2015 WOR Day 4: Situational Awareness

Week of Remembrance June 30-July 6, 2014

Q: What is Situational Awareness (SA)?

Often the response goes something like this “being aware of what’s going on around you and/or understanding the situation you’re in.” The wildland fire environment is complex; firefighters are constantly adapting strategies and tactics to address problems. Information is gathered and communicated across multiple channels. Observations are made to interpret the complex environment; generating an approximation of reality. How we interact with our environment will depend on our experience and the accuracy of our interoperation of reality.

Q: Does SA get reduced to a catch phrase or used in a passive sense? “Make sure you keep good SA out there today!”

Situation Awareness is the foundation for decision making. Developing and maintaining situational awareness is a deliberate act; requiring energy and practice to improve its accuracy. Maintaining SA is difficult in the complex wildland fire environment. The closer our SA matches reality the more informed decisions we can make. Moreover the more accurate our SA, the greater our capacity is to increase margin into our tactics, thereby increasing our ability to be proactive rather than reactive.

Q: How good is your SA?

Have you ever found yourself thinking, “Nothing is going to happen today, we’re just mopping up” or “today is a big fire day”? These examples illustrate two very different levels of Situational Awareness and have a direct effect on the quality of our SA. Retired Marine Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper developed a system to classify awareness he called Cooper’s Color Code. Cooper’s Color Code allows firefighters to quantify their Situational Awareness and a specific target level. The intent is that each person becomes more cognizant of the quality of their SA. Cooper’s Color Code provides us with a language and imagery to describe our level of awareness at a given time. If we identify our level of awareness, we can deliberately move towards a higher quality of Situational Awareness.

White	Unaware and unprepared. In Condition white you will more than likely be surprised by changes in the environment.
Yellow	Relaxed alert. No specific threat. Your mindset is that "today could be the day". You are simply aware that the world is a potentially dangerous place and you are building margin into your tactical decisions. You use your eyes and ears. Yellow is your target level of awareness you can remain in Yellow for long periods of time. In Yellow, you are "taking in" surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner.
Orange	Specific alert. Something is not quite right and has your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. You shift your primary focus to determine if there is a threat (but you continue to scan the larger environment). Your mindset shifts to focusing on the specific target which has caused the escalation in alert status. In Condition Orange, you set a mental trigger: "If the fire does "X", I will need to do “X”. Staying in Orange can be a bit of a mental strain, but you can stay in it for as long as you need to. If the threat proves to be nothing, you shift back to Condition Yellow.
Red	Condition Red is fight. Your mental trigger (established back in Condition Orange) has been tripped. The “If the fire does "X", I will need to do “X” has happened. X has caused you to shift from your Primary or Alternate plan to activate your Contingency or Emergency plans (PACE). Red requires more energy and effort to maintain.
Black	Begins to lose awareness of the surroundings, can no longer cognitively process information and may shut down completely.

Learn more about Situational Awareness on the Wildland Fire Leadership website and Leading in the Wildland Fire Service page 31.

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Updated NWCG Standards for Course Delivery, PMS 901-1 and NWCG Training Course Completion Certificate, PMS 921-1

Date: July 17, 2024
Contact: Training Delivery Committee

The Training Delivery Committee (TDC) has updated the NWCG Standards for Course Delivery, PMS 901-1 to reflect changes in the standards for course management and delivery. These changes have been reviewed and approved by the members of TDC over the past year. Significant updates include additional delivery methods, updated definitions, and instructions for the use of digital signatures on training certificates. The NWCG Training Course Completion Certificate, PMS 921-1 has been updated to lock after an electronic signature has been applied.

References:

NWCG Standards for Course Delivery, PMS 901-1

NWCG Training Course Completion Certificate, PMS 921-1

IBC Memo 24-01: OF 297 Signature Order and 2024 Fire Season Use IBC Memo 24-02: Summary of Changes for SIIBM, PMS 902

Date: July 15, 2024
Contact: Incident Business Committee

The NWCG Incident Business Committee (IBC) has recently released two memorandums. The first provides direction on the use of the Emergency Equipment Shift Ticket, OF 297 for the 2024 fire season. Due to delays in hard copy printing, both the 2024 revision and the older version of the Emergency Equipment Shift Ticket, OF 297 are acceptable for use during the 2024 fire season.

The second memorandum documents the updates of the newly revised NWCG Standards for Interagency Incident Business Management (SIIBM), PMS 902. The summary of changes attached to the memo covers the major updates and process changes from the 2022 version.

References:

IBC Memorandum 24-01: OF 297 Signature Order and 2024 Fire Season Use

IBC Memorandum 24-02: Summary of Changes for the NWCG Standards of Interagency Incident Business Management, PMS 902

IBC Memorandum 24-02 Attachment: Summary of Changes

NWCG Standards for Rapid Extraction Module Support, PMS 552

Date: July 10, 2024
Contact: Incident Medical Unit Subcommittee

A new publication from the Incident Medical Unit Subcommittee is now available. The NWCG Standards for Rapid Extraction Module Support, PMS 552 will be used as a guide and as an opportunity to begin to build out Rapid Extraction Module Support (REMS) modules for the remainder of Fire Year 2024. These standards will be fully implemented as the minimum standard starting in January 2025.

NWCG Standards for Rapid Extraction Module Support outlines the roles, duties, qualifications, and equipment pertinent to REMS. A REMS team, strategically stationed at wildland fires, plays a pivotal role in prioritizing swift access and medical treatment to injured or ill firefighters for safe and efficient egress off the fireline. This ensures their rapid transport to definitive medical care in cases of emergency during firefighting operations, highlighting the invaluable contribution of the REMS team to firefighter safety and well-being.

References:

NWCG Standards for Rapid Extraction Module Support, PMS 552

National Wildland Firefighter Day

Date: July 2, 2024
Contact: National Interagency Fire Center

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) would like to recognize July 2, 2024, as National Wildland Firefighter Day (NWFFD). Established in 2022, NWFFD honors the dedication of wildland firefighters and support personnel. This day falls within the 2024 Week of Remembrance (June 30 - July 6), providing an opportunity to renew our commitment to wildland firefighter safety while remembering those who have fallen in the line of duty.

NWCG continues to provide leadership to enable interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners. NWCG standards and training establish common practices to contribute to safe, effective, and coordinated national interagency wildland fire operations.

References:

NWCG.gov

Week of Remembrance

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2015 WOR Day 4: Situational Awareness

Week of Remembrance June 30-July 6, 2014

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