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Week of Remembrance

2022 Week of Remembrance Day 2

 Day 1  |  Day 2  |  Day 3  |  Day 4  |  Day 5  |  Day 6  |  Day 7

 

Blue Ribbon Fire (Florida) – June 20, 2011

Today’s topic is dedicated to all of Florida’s fallen firefighters.

 

Perspective from the Florida Forest Service

 

A female firefighter holding a hose.

Between June 1 and 16, 2011, northern Florida and southern Georgia experienced widespread drought conditions contributing to 659 fires in Florida alone. Live fuel moistures were critically low on the Blue Ribbon Fire located on a slash pine plantation. Several fires ignited by lightning from a passing front on June 16 in the same area. Dry swamps and heavy fuels made accessing and controlling fires difficult. Contained the first day, the Blue Ribbon Fire would jump containment lines four days later. The Incident Commander (IC) arrived June 20.

  • 1510 – The fire was 5 to 8 acres and moving fast.
  • 1555 – A Type 3 open cab tractor/plow unit calls in that he is “stumped” and a Type 2 closed cab tractor-plow (T/P) unit replies, “I’m going to push you.”
  • 1600 – Another unit on the fire noted that the smoke column changed direction.
  • 1620 – The IC noted that he had not heard from the two T/P units and was unable to make contact. The units were found, and they had been burned over. It appeared that the second T/P unit, in an attempt to push the stumped unit off, had become blocked between numerous large stumps. The firefighter/operators had left their immobilized units and were overtaken by fire. Neither had deployed a fire shelter. Evidence indicated that neither tractor was suitable for sheltering. The two firefighter/operators did not survive.

The loss of Joshua Burch and Brett Fulton significantly impacted their local unit and the Suwanee Forestry Center, as well as the Florida Forest Service (FFS) at all levels. “We’re going to do everything we can to train and communicate and to develop a fire program where, to the best of our ability, we’ll never have this happen again.” That is the living legacy of Josh and Brett.

To ensure that legacy, the FFS chose to develop a staff ride. This method would allow the participants to walk in the shoes of the firefighters involved in the incident and to gain key lessons that could be shared with their home units. The Blue Ribbon Staff Ride (BRSR) was developed in 2017 through the vision of Jim Karels, then State Forester and Director of the Florida Forest Service. He selected an FFS workshop team to develop the BRSR in partnership with the National Staff Ride Workshop, the NWCG Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center, and OMNA International, LLC. The goal was to enhance learning in key operational areas including leadership, communications, tactics, and preparedness related to firefighting. The BRSR strengthens these skills to improve the ability to fulfill the FFS mission to protect homes, forestland, and natural resources from the devastating effects of wildfire.

“The BRSR reached further than expected – it stretched participants and leaders alike beyond the intended experiential learning experience. While honoring the memory of our brothers, Joshua Burch, and Brett Fulton, the BRSR fostered an environment for people to grieve their loss, providing a space for healing and perhaps serve as a catalyst for moving forward.” – Wildland Fire Leadership Blog, Blue Ribbon Staff Ride – Honoring Through Learning

"Based on my experience, I have found the staff ride development process to be an emotional and healing process. Valuable information can now be passed on to our current and future teammates while honoring the ultimate sacrifice of the brothers we lost in 2011.” – George Risko, FFS Fire Training Officer

Incorporating staff rides into RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) deliveries adds great value for participants. Staff rides can be built for a vast array of situations—a large wildfire, prescribed fire, hurricane response, etc. The workshop offers tools and confidence to develop more staff rides and share our knowledge with others. If you have a vision or an idea for a local staff ride, consider attending the National Staff Ride Workshop or hosting a session of your own. It is the most rewarding hard work you will ever put in, and you will meet some incredible folks to assist you along the way.

Never Forgotten

Brett Fulton and Joshua Burch

Purple Ribbon
“Put your people first -
today, tomorrow, forever.”
– Jim Karels

 

 

Category
Week of Remembrance


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NWCG Latest Announcements

The Experiential Learning Subcommittee is looking for your feedback on Staff Rides

Date: September 20, 2024
Contact: Ashleigh D'Antonio and George Risko, Leadership Committee

The Experiential Learning Subcommittee needs to hear from the field about where the greatest need lies regarding staff rides and their accessibility.

  • Do you have an event you would like to turn into a learning experience?
  • Do you have a staff ride built, but are struggling to implement the delivery?
  • Do you need help building capacity?
  • What other ideas do you have to support experiential leadership training?

Fill out this short survey below to help us help you.

References:

Staff Rides: Feedback

Staff Rides

Updated NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934

Date: September 19, 2024
Contact: Incident Business Committee

The Incident Business Committee has updated the NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934. This update expands the provisions for hiring emergency personnel.

References:

NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934

IBC Memorandum 24-03

NWCG 2024 Spring/Summer Highlights

Date: September 13, 2024

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U.S. Fire Administration
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International Association of Fire Chiefs
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Department of Defense Logo

Welcome to our latest highlights from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, where we explore the latest updates, insights, and efforts that develop interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners.

The Performance Support Package, which for ABRO includes the Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book were developed through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. The Performance Support Package will support trainees, those qualified in the position, and evaluators.
 

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NASA Logo

NASA JOINS NWCG!

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is officially an associate member of NWCG. As such, NASA is beginning to collaborate with wildland fire management agencies with the goal of increasing collaboration across agencies and leveraging NASA data, technology, and innovation for nation-wide efforts in wildland fire management. NASA has a rich history of research, development, and technology transfer in the areas of Earth science, space technologies, and aeronautics that support the NWCG mission.

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NWCG new website look.

WWW.NWCG.GOV HAS A NEW LOOK AND DESIGN

The NWCG web team dedicated the past two years to making a significant upgrade to the www.nwcg.gov site. This upgrade involved a comprehensive redesign of over 7,700 web pages.

The modernization of NWCG’s website involved migrating to Drupal 10, a cutting—edge content management system, and leveraging Amazon Web Service GovCloud for secure and efficient hosting. These upgrades help ensure that the NWCG website remains current in content management practices, offering enhanced customization, improved performance, and an overall superior user experience.

NWCG Leadership Committee

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WFLDP Professional Reading Program logo
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WFLDP PRP book covers

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program announced the Professional Reading Program’s 2024 list!

The years books include:

  • Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean
  • The Wisdom of the Bullfrog by William H. McRaven
  • The Art of Clear Thinking by Hasard Lee
  • Emotional Agility by Susan David
  • Writing to Persuade by Trish Hall

Learn more at the NWCG Leadership Committee

INCIDENT PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING MODERNIZATION

In 2023, NWCG kicked off the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. A training system overhaul focused on developing a performance-based training system designed to shift training to on-the-job when appropriate.

Over the next five years, NWCG intends to analyze all positions within the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1. To date we are currently working on 30 incident positions, and planning for 20+ in calendar year 2025.

Subject Matter Experts from a variety of geographical areas and agencies recently completed the position analysis for 16 positions. From this analysis, Incident Positions Standards and a Next Generation Position Task Book will be developed for each position.

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Incident Performance and Training Modernization

NEXT GENERATION POSITION TASK BOOK

In April 2024, NWCG launched the new Next Generation Position Task Book (Next Gen PTB) which is a key component of the IPTM effort. This revised evaluation tool is designed to work in conjunction with the newly developed Incident Position Standards.

Major Next Gen PTB changes:

  • Structured to improve constructive conversations between evaluators and trainees.
  • Reference new Incident Position Standards.
  • Include only tasks required to be evaluated for successful performance.
  • Trainees will be rated on their performance vs. initialing whether a task was completed.
  • Must include written feedback when trainee does not meet the standard.
  • Will be position specific (no combined PTBs).
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Screen shot of the Next Gen Position Task Book
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NWCG’s training course catalog is now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP).

To access the training course catalog, visit WFLP and either set up an account or login as a guest.

 

 

The Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book are now available for Aircraft Base Radio Operator (ABRO)

Date: September 12, 2024
Contact: Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee

NWCG is excited to announce that the NWCG Incident Position Standards for Aircraft Base Radio Operator, PMS 350-87 and NWCG Position Task Book for Aircraft Base Radio Operator (ABRO), PMS 311-87 are now available.

The Performance Support Package, which for ABRO includes the Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book were developed through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. The Performance Support Package will support trainees, those qualified in the position, and evaluators.

References:

NWCG Aircraft Base Radio Operator Position Page

NWCG Incident Position Standards for Aircraft Base Radio Operator, PMS 350-87

NWCG Position Task Book for Aircraft Base Radio Operator, PMS 311-87