After Action Review (AAR) – Part 2

Continued from: AAR Part 1
The Chainsaw After Action Review
The scenario: It's late. The crew has worked the fire for sixteen hours straight. No one has eaten a hot meal for days and, oh yeah, you might as well be cold.
No time for an AAR? Think again! There’s plenty of time for a chainsaw AAR.
The idea behind the chainsaw AAR is simple: speed. When you need to get an AAR done quickly, try this simple format.
1. Have the team form a loose circle.
2. Start with a single team member and ask one of these questions:
- What is one thing that went well on this shift?
- What is one thing that did not go well on this shift?
- What is one thing you would do differently next time?
- What is one thing you learned today?
3. Continue around the circle until everyone has had a chance. It may be necessary to place a time limit on each individual (such as 30 seconds).
4. Avoid unnecessary discussion (dinner is waiting).
5. Note the comments for future discussion.
Additional Resources
Incident Management Situation Report (IMSR)
10 Standard Firefighting Orders, PMS 110
18 Watch Out Situations, PMS 118
10 & 18 Poster, PMS 110-18
NWCG Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461
RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR)
Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations (Red Book)
Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center