2022 Week of Remembrance Day 4

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7

Mack Lake Fire (Michigan) – May 5, 1980

Today’s topic is dedicated to all fallen firefighters.

Perspective from the USFS Eastern Region

Two wildland firefighters inspect a burned out area of woodland and set markers on the ground

A group of 11 firefighters was tasked with implementing the 28-acre Crane Lake prescribed burn (RX) on May 5, 1980. The burn, in light logging slash and grass fuels, was intended for planting jack pine to create habitat for the endangered Kirtland’s warbler. On site was a tractor plow, one Type 7 engine, one 1,000-gallon 6x6 engine, and a deuce-and-a-half engine. A cold front was predicted to pass through the area in the early afternoon. The plan was to ignite the unit by 0900 and complete it by 1200, before conditions were out of prescription.

The crew got a late start and began ignition at 1026. Fire began spotting over the line almost immediately. Spot fires became challenging to contain and efforts were compounded by the Type 7 engine getting stuck, stalling, and running out of water. When a seventh spot fire ignited, the plan was to hold the fire along highway M-33 a few hundred feet away. At 1206 the fire spotted across the highway. Then the predicted cold front arrived, bringing strong winds. The tractor and engine successfully attacked the spot fire and responded to more spots across the highway at 1215. Their attack efforts were not enough to catch them all. Pushed by strong winds, the fire ran through grass and jack pine, transitioning to a crown fire within minutes.

The fire became intense and made a push, jeopardizing equipment. At approximately 1245, the engine radioed that they were retreating to the north away from the fire. James Swiderski, who was operating the tractor plow, did not respond to the radio call or any other attempt to reach him. A search was initiated for James, but he was found deceased at 1500, several hundred feet from his burned over tractor plow. The fire emitted the energy of approximately nine Hiroshima atomic bombs that afternoon. The fire had blown up. and 44 structures were lost, 24,000 acres were consumed, and James Swiderski lost his life.

In 2009, The Mio Ranger District, along with Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), took the lead working with NWCG and the Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP) to develop the Mack Lake Staff Ride. To honor James and train future generations of firefighters, the staff ride focuses on human factors, high reliability organizations, and the Swiss cheese model. Intended to identify points of failure and understand the fire behavior of jack pine, staff ride participants hike to five locations along three miles, locating the start of the prescribed fire, the fatality site, and the Mack Lake subdivision.

Additionally, the 820-acre Little Mack Lake Fire in 2012 and the 50-acre Maple Ridge prescribed fire in 2014, both with different conditions and outcomes, occurred along the three-mile route of the staff ride. The team found these fires added greatly to the learning value of the Mack Lake Staff Ride. In 2021 the Mack Lake Staff Ride was revised to a virtual format and included the two new fires. The Mack Lake Staff Ride covers many topics including fuels management, prescribed fire planning and implementation, emerging and complex incident management, and managing incidents within an incident (IWI). To participate in the staff ride, you can either come to Michigan or participate in the virtual format to honor James Swiderski and learn from four fires over 34 years in the Mack Lake basin.

“If you have a burn plan, follow it. … Don’t be afraid to ask for help… time is your most important resource … and make sure you have fuel breaks on the things you want to protect.” – Steve Goldman, Stand 5 virtual video

The revised virtual version of the staff ride was first used in delivery of April 2021 M‑581 class with approximately 100 students and cadre. The Eastern Region will continue to use the staff ride virtually and on-site to teach entry level firefighters through senior leaders that there are no new accidents, just the same accident happening to a different individual, a different organization, or at a different time.

Never Forgotten

James Lee Swiderski

“I am beginning to think human factors are probably the key to it.
“In the Spring of the year… a fire can go from nothing
to a running fire…. in a matter of minutes.
“You’re not gonna catch that, you’re just not!”
– Dick Lord, one of the 11

RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) Module: Mack Lake Fire Case Study
Video: Remembering James Lee Swiderski, Part 1
Video: Remembering James Lee Swiderski, Part 2

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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

2022 Week of Remembrance Day 4

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7

Mack Lake Fire (Michigan) – May 5, 1980

Today’s topic is dedicated to all fallen firefighters.

Perspective from the USFS Eastern Region

Never Forgotten

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