US Forest Service
ACCIDENT REVIEW BOARD ACTION PLAN
Esperanza Incident
Recommendation 01A – Update the California Cooperative Fire Protection Agreement (CFPA) to include distribution of existing strategic high-risk interface geography location maps to complement existing Direct Protection Area (DPA) maps.
RESPONSIBLE UNIT: USFS FAM Region 4, USFS FAM Region 5 (Coordinate with Cal Fire)
LEAD UNIT: USFS FAM Region 5
COMPLETION DATE: July 31, 2007
Recommendation 01B – Develop strategy to identify and map high risk interface locations in areas covered by the CFPA to complement existing DPA maps (i.e., highlight areas such as the Twin Pines basin area).
RESPONSIBLE UNIT: USFS FAM Region 4, USFS FAM Region 5 (Coordinate with Cal Fire)
LEAD UNIT: USFS FAM Region 5
COMPLETION DATE: December 31, 2007
Recommendation 02 – Integrate California Forest Service fire management plans with the Riverside County Mountain Area Safety Taskforce (MAST) pre-fire and emergency plan (September 2004). Fire management plans should continue to be jointly developed and monitored to support the successful implementation of the Riverside County Mountain Area Safety Taskforce (MAST), Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains Community, and the Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) – Draft Final (March 2006). Integrate action plans into departmental operating and prevention plans which need to be developed, prioritized, and implemented to aggressively move forward measures to improve fire fighter safety in a timely and effective manner. Continue follow up on the documented “lessons learned” resulting the from MAST interface zone training exercise held June 15, 2005 with an emphasis on safety items identified in the areas of command and control. Develop meaningful metrics and include those methods for agencies to measure and report to agency heads (CalFire and FS R5 Regional Forester) success of planning efforts.
RESPONSIBLE UNIT: USFS FAM Region 5 (Coordinate with Cal Fire)
LEAD UNIT: USFS FAM Region 5
COMPLETION DATE: March 31, 2008
Recommendation 03A – Update Serious Accident Investigation Training to include clarification about reporting requirements, collateral investigations, protocol information about Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), union involvement, report writing, and procedures for documenting near-miss incidents.
RESPONSIBLE UNIT: USFS WO OSOH
COMPLETION DATE: March 31, 2008
ACCIDENT REVIEW BOARD ACTION PLAN
Esperanza Incident – Forest Service & CalFire
April 3-4, 2007
Recommendation 03B – Develop and integrate into each agency’s Serious Accident Investigation processes/procedures the investigatory lessons learned from Esperanza.
RESPONSIBLE UNIT: USFS WO OSOH (Coordinate with Cal Fire)
LEAD UNIT: USFS WO OSOH
COMPLETION DATE: March 31, 2008
Recommendation 04 – Initiate a policy review of wildfire suppression risk management principles to enhance agency-wide performance and determine key factors to make educated risk decisions when operational assets are committed, or proposed to be committed in the wildland urban interface.
RESPONSIBLE UNIT: USFS WO FAM (Coordinate with Cal Fire)
LEAD UNIT: USFS WO FAM
COMPLETION DATE: July 31, 2007
Recommendation 05 – Based upon the outcome of recommendation #4, petition NWCG (National Wildland Fire Coordinating Group) to review the current S-215 Fire Operations in the Wildland Urban Interface, (I-Zone = interface zone same as wildland urban interface).
RESPONSIBLE UNIT: USFS WO FAM (Coordinate with Cal Fire)
LEAD UNIT: USFS WO FAM
COMPLETION DATE: September 30, 2007
Recommendation 06 – Promote the use of the Esperanza Fire Fatality Serious Accident Investigation Report as a learning tool to deliver a variety of strong messages to the fire community to emphasize the importance of risk management and the priority of life over structure protection. Communication methods shall address human factors and shall include: classroom case study (Fire Fighter Survival Case Study); personal testimony of involved fire fighters, staff rides, and other multi-media interactive technology to include in annual fire fighter refresher courses.
RESPONSIBLE UNIT: USFS WO FAM (Coordinate with Cal Fire)
LEAD UNIT USFS WO FAM
COMPLETION DATE: March 31, 2008
ACCIDENT REVIEW BOARD ACTION PLAN
Esperanza Incident – Forest Service & CalFire
April 3-4, 2007
Recommendation 07 – Update the similar terrain situational awareness poster to include a photo of the “unnamed creek drainage” from the Esperanza Fire.
RESPONSIBLE UNIT: USFS WO FAM
COMPLETION DATE: July 31, 2007