Skip to main content

Search by keywords, then use filters to narrow down results by type, year, topic, or ecosystem.

Displaying 1 - 20 of 27

Federal agencies responsible for wildland fire management face increasing needs for personnel as fire seasons lengthen and fire size continues to grow, yet federal agencies have struggled to recruit and retain firefighting personnel. While many have…
Author(s): Erin J. Belval, Jude Bayham, Shayne Magstadt
Year Published:

Almost half of all Americans (45 percent) reported that their lives were affected a lot by COVID-19 pandemic conditions in 2020 and experienced a lot of worry and stress on a daily basis (Gallup, Inc. 2021). Nevertheless, even more said that they…
Author(s): Emily Haire
Year Published:

For over 100 years, the US Forest Service (USFS) has developed initiatives to improve safety outcomes. Herein we discuss the engineered solutions used from 1910 through 1994, when the agency relied on physical science to address the hazards of…
Author(s): David Flores
Year Published:

This Research Brief summarizes findings of a Joint Fire Science Program project focused on understanding radio communications as part of risk communication and sensemaking in wildland fire operations. Through observation of live and simulated radio…
Author(s): Anne E. Black, Rebekah L. Fox, Elena Gabor, David Thomas, Jennifer Ziegler
Year Published:

In 2017, the NFFF began the process of conducting a wide-scale needs assessment to identify vulnerabilities, attitudes, and intervention opportunities related to wildland firefighter health and safety. A survey was broadly disseminated, and six…
Year Published:

In August, 2018, an editorial in Fire entitled Recognizing Women Leaders in Fire Science was published. This was intended to ignite a conversation into diversity in fire science by highlighting several women leaders in fire research and development…
Author(s): Alistair M. S. Smith, Eva K. Strand
Year Published:

On the afternoon of Aug. 29, 1985, the Butte Fire on the Salmon National Forest in central Idaho made a sudden high-intensity crown run up Wallace Creek, a side drainage of the Salmon River. Over the next 90 minutes, this run consumed 3,500 acres. …
Author(s): David Thomas
Year Published:

This study examined the effects of organisational, environmental, group and individual characteristics on five components of safety climate (High Reliability Organising Practices, Leadership, Group Culture, Learning Orientation and Mission Clarity)…
Author(s): Anne E. Black, Brooke Baldauf McBride
Year Published:

In October, the 12th International Wildland Fire Safety Summit in Sydney, Australia brought together students of fire from all over the world to explore new approaches in wildland fire safety. Participants attended from the USA, Switzerland, Hong…
Author(s): Rebekah L. Fox
Year Published:

In 1960, the USDA Forest Service established the Northern Forest Fire Laboratory (now the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory) to find scientific solutions for better managing the nation's wildland resources and to research ways to improve forest fire…
Author(s): Diane M. Smith
Year Published:

The Cramer fire began as a fairly typical mid-slope ignition on the south-facing slope of the steep Salmon River Canyon during an extended drought that saw live fuel moistures in late July falling below the benchmark record of 2000. On July 22, the…
Year Published:

This paper analyzes historic and contemporary documents about the Ten Standard Fire Orders in the Lessons Learned Center Library and elsewhere, to examine how justifications for these traditional safety rules have changed over time. Using ethical…
Author(s): J.A. Thackaberry
Year Published:

Accident investigators at any level are challenged with identifying causal factors and making preventative recommendations. This task can be particularly complicated considering that 70-80% of accidents are associated with human error. Due to…
Author(s): Michelle Ryerson, Chuck Whitlock
Year Published:

To update and expand a study done in 1989 (Kennedy et al. 1992), we surveyed line officers attending the third National Forest Supervisors’ Conference (Chief, Associate Chief, deputy chiefs, regional foresters, directors of International Institute…
Author(s): James J. Kennedy, R. W. Haynes, Xiaoping Zhou
Year Published:

In this chapter, Kantor and Ober introduce a model for dealing with conflicts that arise when employees are resistant to organizational change. Change situations are high stakes situations that cause greater fear and anxiety than low stakes…
Author(s): David Kantor, Steven Ober
Year Published:

Carroll begins by discussing how different staff members in an organization know different things about how work is accomplished. For an organization to run properly, these staff members must engage in organizational learning, which means…
Author(s): John S. Carroll
Year Published:

This Phase III report of the interagency "Wildland Firefighter Safety Awareness" project presents over 200 recommendations for improving the organizational culture, leadership, human factors and external influences that affect wildland firefighter…
Year Published:

Alder recognizes two decisions common to both the Mann Gulch and Storm King Mountain fires that influenced the behavior of firefighters during critical moments: 1) failing to question authority and 2) failing to obey authority. He argues that these…
Author(s): G. Stoney Alder
Year Published:

This report summarizes the results of Phase II of a four phase study to examine the Federal wildland firefighting community and to improve firefighter safety. The first phase described the strengths and problem areas of the current organizational…
Year Published:

There are many characterizations of wildland firefighters and their work culture. These characterizations vary across all levels of organizations, jurisdictions and types of jobs. As closely held as these perceptions are, as confident as each of us…
Year Published: