John MacMillan ~ Study of a Con Man

I've come across a lot of interesting people in my day, but I have to say, John MacMillan, (self appointed mega fire chief five-star battalion Grand Poobah of "name that agency") takes the grand prize for the most prolific and convincing con man I've ever experienced. How a convicted offender could ever be approved for a professional training MOU from the PNWCG (via ODF) is really beyond my imagination. It's experiences like this that have convinced me there is no need to waste time reading fiction. Real life is just so much more interesting.

Just for the record...(since we're talking records)
The purpose of this post is to provide a preemtive warning to those unfortunate enough to come across MacMillan in the firefighting world - either structure or wildland - in any capacity. This man is not who he claims to be, nor does he have the experience he claims to have. We found this out the hard way when we hired him two years ago to provide our company's annual wildland firefighter refresher course in Southern Oregon. After he offered to provide a fireline qualifications card for one of our employees who didn't complete the training because he had a broken leg (and so couldn't complete the pack test portion of the training) I initiated my own background check on MacMillan. What I found was that MacMillan was much like the "Wizard of Oz" when Toto busts him behind the curtain...He's not really what he has presented to the world.

Oregon Department of Forestry agreed to initiate a formal investigation into MacMillan's background after I contacted them about my concerns, which made sense since it was ODF that recommended MacMillan be approved for a training MOU in the first place. (We could bring up preliminary background check protocol here, but, again...that's another story...)

Reading ODF's full investigation report on MacMillan's "background" is better than watching the latest episode of "Deadliest Catch." Following the investigation MacMillan's training MOU was canceled, which meant his fire training was no longer valid. In our book, the complete obliteration of MacMillan's legitimacy as a trainer or self-proclaimed fire manager called into question every training he ever conducted. But, that's also another story...

After being dethroned as a wildland fire trainer (via Professional Firefighter Training Association) it appears MacMillan promptly made his way over to Seaside, Oregon to vie for that municipality's Fire Chief position. Unbelievably, MacMillan made it to the top four candidates there! A different candidate was hired to oversee Seaside's fire department - which I'm sure is to their relief now that MacMillan's true identity has been made public.

According to the Daily Astorian, MacMillan has a Masters degree in Fire Administration, was awarded "Firefighter of the Year" several times and received three Medals of Valor! "Wow! Dude! The guy's a darn hero!" One might think these are things a reporter might check out before reporting. Another example of regurgitating MacMillan's personal delusions without fact checking.

Central Calaveras Fire & Rescue Protection District wasn't so fortunate. In February of this year (2008) MacMillan was hired as the district's new fire chief. The magnificent news was broadcast to the community which was ultimately picked up on the internet (good ole' Google). After MacMillan's appointment was announced on the CalFire Blog Site, the Central Calaveras Fire & Rescue board of directors was alerted to MacMillan's falsified background (detailed in ODF's investigation report) which led to his immediate release. But, unfortunately not before he was handed a business credit card. Oops!

In all seriousness, my primary agitation with the MacMillan issue is my concern for the young firefighters MacMillan has trained - or could train in the future if he again successfully manages to con someone (or a group of people) into hiring him in a fire management or fire training capacity. MacMillan has NO advanced fire experience or training himself, so every bit of the training he has delivered has been scripted, not experienced. Fact: The extent of MacMillan's personal firefighter training is (get ready....)...an FFT2 cert. Don't believe me? Read the report...

I just hope with the extensive investigation findings currently available, MacMillan's intended Marks will be able to dodge a potentially deadly bullet...and young firefighters will not fall prey to ill founded "training" as we almost did.

So, here's the rub...where, along the line, did it become acceptable to EACH AGENCY involved in this fiasco, to sweep MacMillan's "issues" under the rug and scoot his ass down the road so he could inflict more damage to unsuspecting firefighters? Read the investigation report. There were MULTIPLE opportunities to nail his hide the wall. Each agency that chose to ignore the problem (either through lack of thorough initial background investigation, or complacency afterward) amplified the downstream offenses. And, what about the court where his criminal offenses were tried and convicted?

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And how about the probation officer who was supposed to be tracking MacMillan and his activities? Oh, wait, MacMillan simply had to file a regular "self report" for the probation officer to read to make sure he was abiding by the law. Hmmm, does anyone see a hiccup in the system here?

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And, one might ask, (and I really wish someone WOULD) - How am I privy to such "special and personal information" on MacMillan? Well, I went to the court house and paid them a bit over $9 for a complete copy of his criminal file, which included a pretty serious multiple count conviction for grand theft and fraud. Not too tough. Not exactly brain surgery. And it's certainly something any INVESTIGATOR could accomplish, particularly if they were considering putting MacMillan in a position to have access to hundreds of firefighter's social security numbers, drivers licenses and DIGITAL IMAGES!

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I simply walked in to the court clerk. I identified myself as an interested member of the public. Handed over the cash. I have a nice little receipt, if anyone would like to see it. And an hour later, I came back and was handed a complete copied criminal file. The clerk was extremely pleasant and smiled. Like I said, who needs to read fiction?...

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Oh, and since we're talking about this issue, let's do touch on the fact that those icons of public service - newspapers- from the small town Calaveras Enterprise to the larger nearby urban papers were blatantly uninterested in covering such an "unimportant, and unsubstantiated" story.

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Oh dear...is it any wonder newspapers are circling the drain? Not in my mind. No sympathy here... I'll take social media in the hands of the public any day.

NWSA Timber Faller Chapter Launched!

The National Wildfire Suppression Association approved formation of the NWSA Timber Faller Chapter.

The NWSA Timber Faller chapter will be addressing issues facing Faller Module Vendors and hazard tree fallers on wildland fires.

The website established for the NWSA Timber Faller Chapter will be the location for information about the chapter, its activities, its member companies, Steering Committee, and the Faller Module Program.

Chapter membership is open to ALL Faller Module companies nationwide that currently hold a Faller Module operating agreement in any participating region. Membership is also open to potential cutting contractors interested in seeking a Faller Module operating agreement in the future, as well as individual fallers interested in hazard tree felling employment on the fireline.

Why we do what we do

The Kaizen Road

We've been working for almost a decade to create a better system for Timber Fallers working on the fireline. We were committed to creating a system which functioned efficiently for state and federal agencies and was fair and equitable for fallers. It's been a long, laborious and politically bloody battle. The sad part is, it really didn't need to be.

It made sense to us that the state and federal agencies that relied on commercial timber fallers to cut hazard trees on wildland fire would want to work with us to create such a system. We thought they'd welcome the opportunity to create a system that put the most qualified fallers on wildland fire incidents, create consistent standards for experience and equipment, and make sure these fallers were fairly paid, and had injury and fatality coverage.

Unfortunately, it took us the bulk of this past decade to really understand the complex political structure of this interagency dragon's lair. In the process, while we have successfully realized our goal of manifesting a new, more efficient, exceedingly more fair and equitable, faller hiring process, for the most part, the agencies as a bureaucratic organizational entity(ies) really aren't interested in fairness and equity. They're really not interested in whether or not fallers have injury or fatality coverage when they're cutting burning hazard trees out on wildland fires. And they're REALLY not interested in implementing any change that upsets their organizational status quo.

We are.

The desire for change is what has driven us as a company, and me personally, to stay engaged in the process even in the face of extreme political brutality and cruelty on the part of state and federal procurement personnel.

The Kaizen Approach
Without really intending to, we utilized an age-old Japanese path toward implementing positive change. This process is called Kaizen.

(The Implementation Cycle - from Wikipedia...)

The cycle of kaizen activity can be defined as:

• standardize an operation →
• measure the standardized operation (find cycle time and amount of in-process inventory) →
• gauge measurements against requirements →
• innovate to meet requirements and increase productivity →
• standardize the new, improved operations →
• continue cycle ad infinitum.

I'll be exploring this topic more in depth in the book project I'm working on - "Dragon Dialogues." Now THAT should be a riot, eh?

The NWSA
When we first started this effort in 2000 we joined the National Wildfire Suppression Association and I began to meet other wildland fire contractors who were operating in the same realm as we were - wildland firefighting. I found many wise and helpful mentors in the NWSA. Conversely, I also came across people I'd rather not be in the same room with. But, that's the way it is in any industry trade association. You can't get along with everyone.

Back to the point I was intending to make...At a particular meeting of the NWSA R-6 group we made an initial presentation explaining what it was that we wanted to do - create consistent standards and a fair and equitable hiring system for commercial timber fallers on wildland fires. We've received good, sound advice at that meeting and many others.

It was also at that meeting that one of the other female contractors snapped up the paperwork we brought to share and snarled at me "You just better not make anyone mad."

At first that snarly comment pissed me off. But, after almost a decade doing battle (and it has been a costly and exhausting battle) with the state and federal agencies involved, I've personally found that, while initially I thought the woman was simply grouchy and negative, her comment came from experience. And while I have no illusion that she was actually trying to help me, in retrospect, even her rude, snappy comment inherently contained accurate advice from her perspective.

Doing business with the state and federal land management agencies is much like swimming in cold molasses in January. ...And then they put the pot on the bon fire and we all get the Joan of Arc treatment. Oh what a glorious revelation...(And the angels descend in chorus...)

In my experience with government agencies - even if what we are proposing is ethically well founded, economically sound, logistically and systemically fluid and efficient (i.e. Kaizen generated and oriented), the government procurement system disdains change. Change is annoying and scary to them. And anyone or anything behind suggesting or moving to implement change, is attacked and demonized - even if the change makes sense.

I obviously didn't abide by that scowly woman's advice when she spewed it, and I don't intend to in the forseeable future. In the course of this journey I've made a lot of people mad. I believe at the core anger is rooted in fear. We all know fear. The difference lies in how we each deal with it.

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear" ~ Mark Twain

Change is scary. It's natural to get scared when we face the unknown, even if the status quo is destructive, unethical and harmful. Change makes most people angry and unsettled. And fear is fundamentally what leads to good and intelligent people making poor decisions...

My personal prediction is that, as we move further along this path, our efforts to improve the safety, professionalism and performance of fallers on the fireline will most likely continue to "make people mad." That's simply not going to change because our objectives and efforts are based on rock solid intent. Our steadfast committment to this road won't change because the change we're seeking affects the lives of many hardworking people and their families.

My personal approach to seeking meaningful and lasting change will not waiver because I have no intention of abandoning the progress we've made so far. There are many reasons for this...which I'll do my best to explain via "Dragon Dialogues," a book project underway. For now, we'll just keep doing what we do.

...Following the Kaizen Road.

Iron 44 Memorial

A memorial was held today (Friday, Aug. 15) for those who lost their lives in the Iron 44 incident. I created a video of the memorial from images taken by Ken Downhill. It was the most profound memorial service I've ever attended. And it is my hope that I will never have to go to another. But, firefighting is a dangerous occupation. And when tragedy happens, it's comforting to know our firefighting family is tight-knit, caring and capable of holding up and supporting those in need.

Worth It...

Fire season started early this year in June/July. A lightning storm moved through Northern California and started the fire season from hell. The majority of our fallers have been dispatched on California wildfires since early July. They're now transitioning from California to fires in Oregon and Montana.

The big question this year for the U.S. Forest Service seems to be "Are fallers worth the Faller Module price?" Of course, this question is coming from AQM folks who say their first and foremost objective is to get a good deal for the government. This whole conversation has come down to whether or not the government considers covering fallers with Worker Compensation is a legitimate expense for Faller Module Operators. While the answer seems obvious to us, it isn't so obvious to them. So, we're working on that right now.

We believe our fallers and their families are worthy of injury/fatality insurance coverage. It's something we willing to fight fiercely for.