In this special episode of Firefighters in Fire Trucks getting Ice Cream, we’re riding in a 1973 American LaFrance, cruising up to Pioneertown, California, where my crew was trapped in a garage during the Sawtooth Fire that burned over 60,000 acres, destroyed over 50 homes, injured multiple firefighters and civilians, and fatally burned one of the residents.
This was filmed on the 13th anniversary of the fire which occurred on July 11, 2006.
Riding along with me is my friend John Price. He is the local area advocate for the Everyone Goes Home Program through the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF). John and I spend some time discussing this program as well as risk management in the fire service.
We eventually arrive at Pappy & Harriet’s, a local watering hole and music venue in the middle of the desert, and pick up another guest, Scott Pilon, one of my crewmembers during the entrapment. The three of us drive down to the burnover site while we review our actions and how it all played out that fateful day.
In part 2, we tour the entrapment site, mixing in photos and videos of the scene.
In Part 3, we discuss some of my favorite topics on human factors, crew resource management and the Abilene paradox or groupthink, all over a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
