Fire at Mann Gulch Case Solution

1. What were the causes of the tragedies?

There were three causes of the tragedies: the inevitable fire situation at Mann Gulch, poor leadership demonstrated by Dodge, and panic consequent from the crew’s inexperience. Firstly, the fire started on the south side of Mann Gulch as a Class C fire (10 -99 acres). The area was heavily forested, which made the fire slow-moving but hot. When the fire moved up the steep and grassy north side, it intensified. The fire turned into a Class F fire (300+ acres). Before the landing of the crew, the wind speed was around 14 to 22 miles per hour. After they approached the area, the wind speed went higher to around 20 and 30 miles per hour. Furthermore, the fire blocked Dodge’s backup plan of escaping through the river. He and the crew could not outrun the rapidly spreading fire because of the rocky incline. As the mounting fire and the steep landscape made the blowup imminent, twelve smoke jumpers died in the fire.

Secondly, Dodge exhibited poor leadership by making many small mistakes which, when combined, caused huge losses. He did not make an informed decision of putting the life and safety of the smokejumpers first by landing at a place that was inaccessible by the plane in case of an injured crew. Furthermore, he did not communicate with the crew regarding his plan and the contingency plan in his mind. He was not deeply concerned about the seriousness of the fire. He also left his crew unsupervised twice, which confused them. Although Hellman was second in command, he did not have sufficient experience of a foreman’s responsibilities. Thus, he could not bring them together. The lack of communication, delegation, and trust created distrust between the crew and the leader. They did not comply with his order when he lit an escape fire and asked them to join him, which led to this unfortunate event. 

Lastly, the smokejumpers did not have adequate experience in dealing with any crisis during the fire. The nine members of the crew were about to witness their first season, while the other four were in their second season. They did not pack backup radios or maps of the area. When they were surrounded by the fire and could not outrun it, they did not follow Dodge’s orders. They panicked and could not make any logical or quick decisions hence, the tragedies.