Some editorial thoughts from Jim Graue
I read with great interest the message from Tom Harbour. Written in the wake of the tragedy of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots losing their lives, Tom calls on all of us in the fire service to “engage in a difficult and complex discussion about the choices we have made as a society and the table we set for those . . . who willingly insert [them]selves between the flame and lives, homes, and communities” and “chart a new and better course forward, one which always remembers.”
Everyone in the great fire service family, present and past, was impacted by this incident. But as I read Tom’s message, there was an awareness that something was missing. So, I re-read it, slowly and more carefully. Yes, it is missing . . . the word SAFETY, absent! That is an omission that is very difficult to overlook.
SAFETY . . . the most important task of every firefighter at every level.
Whose safety? Ours! Firefighter safety, the highest priority.
As one advances in their fire service experience and career, taking on added responsibilities for leadership and operations, firefighter safety takes on greater and greater importance. The essential importance of firefighter safety cannot be overemphasized. It must always be paramount in our minds regardless of the tasks being undertaken.
The most essential knowledge for every firefighter . . . FIRE BEHAVIOR and the conditions that affect it: fuels, terrain, aspect, weather conditions and variables . . . the list goes on. We know, or must know, all of this and more, for only then can our consciousness assess the situation, apply the principles and determine our priorities for action . . . the first of which must always be to assure firefighter safety!
I am not familiar with the specifics of the Granite Mountain Hotshots incident, only its tragic outcome. But one wonders . . . LCES. The wildland firefighter’s principles for firefighter safety . . . our safety. In the end, there was a failure in this area, a fatal failure. We know this because we have found it in every similar tragedy of the past.
So, in the end, I must disagree with Tom in the implied discussions we must have and the alternatives for the direction we must go. We need not alter our mission, but we must rededicate ourselves to the priority of firefighter safety and the principles, knowledge and actions that assure it. Any discussions without a focus on safety are fruitless.
At any incident, major or minor, our first measure of success is our safety record. The primary objective must always be our safety. LCES, always and without compromise. We can, have, must and will deal with any and all incidents successfully when SAFETY is our first priority.
Jim Graue
Assistant Fire Chief (Retired), Spokane County Fire District 9
Former ICT2 and Incident Commander, Washington State IIMT Number 1