Communication

Have you ever been talking with someone and had the feeling that you just aren’t understanding each other? Maybe you were trying to deliver a message and it didn’t land well, or there was no reply, and you were left to interpret body language? Or you were receiving a message and distractions were present like a noisy environment, a sense of urgency, or position rank? If that instance lingered in your mind, you experienced a breakdown in communication and the natural human desire to communicate effectively. 

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. 

There’s no question that for our craft to evolve, as wildland fire professionals we must work to continually improve our communication skills, habits, and protocols. But where do we start? 

The Mendocino Entrapment FLA Team posed numerous communication questions for discussion. Think of your own experiences and consider some of these questions that came out of the fire. 

Discussion Questions:

• 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?