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Water Handling Specialist

Position Description

Duties

  • Attends operational briefings.
  • Receives briefings from supervisor.
  • Identifies capability of engine and assigned personnel.
  • Develops plan to protect structures.
  • Coordinates and communicates with adjacent forces.
  • Locates and maps water sources.
  • Identifies and corrects performance deficiencies.
  • Confirms demobilization instructions with supervisor and brief subordinates.

Position Knowledge and/or Requirements

  • Requires practical knowledge of standard procedures and rules supplemented by skill gained through extensive job experience and training.
  • Completion of S-230, Crew Boss.
  • Completion of S-290, Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior.
  • Must be qualified as Advanced Firefighter/Squad Boss.

Supervisory Controls

The supervisor makes assignments by defining the assignment scope, objectives, and priorities.

The incumbent is responsible for planning, organizing, and carrying out recurring work without detailed instructions.  The incumbent functions independently in directing crews and additional resources as qualified.

Completed work is usually evaluated for appropriateness, technical soundness and conformity to policy and requirements.  Methods used by the incumbent are not usually reviewed in detail.

Guidelines

Procedures for accomplishing the work are established; specific guidelines are available. 

The incumbent may determine which of several established alternatives to use.  Situations to which the existing guidelines cannot be applied or significant deviations from the guidelines are referred to the supervisor.

Complexity

Work involves accomplishing a wide variety of processes, tasks, and procedures.

Decisions depend upon several issues regarding the mission(s).  The appropriate course of action may be selected from many alternatives.

Scope and Effect

The work involves execution of rules, regulations and procedures and typically comprises a complete segment of an assignment or project.

The work product affects the reliability of further processes.

Personal Contacts

Contacts are with incident personnel, agency personnel at various levels of the agency, and others.  Contacts are in a moderately structured setting.

Purpose of Contacts

The purpose of contacts is to plan, coordinate, advise on the work, and to resolve operational problems.

Physical Demands

The work involves considerable and strenuous physical exertion.

Work Environment

The work involves high risk.

 

Last Modified/Reviewed:

NWCG Latest Announcements

2024 Week of Remembrance

Date: June 27, 2024
Contact: 6 Minutes for Safety Subcommittee 

As we approach the 2024 Week of Remembrance (WOR), June 30 to July 6, we dedicate this time to thoughtfully reviewing and recognizing the events of the 2018 Mendocino Complex. As such, this year’s theme of “Learning From the Mendocino Complex” embodies a longstanding hallmark of WOR, honoring through learning.

Throughout the week, our energy will be directed toward fostering generative conversations in briefing rooms and at tailgates.

References:

6 Minutes for Safety - 2024 Week of Remembrance

Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

Updated NWCG Wildland Fire Risk and Complexity Assessment, PMS 236

Date: June 24, 2024
Contact: Incident and Position Standards Committee 

The June 2024 update of the NWCG Wildland Fire Risk and Complexity Assessment, PMS 236, is now available to meet the current needs for incident management typing.

The NWCG Wildland Fire Risk and Complexity Assessment should be used to evaluate firefighter safety issues, assess risk, and identify the appropriate incident management organization based on incident complexity. Assessing risk, determining incident complexity, and identifying an appropriate incident management organization is a subjective process based on examining a combination of indicators or factors, which can change over time.

References:

NWCG Wildland Fire Risk and Complexity Assessment, PMS 236

Operations Branch Director (OPBD) Next Gen PTB Available

Date: June 10, 2024
Contact: NWCG Feedback 

The NWCG Position Task Book for Operations Branch Director (OPBD), PMS 311-109 is now available for use within the OPBD position qualification pathway. As part of the transition to Complex Incident Management (CIM), the OPBD Next Gen PTB was developed and the position qualification pathway updated.

More information about the Next Gen PTB format can be found on the NWCG Position Task Book webpage.

References:

Operations Branch Director Position Page

Operations Branch Director Next Gen PTB

NWCG Position Task Books

Updated NWCG Standards for Interagency Incident Business Management, PMS 902

Date: June 5, 2024
Contact: NWCG Incident Business Committee 

The 2024 revision of the NWCG Standards for Interagency Incident Business Management, PMS 902 is now available. The uniform application of interagency incident business management standards is critical to interagency fire operations. PMS 902 assists NWCG agencies in constructively working together to provide effective execution of each agency's incident business management program.

References:

PMS 902