Leadership Lessons

Leadership Lessons Great Smoky Mountain Fire Name Institutional affiliation Leadership Lessons Great Smoky Mountain Fire Summarize the event In November 2016, a great fire started at the Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and rapidly spread to the neighborhood. The fire claimed the lives of 14 people, destroyed homes, the beautiful surrounding and affected the quality of air in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge towns which surround the park (Lakin Ahellen, 2017). The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a popular tourist destination in the United States. The park receives around 9.5 visitors annually. The initial response to the incident consisted of local rangers. However, as the fire grew, the management involved other agencies including the police, firefighters, and medical teams. The response was affected by the wide area under fire, bad terrains, and the small number of personnel, inaction and the failure to understand the risk. Preliminary reports indicated that the spread of the fire from the park to the neighborhood was a result of unpreparedness and not negligence. Response to the disaster Police and firemen played a major role in managing the disaster. The main role of the police during the disaster was to protect