Appendix C: Findings From the Wildland Firefighters Human Factors Workshop, 9551-2855-MTDC

Findings From the Wildland Firefighters Human Factors Workshop

Appendix C—Participants

Participants

Dave Aldrich—branch chief for ground operations safety, Forest Service Washington Office, Fire and Aviation Management. Dave began his Forest Service career as a seasonal employee in 1958 on the Powell District in R-1. He has worked in R-1 and R-3 in fire management jobs as well as the National Office and at the Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula. He has been a fire behavior analyst on national fire teams and has been involved with several national fire training courses. Dave chairs the NWCG Safety and Health Working Team. He has a BS in forestry from the University of Montana.

Bill Bradshaw—works for the Forest Service Washington Office in fiscal and accounting, specializing in incident administration and claims. Bill has been active with decision analysis projects in the past and is currently involved with efforts to enhance wildland firefighter safety through improved attitudes, leadership, and responsibility.

Curt Braun, Ph.D.—is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Idaho. As an ex-firefighter for the Sawtooth National Forest, he evaluates fire suppression from the firefighter's perspective. He recently coauthored Human Decisionmaking in the Fire Environment, which will appear in an upcoming special issue of Fire Management Notes. He holds a Ph.D. in human factors psychology with an emphasis on human performance from the University of Central Florida.

Jim Douglas—is Director of the Office of Hazard and Fire Programs Coordination for the U.S. Department of the Interior. Before coming to that post, he served as the Interior Department's fire program coordinator. His career with Interior began in 1979 in the Office of Policy Analysis. He was also in the Department's Office of Budget for 7 years. He was on the Interagency Management Review Team following the South Canyon Fire and serves on the Federal Wildland Fire Policy and Program Review. He has an undergraduate degree in political science from Grinnell College and a master's degree in public policy from the University of Michigan.

Jon Driessen, Ph.D.—is a professor of sociology at the University of Montana. He also holds a faculty affiliate appointment at the Missoula Technology and Development Center. He specializes in the sociology of work and for the past 12 years has studied the culture of work in Forest Service field crews. His latest project for the Forest Service is a 48- minute video, Making a Crew. Jon has a doctorate in sociology from the University of Colorado.

Kelly Esterbrook—is currently a smokejumper squadleader with the Forest Service, in Redmond, OR. Kelly started her Forest Service career on the Rogue River National Forest in 1978. She spent 2 years on Rogue River engine crews and 2 years as a Rogue River Hotshot crewmember. She then spent four seasons on the Deschutes National Forest as an engine foreman and one season with the Redmond Hotshots. She began jumping in 1986. She was detailed to the Union Hotshots in 1992 as superintendent. In 1994 she completed Technical Fire Management Training.

Paul Gleason—is currently fire ecologist for the Roosevelt and Arapaho National Forests in Northern Colorado. His emphasis is the restoration and use of fire as a natural process to achieve land management goals in the central Rocky Mountain ecosystems. From 1991 to 1994, he was fire management officer for the Estes-Poudre and Redfeather Ranger Districts in Northern Colorado. Prior to that time Paul spent 23 fire seasons with the Interagency Hotshot Crew programs on the Angeles, Mt. Hood, Okanogan, Pike and San Isabel National Forests. Because of his extensive wildland fire suppression experience throughout the U.S., Paul has been active in fire suppression/fire behavior course development and presentation. He has an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Colorado State University and is pursuing graduate studies in fire ecology and effects at Colorado State University.

Dave O. Hart—has extensive experience as in instructor and facilitator in the delivery of crew resource management training. He is a former Air Force B-52 instructor navigator, and instructor at the Air Force's Undergraduate Navigator Training. He served as lead facilitator for Hernandez Engineering, the crew resource management contractor for the Air Force Air Mobility and Air Combat Commands. He is an Air Force Reserve C-130 navigator for the 731st Airlift Squadron, which provides wildland firefighting support through the MAFFS (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System) program. Dave cofounded TIG Inc., where he works as a training consultant and facilitator. He is currently responsible for assessment, design, development, and delivery tasks associated with the new Army National Guard Special Forces Decision Training Program. He received his bachelor's degree in aircraft maintenance engineering from Parks College and is pursuing a master's degree in aerospace studies from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Jerry Jeffries—has spent his entire Forest Service career in fire and safety. He recently was named safety project leader at the Missoula Technology and Development Center. From 1990 to 1995 he served as safety and health manager for aviation and fire management in R-1. Before that time, he was for many years safety manager on the Bitterroot National Forest. He has held a variety of fire positions during his career, including interregional hotshot crew supervisor, division supervisor, line boss, air attack boss, and air support group supervisor. In 1992 he received the Government Employees Insurance Co. (GEICO) public service award for fire prevention and safety from a group of over 200 nominees worldwide.

Jim Kautz—is a videographer/photographer at the Missoula Technology and Development Center. He began his firefighting career at Darby Ranger District and was a smokejumper for 3 years in R-1. For the past few years one of Jim's primary responsibilities has been to provide photo documentation as part of wildland fire entrapment investigations. Jim holds a degree in film and television from Montana State University.

Gary A. Klein, Ph.D.—is chairman and chief scientist of Klein Associates. He has performed research on naturalistic decisionmaking in a wide variety of task domains and settings, and has developed significant new models of proficient decisionmaking. His research interests include the study of individual and team decisionmaking under conditions of stress, time pressure, and uncertainty. He has furthered the development and application of a decisioncentered approach to system design and training programs. He has also studied applications of case-based reasoning for domains such as the cost/benefit evaluation of training devices and developing marketing projections for new products. He holds a doctorate in experimental psychology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Buck Latapie—is currently the fire training and safety officer for R-6. He has served continuously on incident management teams since 1983 in plans, operations, and as an incident commander. Early in his Forest Service career he served as a hotshot foreman and engine foreman. In 1978 he was hotshot superintendent on the Bitterroot National Forest. He later worked as a silviculturist on the Fremont National Forest, district fire management officer on the Deschutes National Forest, and as a forest aviation and fire management officer on the Ochoco National Forest. He holds a bachelor's degree in forestry/fire management from the University of Montana.

Mark Linane—is the Los Padres Hotshot superintendent on the Los Padres National Forest in Region 5. The crew is located at the Santa Barbara Ranger District office compound 10 miles north of Santa Barbara, CA. Mark has 30 years of wildland fire experience, the last 23 as superintendent of the Los Padres Hotshots. He is considered a leading spokesperson for the hotshot community. He has been involved with safety and training issues for years, most recently working on the revision of the Strike Team/Task Force Leader training course.

Lark S. McDonald—has performed assessment, development, and design work in human factors training programs for a wide variety of aviation-based applications, including aeronautical decisionmaking and cockpit management for civilian pilots. He has served as designer and developer for crew resource management programs for the Navy T-45, Air Force T-1, and commercial MD-80 for McDonnell Douglas Corp. He has worked as a development program manager for United Airlines and Martin Marietta, and as the lead instructional designer for Hernandez Engineering, the crew resource management contractor for the Air Force Air Mobility and Air Combat Commands. His recent work has included assessment and adaptation of CRM training for use with Air Force test pilots and their ground-based engineer and logistic counterparts. In a further extension of moving CRM-type training into high-risk, high-stress environments, he recently cofounded TIG Inc. with David Hart, which currently provides decisional training and leadership programs for teams with the National Guard Special Forces. He received his education in aviation management and psychology from Metropolitan State College, Denver, CO.

Robert J. Martin—is the Forest Service national aviation safety and training manager at the National Interagency Fire Center, Boise, ID. Bob's aviation experience covers the fields of maintenance, accident investigation, piloting, and program management. For the past 30 years he has been employed in the military, commercial, and public sectors of aviation. His Forest Service career began in 1977 in R-3. Since that time, he has served at national fire center and R-6, Portland, OR. During 1987-1988, he worked with U.S. Customs air interdiction program and returned to the Forest Service in 1989. Bob received his BA in aviation management from Boise State University and his MA in aviation management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Jerry Meyer—has worked for the Forest Service since 1971 in a number of capacities, primarily in timber management. He has also worked as a firefighter, wilderness guard, writer/editor, and historian. His most advanced redcard qualification is division/group supervisor, but he most often takes field observer assignments. Jerry will facilitate the workshop discussions. He holds a BA in history/political science from the University of Montana.

Dave Pierce—is currently the smokejumper project leader at the Missoula Technology and Development Center, a position he has held since 1980. His Forest Service career began in 1964 as a "smokechaser" on Red River Ranger District in Idaho. From 1965 through 1968, he was a smokejumper in R-6 and R-1. Between 1969 and 1971, he worked in private industry as a commercial pilot. In 1971 he returned to firefighting as a smokejumper with the BLM. With 30 years of experience working with both the Forest Service and BLM smokejumping programs, Dave has accumulated some "street smarts" about initial attack firefighters. During his years with the BLM Alaska smokejumping program, he was responsible for organizing smokejumper crews for safety and effectiveness. At MTDC, he has finished several projects related to safety in smokejumping/aviation operations where the objective was to develop materials designed to change institutional attitudes.

Ted Putnam—is a fire and safety equipment specialist at the Missoula Technology and Development Center. He started working for the Forest Service in 1963 and spent 3 years on district fire crews, 8 years as an R-1 smokejumper, and 3 years as a supervisory smokejumper. In 1976 he came to MTDC. He is responsible for developing firefighter's protective clothing and fire shelters, including training materials. He is a member of two National Fire Protection Association standards-setting committees for protective clothing and equipment. Ted holds a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Montana.

Jim Saveland—is a fire ecologist for the Forest Fire and Atmospheric Sciences Research Staff, Washington, D.C. He began his Forest Service career in 1978 on a district fire crew in Elk City, ID. Jim spent 4 years as a smokejumper in R-6 and R-1. In 1984 he became fire management officer on the Moose Creek Ranger District. In the incident command system, Jim was a division/group supervisor and a fire behavior analyst. In 1988 he transferred to the Southern Fire Lab in Macon, GA. Jim became project leader in 1991. In 1994, he moved to his present position in the Washington Office. He has taught several classes on various aspects of fire and risk management at the University of Idaho and at the district, forest, regional, and national levels of the Forest Service. He is the unit leader for the Risk Management and Decision Analysis unit of the National Interagency Prescribed Fire Behavior Analyst course taught at the National Advanced Resource Technology Center in Marana, AZ. The Interagency Management Review Team for the South Canyon Fire asked Jim to lead a team to develop a report on the collection, distribution, and utility of live fuel moisture information. Jim has a BS in mathematics from Auburn University, and an MS in forest resources and a Ph.D. in forestry, wildlife, and range sciences from the University of Idaho. His Ph.D. work concentrated on the application of artificial intelligence, decision science, and cognitive psychology to fire management.

Lyle Shook—is currently safety and health manager for R-5. He has 21 years of experience in Forest Service wildland fire operations in Regions 3, 5, and 6. His experience ranges from hotshot and helitack crews to acting Regional fire coordinator. In the incident management system he is a type I operations chief, plans chief, and safety officer. He has been a type II incident commander for 3 years. He has been in his current position since 1988.

David A. Thomas—is fire management officer on the Superior Ranger District, Lolo National Forest. He started his Forest Service career as an emergency firefighter in 1967. He has been a member of fire crews on the Kootenai and Clearwater National Forests. Later, he was helicopter foreman of an 18- person crew. Dave has been a member of numerous type I and type II incident management teams. He was a fire behavior analyst on the 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park. As a prescribed fire manager, Dave has developed and implemented many prescribed burns ignited for various silvicultural and fuels management objectives. Dave holds a BA in geography from the University of Montana.

Karl E. Weick, Ph.D.—is the Rensis Likert Collegiate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at the University of Michigan. He is also the former editor of Administrative Science Quarterly, the leading research journal in the field of organizational studies. He studies such topics as how people make sense of confusing events, the social psychology of improvisation, high reliability systems, the effects of stress on thinking and imagination, indeterminacy in social systems, social commitment, small wins as the embodiment of wisdom, and linkages between theory and practice. His writing about these topics is collected in four books, one of which— The Social Psychology of Organizing—is cited as furnishing significant background for Peter's and Waterman's In Search of Excellence. Karl has consulted with a variety of organizations, including Corning Glass, Narco, Cole Products, Dalton Foundries, Southland Corp., Motorola, Texas Instruments, Lockheed, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Education, and the National Institute of Mental Health. He has a Ph.D. in psychology from Ohio State University.

Pat Wilson—is manager of the Grangeville smokejumper base, a position he has held since 1987. He started his firefighting career in 1974 on an engine crew with the Idaho Department of Lands. He became engine crew foreman in 1976. In 1978 he was an assistant foreman of the now-defunct Coeur d'Alene Hotshots. The next season he joined the St. Joe Hotshots as a lead sawyer. He began smokejumping in 1980 in Missoula, transferring to Grangeville in 1981. He became a squad leader in 1983. He served for 2 years on the forest safety committee and currently is a member of the National Aerial Delivered Firefighter Study, and a group that is rewriting the Smokejumper and Paracargo Handbook.

Patrick Withen—a smokejumper based in McCall, ID, he is assistant professor of sociology at Centenary College, Shreveport, LA. His fire experience includes 14 seasons as a smokejumper, 1 season on a hotshot crew, and 2 seasons on a helitack crew. As a forest sociologist he spent 1 year conducting baseline social data collection and social impact analysis for landscape analyses and environmental impact statements. He has been a college instructor for 5 years. Patrick has a Ph.D. in sociology and an MBA from Boston College. He also holds a BS in psychology from the University of Oregon.

Steve Wolf—is a research associate at Klein Associates. He has played a key technical role on projects concerned with expert knowledge and decision support. He was the project leader on a recently completed effort sponsored by the Navy to develop a decision support system for crew members in a combat information center. He heads a related effort to examine potential training applications. His current projects include a review of National Fire Academy curriculum designed to enhance rapid decisionmaking on the fireground. He has been a member of a technical team studying helicopter pilot safety, allocation methods used by fire direction officers, and review of human-computer interface designs for a surveillance platform developed jointly by the Army and Air Force. He holds a BS in psychology from Wright State University, Dayton, OH.

Special thanks to these people for their assistance during the workshop:

Laurel Chambers, workshop notetaker, Superior Ranger District, Lolo National Forest, Superior, MT
Tim Crawford, Gates of the Mountains Marina, by Helena, MT
Mary Jo Lommen, Mann Gulch EMT, Superior Ranger District, Lolo National Forest, Superior, MT
Dave Turner, Mann Gulch interpreter, Helena Ranger District, Helena National Forest, Helena, MT

The following people were invited to the workshop but were unable to attend:

Paul Broyles, training and safety specialist, National Park Service, NIFC, Boise, ID
Jim Cook, superintendent, Arrowhead Hotshots and training specialist, National Park Service, NIFC, Boise, ID
Mary Jo Lavin, director, Fire and Aviation Management, USDA Forest Service, Washington, D.C.
Holly Maloney, squadleader, Lolo Hotshots, Lolo National Forest, Missoula, MT
Stan Palmer, safety and health group leader, Bureau of Land Management, NIFC, Boise, ID
Gina Papke, superintendent, Zig Zag Hotshots, Mount Hood National Forest, Zig Zag, OR
Bill Russell, acting director, Aviation and Fire Management, Region 3, Albuquerque, NM
Jerry Williams, director, fire operations, Fire and Aviation Management, USDA Forest Service, Washington, D.C.