Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Blog

This is from Learning in the Wildland Fire Service. Adults have had a great deal of previous learning, comprised of formal education, training, culture, reading, and life experience. Based on this prior learning, adult learners formulate assumptions about the world. Their assumptions can either help or hinder the learning of new material. Learning new concepts is more...

How does using the “Clocks and Clouds” analogy theory help us to think, talk about and learn from past events? To find out, read this excerpt from the “Desire and Responsibility to Learn” section of Learning in the Wildland Fire Service. Clocks and Clouds Philosopher Karl Popper mused that anything we study can be divided into two categorie...

This “Student of Fire” piece is from Learning in the Wildland Fire Service. The wildland fire service has not always used the term “student of fire.” This notion was coined by the late Paul Gleason, who also developed our LCES program. When asked: “What do you want your legacy to be?”, Paul responded: “I suppose I would want my legacy to be that firefighters begi...

[This is the “One of Our Own” interview with Bryan Scholz that appeared in the Summer 2015 Two More Chains. When we reached out to Bryan for a 2022 update, here’s what he relayed: “I'm in the ‘recovering firefighter program’—retired—and still go through withdrawal when an airtanker flies over, which these days is every ten minutes. I'm still honored to be part of the South Canyon Sta...

[This article initially appeared in the 2022 Spring Issue of Two More Chains.] So, what does “Be Accountable – Take inventory on what and how you are teaching and learning” really mean? Another way to say this might be: What’s your part in the learning system? Time spent thinking about training and learning should generate an inventory that includes more tha...

[This article initially appeared in the 2022 Spring Issue of Two More Chains.] What is the learning system like on your module, crew, or home unit? How does it work? Do you dedicate specific time to learning or do you have a more opportunistic approach—capitalizing on learning moments as they present themselves? Regardless of the system, we must embrace the mindset that time...

[This article initially appeared in the 2022 Spring Issue of Two More Chains.] “No—you cannot use an electronic signature for Crew Time Reports.” This was THE answer for years and years. Sometime in 2020 that answer changed. Was it some awesome new technology or major policy shift that brought about this gamechanger? No—it was just our perspective. A global pa...

Reflections on the Practitioner Wellbeing Learning Group Annie Schmidt & Travis Dotson Editor’s note: This post is part of an important conversation about mental health and practitioner wellbeing and contains reflections on the recently concluded Practitioner Wellbeing Learning Group, co-hosted by the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network and the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. Due to the nature of the topic today, we want to issue a content warning for potentially triggering topics: anxiety, depression,...

By Peter M. Leschak A few years ago, two of my Minnesota DNR (Department of Natural Resources) colleagues and I drove to lower Michigan to help deliver an S-420 course for the Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact. Brian is a Type 2 Incident Commander, Bill a Type 2 Logistics Chief, and I tagged along as a unit instructor and a simulation role-player. As we pulled into a motel in the Upper Peninsula, we noticed a young woman—clearly troubled—standing beside a car. She was staring at our government SUV with DNR logos on the doors,...

[This information was originally featured in the “Invigorating the Learner in You” Spring 2022 Issue of Two More Chains.] Got a Simple Tip? Share It! It’s important to remember that sharing a lesson doesn’t always have to be associated with an accident or close call. See these examples below: ___________________...