Mann Gulch Disaster Dodge led a small team of smoke jumpers to fight a seemingly routine 10 o’clock forest fire. Unbeknownst to any team member, they would soon find themselves in a critical situation. Shortly after landing, the wind suddenly changed direction, changing the intensity and course of the fire. In turn, it prevented the team from reaching the river, their only safety net. Dodge survived by starting an escape fire. Two other smoke jumpers, Sallee and Rumsey, survived by sticking together and finding an escape route. All of the remaining smoke jumpers died trying to flee the fire. Applying Decision Making Decision making in the fire sector is similar, but different than in the private sector. Decisions in the private sector is a deliberate process that typically allows individuals to engage in deep thought prior to making decisions. In contrast, firefighters do not have time to extensively consider decisions and plans must be adjusted rapidly as conditions …show more content…
11) suggested after the initial response, decisions are expectantly based on experience and the nature of the incident. Moreover, firefighter’s decision making is guided more by standard operating procedures (SOPs) than by decision making (Warren, 2013, para. 8). As a result, applying decision making concepts will expectantly be different in the fire sector. Nevertheless, in the Mann Gulch disaster, the sudden change in wind direction instantly caused the situation to become a highly complex, uncertain situation. In turn, the smoke jumpers were forced to adapt their plan to respond to the urgent situation. As expected, the dire situation led the smoke jumpers to increase their reliance on heuristics. Unfortunately, using heuristics caused most team members to completely ignore biases, overlook contradictory evidence, underestimate time constraints, and use previous personal experiences as a basis for their decision making (Booth, 1993, p.