Search by keywords, then use filters to narrow down results by type, year, topic, or ecosystem.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6
It has become increasingly clear that wildland firefighters are experiencing collapses in decisionmaking and organizational structure when conditions on the fireline become life-threatening. Since 1990 wildland fire agencies have lost 23 people who…
Year Published:
This document is a letter to Jack Ward Thomas, Chief of Forest Service, from Joseph A. Dear, Assistant Secretary OSHA, outlining the findings of the Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration's investigation of the South Canyon fire, February 8,…
Year Published:
Programs aimed at enhancing safety by addressing the proximate cause of an accident only consider a small portion of the safety picture. Merely addressing the proximate cause fails to consider that the system either directly or indirectly trains,…
Year Published:
I was disappointed with the OSHA report of the South Canyon Fire. My feelings are not the result of any need to defend my agency (USDA Forest Service). In another time and place, I thought the OSHA report following the death of Bill Martin (a…
Year Published:
Stress, fear, and panic predictably lead to the collapse of clear thinking and organizational structure. While these psychological and social processes have been well studied by the military and the aircraft industry (Cockpit Resource Management) (…
Year Published:
This article is a detailed reconstruction of firefighter behavior and personal protective equipment use on the South Canyon Fire. Putnam reveals two failures that contributed to the deaths of 14 firefighters. First, many firefighters held onto…
Year Published: