As I started writing these thoughts and ideas, I saw that it was Aug. 20 — perhaps the most important date in wildland fire in the United States. On that day in 1910, the “Big Blowup” burned more than 3 million acres in northern Idaho and western Montana, killing at least 78 firefighters. Many of them never were identified, and it's believed that there were many others who were out in the woods who were never found.

But on that day, another remarkable event occurred: Forest Service Ranger Ed Pulaski herded 45 firefighters into a mine shaft outside of Wallace, Idaho, to protect them from the fire's intensity. When the heat and smoke became almost unbearable, some of the men tried to run in panic. Pulaski held them in the mine shaft at gunpoint to prevent their deaths. Many, including Pulaski, passed out from the smoke. Five of the men died, but 40 survived along with Pulaski.

That day changed the course of wildland fire management for the Forest Service and the other federal land-management agencies. Suppressing every fire became the driving motivation, often to the detriment of firefighter safety. As the years went on, the need to reduce firefighter fatalities and improve firefighter safety led to the adoption of the 10 Standard Fire Orders and the 18 Watch-Out Situations, as well as numerous other rules and guides. But firefighters continued to die on the job.

This spring, the Forest Service convened the first invitation-only Pulaski Conference to look at the way they fight wildland fire and recommend new methods with the goal of a new “Fire Suppression Foundational Doctrine” for the way the world's largest fire organization would do business.

USFS Fire Director Tom Harbour started off the conference saying that “we are focusing on defining those simple, clear principles that will encourage complex, intelligent behavior.” Key areas the doctrine addressed include defining the operational environment, mission, roles, operations, leadership and accountability, cost management, and risk and risk management.

National Fire Safety Manager Ed Hollenshead, who played a critical role in formulating the ideas that led to the conference, followed up with his ideas on rules: “Rules are those decisions you would not leave to the discretion of your best firefighter.” Quite a change from the folks who developed the standard fire orders and watch-out situations nearly 50 years ago.

The group of firefighters and fire managers selected to participate in the first Pulaski Conference realized the critical importance of their work on fire suppression operations in the coming years, and they did an excellent job of taking the big-picture view of the 21st century fire organization.

The IAWF strongly supports the concept of the Pulaski Conference and its recommendations for doctrinal changes. We'll be watching for and reporting on the results in the coming years.

Detailed information about the Pulaski Conference can be found on the Web at www.wildfirelessons.net/OrgLearning.aspx.

Note: While FEMA is getting beat bloody for its inability to perform in response to Hurricane Katrina, members of the wildland fire community have again shown their ability for timely and effective responses to disasters when called. As of Sept. 11, wildland fire forces have provided eight Type-1 and nine Type-2 incident management teams, five logistic management teams, and numerous hand crews and other overhead support personnel — more than 3,000 wildland fire folks. Good job, everyone!

Contact the IAWF

International Assn. of Wildland Fire
P.O. Box 261
Hot Springs, S.D.
57747-0261
ph: 605-890-2348
fax: 206-600-5113
iawf@iawfonline.org

To join the IAWF, visit www.iawfonline.org

Letters

Send them to:
Wildfire Magazine 330 N. Wabash Ave.
Suite 2300
Chicago, Ill. 60611

Attn: Lisa Allegretti lallegretti@primediabusiness.com