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Week of Remembrance

2022 Week of Remembrance Day 1

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

 

Yarnell Hill Fire (Arizona) – June 30, 2013

Today’s topic is dedicated to all fallen wildland firefighters. 
May we never stop learning.

 

Perspective by the Yarnell Hill Fire SAIT lead

Two firefighters walking away from the Yarnell Hill fire.

Nineteen firefighters were killed on the Yarnell Hill Fire in central Arizona on June 30, 2013, at 1642. The Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) from the Prescott Fire Department was working on the south end of the fire west of Yarnell when they were overrun by fire. This tragedy occurred while the crew was traveling through an unburned area toward a safety zone when a rapidly advancing fire of great intensity overtook them. The fire’s extreme speed of 10 to 12 miles per hour eliminated any opportunity for the crew to reach the safety zone or return to the canyon rim. The crew had less than two minutes to improve a shelter deployment site using chainsaws and burning out. The crew had deployed their fire shelters close together when the fire overtook them. The deployment site, in a box canyon with heavy brush, caused direct flame contact and extreme temperatures as the fire swept through and was not survivable.

The loss of nineteen of the twenty Granite Mountain IHC had a profound impact on family and friends as well as on the Prescott Fire Department, the State of Arizona, the Interagency Hotshot Crew community, and all firefighters across the United States and around the world.

Following the accident, a Yarnell Hill Fire Serious Accident Investigation Team (SAIT) developed a fire report. The report concentrated on helping wildland firefighters of the present and future learn from the tragedy through sense making, reviewing decision points, and a video. This helped firefighters visualize what happened and how to best learn from the loss of the Granite Mountain IHC members. One recommendation from the report was that the State of Arizona lead an interagency effort to develop a Yarnell Hill Fire staff ride to remember these brave firefighters and to help future firefighters learn from this event.

Today we honor and remember the lives of the nineteen lost on this tragic day, but we also remember the lives of all fallen firefighters and honor them throughout this week. The anniversaries of such events should signal a reminder for all of us to seek improvement and pursue successful outcomes where we all safely come off the line at the end of each shift.

How do we as a fire community remember and honor the lives of those who were lost on these fires? We need to keep talking about and learning from what happened to bring change. We need to be open to assessing what we have learned from these events and be proactive in implementing the lessons learned moving forward.

The purpose of this week is to honor our fallen firefighters by making a commitment that we will apply the lessons we have learned every day, on every fireline we walk, and with every decision we make. Use the materials provided this week as a foundation for respectful dialogue and discussion. Apply these lessons to yourself, your crew, your team, and your unit. Ask yourself this: How can these lessons help change us for the better?

Never Forgotten

Granite Mountain 19: 

Andrew Ashcraft, Robert Caldwell, Travis Carter, Dustin DeFord,
Christopher MacKenzie, Eric Marsh, Grant McKee, Sean Misner,
Scott Norris, Wade Parker, John Percin Jr., Anthony Rose,
Jesse Steed, Joe Thurston, Travis Turbyfill, William Warneke,
Clayton Whitted, Kevin Woyjeck, and Garret Zuppiger.

Purple ribbon

As a firefighter you should never stop learning, as one day your life may depend on it.”
– Jim Karels, NASF Fire Director and lead investigator on the Yarnell Hill Fire SAIT

 

 

Category
Week of Remembrance


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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

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National Park Service Logo
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U.S. Fire Administration
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International Association of Fire Chiefs
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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.
 

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NASA Logo

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.

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NWCG new website look.

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

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WFLDP PRP book covers

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.

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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).
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Screen shot of the Next Gen Position Task Book
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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.