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Operations Section Chief Type 3

Position Description

Duties

  • Attend briefing from the Agency Administrator or outgoing Incident Commander.
  • Identify kind, type and number of resources required to achieve control objectives.
  • Collect information from outgoing Operations Section Chief, initial Incident Commander or other personnel responsible for incident.
  • Prepare for and participate in strategy meetings.
  • Evaluate and monitor current situation.
  • Observe and review current operations to prepare tactics for operational period planning meetings.
  • Evaluate urban interface needs.
  • Evaluate resource status and tactical needs to determine appropriate resource assignments.
  • Participate in preparation of IAP.
  • Lead operational period briefings.
  • Interact and coordinate with Command and General Staff.
  • Supervise operations organization.
  • Coordinate with replacement Operations Section Chief or others.
  • Evaluate overall effectiveness of IAP and adjust when necessary.
  • Use fire behavior prediction information to plan and organize tactical operations.
  • Update Incident Commander on current accomplishments and/or problems.
  • Report special events (incidents, accidents, political contacts, property loss or damage, etc.).
  • Ensure all personnel and equipment time records are complete and submitted in a timely manner.
  • Consider demobilization needs throughout the incident.
  • Assist in development and approval of Incident Demobilization Plan.
  • Implement Demobilization Plan.
  • Ensure that performance ratings are completed as required by the incident or agency policy.
  • Participate in Agency Administrator debriefing.

Position Knowledge and/or Requirements

  • ICS-400, Advanced ICS
  • Qualified DIVS or ICT3

 

NWCG Latest Announcements

WFSTAR 2025 Core Component Module Package and 2024 Fire Year in Review Now Available

Date: March 14, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Joe Schindel at mschindel@blm.gov
 

The 2025 Core Component Module Package for RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) and the 2024 Fire Year in Review are now available on the NWCG website. The 2025 Core Component Module Package provides all content needed to deliver RT-130.

References:

2025 Core Component Module Package

2024 Fire Year in Review Module

NEW! NWCG Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Field Guide, PMS 053

Date: March 12, 2025
Contact: Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Committee

The NWCG Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Field Guide, PMS 053 provides mitigation practitioners at all experience levels with recommendations on the most effective and efficient ways to accomplish mitigation work in communities at risk to wildfire damage or destruction. The content in this guide was written in coordination with the NWCG Standards for Mitigation in the Wildland Urban Interface, PMS 052.

References:

NWCG Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Field Guide, PMS 053 

Updated, NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Module Operations, PMS 430

Date: March 11, 2025
Contact: Fire Use Subcommittee
Wildland Fire Module Unit

The NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Module Operations, PMS 430 standardizes procedures and expectations for Wildland Fire Modules (WFMs). These standards are to be used by staff, supervisors, specialists, and technicians for planning, administering, and conducting WFM operations. These standards will also be used as a measure of WFM qualifications, capabilities, and expected performance, for both Type 1 and Type 2 WFMs.

References:

NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Module Operations, PMS 430

NEW! NWCG Standards for Airtanker Operations, PMS 514

Date: March 7, 2025
Contact: National Interagency Aviation Committee

The NWCG Standards for Airtanker Operations, PMS 514 establishes the standards for dispatching, utilizing, and coordinating airtankers on interagency wildland fires. These standards should be used in conjunction with the NWCG Standards for Aerial Supervision (SAS), PMS 505, NWCG Standards for Airtanker Base Operations (SABO), PMS 508, and any applicable agency plans.

References:

NWCG Standards for Airtanker Operations, PMS 514