7 - The suppression model fragilities: The “firefighting trap”

Abstract

This chapter examines the wildfire suppression model that is dominant in most fire management paradigms around the world, regarding the reasons for its wide acceptance but also identifying its weaknesses and failures. Central to this assessment is a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats analysis of the “war against fire” paradigm, which reveals a marked unbalance between negative and positive points, since S<W, O<T (their numbers are 6 v. 24, 4 v. 10, respectively). All these are tied to the metaphor of a firefighting trap known for a long time in the business management domain, where “putting out fires” allegorically expresses the concept to deal with problems (fires). The metaphor is used by managers to describe a short-sighted cycle of problem-solving: dealing with “fires,” or problems, as they arise, mainly by suppressing their symptoms, but failing to address the underlying cause, rather than understanding and addressing the factors that cause the problem. This approach increases the chance that the same problem will crop up again in the future. Important lessons can be derived by studying the relevant literature which points out that owing to a combination of structural and psychological factors, changes are very difficult, especially in case of complex multistage environments. Bringing the metaphor back to the reality of wildfire management, the firefighting trap can be understood more easily and the significant coordinated effort needed to escape the trap in the future will not be underestimated, as shown in the proactive model that is proposed as a possible alternative at the conclusion of the chapter.