National Wildfire Coordinating Group

RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR)

Chainsaws and Human Factors

RT-130 Decorative banner. Group of photos depicting wildland firefighters performing various duties.

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This module looks at finding the balance between production, distractions and safety concerns in an effort to avoid hazards.
Category: Hazards
Core Component(s): Incident Reviews and Lessons Learned;
Human Factors, Communication and Decision Making
Estimated Delivery Time: 30 minutes; Video Length: 14:11

 

Intent

Recognize the balance and tradeoffs between production and safety. Manage pressure, distractions and fatigue in an effort to avoid hazards while accomplishing the mission.​

Facilitator Preparation

  • Review the video and module tools.
  • Consider additional activities and discussion questions pertinent to the location and agency.

Facilitating the Discussion

  • Show the video.
  • Facilitate a small or large group discussion using the activity and discussion questions.

Discussion Questions

  1. Describe a situation in which your crew was challenged with balancing fireline production and safety? What safety controls were put in place to manage risk?
  2. While on an assignment, what types of pressure to complete the mission have been put on you from an Incident Commander, Division/Group Supervisor, Incident Management Team members, or agency representative? How did the pressure affect your decision making?
  3. What are some distractions that could cause you to lose your focus?
  4. Fatigue is difficult to recognize within yourself. What are some indicators that indicate you are fatigued?
  5. During a long assignment or fire season, complacency will inevitably surface. How do you manage complacency when it strikes?

Resources

Video Information

This video is also available as a download. (Size 170 MB)
Download the .srt file for closed captioning (you may need to right click and Save As). For information on how to add closed captioning to a video, see this how-to page.

Note: For Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, right click the word download and select Save Link As; for Internet Explorer (IE), right click and select Save Target As.

 

Print This WFSTAR Module

 

 

 

Page Last Modified / Reviewed: 
2023-08-24

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