Introduction
Like wildfire, my research into the topic of cohesion in fire crews sought its own direction. The topic took me into considerations of the safety of firefighters and eventually into the connection between crew cohesion and fire fatalities. I relied on numerous sources, which I have acknowledged, to help develop this paper.
The concept of cohesion, or how fire crews are or are not bonded, is woven through all four parts of this paper. In part I, I look at the role of crew cohesion in three tragic fires. In part II, I examine how the concept of group cohesion became central in sociological studies of human groups. I also discuss my studies of cohesion and safety in Forest Service field crews. The third part of the paper discusses crew cohesion during different stages of firefighting. I draw special attention to the role crew cohesion plays during the dangerous fire transition period. In the final part, I discuss some implications the paper has for future studies and for wildland firefighter training, concluding with a brief summary.