Today’s (July 2, 2024) discussion focuses on communication.
“The challenges of communication were numerous on the
Mendocino Complex. As a part of the Facilitated Learning Analysis (FLA)
following the entrapment on August 19th, interviews were conducted with
numerous key personnel involved. The lessons they shared were broken into the
categories of Aviation, Intercrew, Fireline, and Overhead. Each category of
lessons learned contained takeaways about communication. Upon review of the
airtanker drop that resulted in one firefighter fatality and multiple
firefighter injuries days earlier, the notification and acknowledgement of
impending aerial drops was documented as a safety issue for review.”
It is very important that as wildland fire professionals we
continually work to improve our communication skills, habits and protocols. To
do that here are some questions for discussion. Feel free to use the comments
section or discuss with your unit.
- When
you give a message, how do you obtain confirmation that it has been
understood? When you receive a message, how do you confirm that you are
understanding it correctly?
- What
is the difference between briefings given to a group of people who
commonly work together and a briefing between a group of people who just
met?
- In
your experience, what difficulties and benefits have you found working
with other agencies? How might you put added effort into ensuring smooth
communication with resources from other agencies?
- Have
you ever been given a compressed or abbreviated briefing? What essential
information needs to be included in a compressed briefing?
- In
today’s environment of large fires and minimal logistical support
(especially during PL 5), what can you do to compensate for communications
issues?
To reference the resources from today’s topic click here.
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