Yesterday I was free associating in the shower, not paying attention to where my thoughts wandered, when they settled on a memory of an almost wildfire.
The weather was hot and dry, the month was probably July, the place was the rustic Unit 5 at Pine Lake United Methodist Camp. Units 5 and 4 had been carved out of a narrow strip of red pine planting at the edge of the camp property. Rustic units were designed with a fire pit, a dining fly, 2 tents, 10 kids, 2 adults. Normally we were half boys and half girls but for this particular week in this particular unit all the campers were boys. We were equipped with 2 pails, a saw, an axe, a garden rake, and a shovel. There was also a backpack-style pump fire extinguisher, a fire barrel (full of water), and a fire bucket with a piece of burlap.
The 12 of us had settled around the table for our meal. The water pails were hung over the fire to heat for dish washing. Food was passing from hand to hand and table conversation had begun. Then one of the boys said, "The fire is getting out."
Indeed, the fire had ignited some pine needles around the fire pit and the circle of flames was creeping away from the pit and toward the surrounding rows of pine trees. I rose quickly and turned toward the fire.
"Get the rake," I instructed. (This confused the boys but was immediately reinforced by my co-counselor, who sat at the other end of the table, saying: "Get him the rake.") With my shoes and the rake I quickly reestablished a bare firebreak between the fire pit and the trees and pulled the burning pine needles into the fire.
Disaster was averted. We breathed a sigh of relief and went back to our meal. Yesterday, over 40 years later and standing in the shower, I revisited the experience. What if the 10-year-old boy had not noticed the fire or had not spoken up? Or if there had been a stronger wind or if we had been even more careless about keeping a bare zone around the fire?
I thought about how the fire might have grown and I started playing scenarios of how we would have responded. What instructions would I have given? How would the unit and then the entire camp have responded?
"Bring the shovel and make a fire break."
"2 of you run to find the director." (He had a radio.)
"Run down to the main camp." (In case the radio wasn't working.)
"Run to unit 4 and warn them. Ask them to come help."
"Fill the fire pail from the barrel and bring the burlap over here to beat out the flames." (You can see how the instructions would start to be too complex for untrained 10-year-olds to carry out on their own.)
"Put the fire extinguisher on and start spraying the flames close to the trees."
In my mind the fire never burns farther than 50 feet nor did it get hot enough to start climbing the trunks of the pine trees. But we were in a drought and a crown fire growing from an escaped camp fire would not be outside the realm of possibility.
In actual reality the fire was quickly spotted and immediately contained. A small escape out of the fire pit was something I knew and had dealt with in other, safer circumstances. Everything was well in the end.
Yet 40 years later my mind rehashes the event and explores alternative plays. This is how you play the actual reality game successfully. Rehearsing various scenarios, imagining good and better responses, taking note of points of ignorance and lack of preparation: These are methods to allow players to make better plays in the future.
After 40 years I think it unlikely that I will find myself again a counselor in a rustic camp carved into a pine plantation during a drought. If I do I will be more careful to maintain the fire break. I would also tell this story so the others can experience this breakout fire vicariously and be more careful as well. If none of that avails, I am better prepared to react because I spent time thinking through what I ought to do.