Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Liaison Officer: Lessons Learned
Liaison Officer: Lessons Learned
Wildland Fire
A lesson is truly learned when we modify our behavior to reflect what we now know.
In This Issue
Notable Successes................................1 Difficult Challenges.............................. 4 Effective Practices................................ 5 Training Recommendations................ 6 Liaison Officer Role.............................. 8
Notable Successes
Learning in Action
One of the most notable successes for one Liaison Officer (LOFR) and his Incident Management Team (IMT) occurred during the 2006 Brins Fire in Sedona, Arizona. The Sedona area experiences extremely low fire frequency. Consequently, local government officials, stakeholders and the public were not thinking about fire, nor did they have much fire knowledge. During the incident, fire officials evacuated both the Mayor and the Town Manager from their homes. Both attended morning briefings every day and the LOFR as well as other members of the IMT assumed that they understood fire terminology, overall tactics and operational objectives. However, a few days into the fire, the LOFR sat next to the Mayor, Town Manager, Fire Chief and members of the Town Council, and as the briefing came to an end, he realized that they appeared confused and that they had questions. Continued on page 2
w w w. w i l d f i r e l e s s o n s . n e t
The LOFR explained the Incident Action Plan to them, described what it entailed, and how the IMT used it and why. He also familiarized these local officials with the Incident Response Pocket Guide and its use in wildland fire operations. For three to four mornings in a row, the LOFR met with these officials, helping build a communication bridge to the local community and helping the Mayor and her staff to understand what the IMT was doing to assist the community of Sedona. At the end of the incident, the Mayor presented the Incident Commander and the IMT with a key to the city. This was only the second time a key had ever been presented in the history of the city.
isted throughout the incident because Sonora, Mexico incident command personnel and the Type 2 IMT established personal contact. This included briefing of Sonoran incident command personnel in the Type 2 IMT fire camp and providing a recon flight of the fire. Toward the end of the fire, the IMT invited the Mexican firefighters into the U.S. for an awards ceremony. The Mexican firefighters received plaques and gifts for their efforts at working in close cooperation with their US counterparts. These positive interactions pay dividends in other emergency responses outside of wildland fire. Following the Alamo Fire, a flood occurred in the Nogales Wash during July 2008, causing significant damage on both sides of the border. Members of the same Type 2 team played central roles in this incident, and the relationships they had previously developed during the Alamo Fire contributed to the success of this flood response effort. The resulting cross border relationships continue to develop.
Sedona Residents Observing Brins Fire Courtesy of David Sunfellow, Sunfellow Photography
33
Difficult Challenges
Behind the Power Curve
One Liaison Officer feels that transition with another IMT, when the outgoing Liaison Officer has only been doing part of the job, leaves the incoming LOFR behind the power curve. Because the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) standards require no training or other requirements for qualification as a LOFR, some individuals filling the position lack sufficient preparation to do the entire job. For example, because some of the current LOFRs come from law enforcement backgrounds, they think that the Liaison Officer only needs to interact with law enforcement agencies and personnel. The position actually encompasses much more, including interaction with elected officials, the American Red Cross, and all local government emergency agencies and organizations. The LOFR will struggle to catch up when they must make key contacts if another IMT has been on-scene without establishing these contacts. When this happens, if much time has passed, the representatives from the organizations who have not yet been contacted will wonder why they are being contacted at this point.
One Liaison Officer notes that some of the challenges a LOFR faces include political and bureaucratic processes. Given the frustrations of politics and bureaucracy, it is important to remain positive and focused on the task at hand. There are many ways to accomplish the needs of the incident. Taking the high road is a must. The roadblocks will come, so back up and take a breath and communicate with the command staff of the IMT about alternate solutions.
Effective Practices
Collecting Intelligence Prior to an Assignment
One Liaison Officer immediately accesses the Internet and learns as much background information he can about the community once he knows the name and the location of the incident to which they are being dispatched. He finds out who the elected officials are, their background, what they look like, and the political persuasions of the county and the state. Many websites include detailed biographies on elected officials that sometimes contain where they are originally from and their personal interests. The LOFR prints out the information they find and studies it while enroute to the incident. He also reviews the information with the IC and Deputy IC, so they also understand the background of the community. This Internet research even helps when the IMT first meets with local officials, because they often can spot individuals from their photographs on the Internet. Furthermore, he often finds county and local community emergency operations plans, or Community Wildfire Protection Plans, on the Internet prior to leaving for the incident.
between the team and the rancher. Understanding the priorities of landowners requires that someone take the time to get to know people. In doing this, the LOFR must develop trust with people, and that may include talking to them about uncomfortable subjects, such as a difficult decision the IMT must make regarding evacuations, or even the fact that you might not be able to save their pasture. It helps for the Liaison Officer to have some knowledge of fire behavior. The LOFR should keep tight with operations personnel so that they know what they are doing and can explain it to others. A LOFR must have the ability to talk to everyone from the rancher to the politician because more and more of the wildland fires are crossing multi-jurisdictional authorities. Stay ahead of the issues to keep ranchers and community members comfortable. Let them know about damages and the plans to fix them before they have a chance to come to you with problems. The LOFR position requires an extroverted person. The LOFR must be willing and able to approach people they do not know, introduce themselves, learn where they fit into the community, and talk about their concerns. In short, Liaison Officers must put themselves out there. They can take lessons learned from their fire experiences back to their home unit to further develop habits and their LOFR skill set.
Bob Orrill, Liaison Officer with the Southeast Arizona Type 2 IMT, presented this slideshow at the 2009 Southwest IMT Meeting. If teams or individuals are sent to work on incidents along the US/Mexican border, the safety information in this slideshow is invaluable. http://wildfirelessons.net/documents/Border_Fires.htm
Training Recommendations
Blending Background and Training
A Liaison Officer with a background in law enforcement, wildland fire, or structural fire is very beneficial. Although no training is required, one experienced LOFR recommends, at a minimum, a person filling the LOFR position should take S-130/190 Basic Wildland Firefighter, ICS 100/200 Introduction to the Incident Command System, L-180 Human Factors on the Fireline, and the Annual Fireline Safety Refresher. Also important is S-420 Command & General Staff, L-480 Incident Management Team Leadership, and hopefully someday the position will be included in S-520 Advanced Incident Management course. In addition to training, a Liaison Officer needs the right personality for the job. An individual can have all the qualifications, training, and fire background, but if they lack the personality for the job and anger a high powered official, they will struggle and undermine all the IMTs efforts.
uuu