle differences in a high tempo environment.

Photo firefighters holding rappel hooks out showing three different gear configurations.

There are actually three different gear configurations in this picture (Click to enlarge the photo).

TJ was connected to the helicopter by a rubber band. Now before you shout “there’s the problem” and “how could they miss that” remember that you have the benefit of hindsight, and no time pressure. You have the advantage of viewing a static image for comparison, and you are in the middle of a 6 Minutes for Safety session. That picture is a pretty clear cue that something is amiss and in the office today it’s easy to notice the problem. However, in the field, in the moment, life isn’t that easy. Proficiency rappels were intended to prevent just this kind of accident. And it happened anyway.

We are all a version of TJ. We are all a version of his crew that day. We do work involving risk. We practice and perform life-dependent critical tasks over and over. This work, which was once new to us, inevitably becomes normal. Think of your “standard” day. Does it start anything like this: briefing, prevention maintenance check, physical training?

How much repetition is involved? Break it down further. Is briefing always in the same format? Is the form for the engine check the same one every day? Is there a standard physical training routine?

This is all good stuff, right? Repetition builds skill, muscle memory, and automatic recall that could save your life. Right?

Is there a downside to all this repetition? Of course there is a downside; there seems to be two sides to everything. We often label the downside of repetition as “complacency.” This is a tough word. We use it as a weapon and insinuate that getting “complacent” is completely within our individual control. We promote the idea that you’re just a bad firefighter if you get complacent. Is this really accurate? Is it really possible to NOT get complacent with repetitive tasks? Is it just part of being human? Can you ever slide out of a helicopter, push a saw into a snag or get into the engine without being pretty darn sure you are good to go? Have a chat with those around you about this.

The easy wrong here is to blame TJ and his fellow rappellers for getting complacent. The harder right is remembering that each one of us is TJ – not better, not worse. You are TJ. We honor TJ through learning.

Action:

As a group, pick a repetitive task everyone performs that has become normal. Make a Pros/Cons list about repetition. Identify ways to encourage the Pros and mitigate the Cons. Repeat (with a different task).
Purple ribbon symbol

How can YOU Honor through Learning?

The topics, review, and resources for the NWCG “Wildland Firefighter Week of Remembrance” have been contributed by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center, the NWCG Leadership Committee, and many other field subject matter experts.

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

2019 WOR Day 2: Willow Rappel Fatality

June 30-July 6, 2019

This Week of Remembrance is dedicated to all those who have fallen in the line of duty and is intended to serve as an opportunity to renew our commitment to the health, wellness, and safety of wildland firefighters.

Action:

How can YOU Honor through Learning?

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