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Wildland Fire Medical and Public Health Advisory Team (MPHAT)

A buffet of fresh ready to eat colorful veggie (orange, green, red).

On April 6, 2020, the FMB established the Wildland Fire Medical and Public Health Advisory Team (MPHAT) to address medical and health-related issues specific to the interagency administration of mission critical wildland fire management functions under a COVID-19 modified operating posture.

Through more than two years of coexisting with COVID-19, the MPHAT served as a valuable resource. Through lessons learned during COVID-19, FMB recognized the greater subject matter expertise and advisory need on the holistic health and wellbeing of our federal firefighters. As a result, the scope of the MPHAT Charter was updated to designate MPHAT an interagency advisory group to the FMB focused on bringing in necessary expertise from internal and external subject matter experts to provide advice, recommendations, guidance, and coordination on related wildland firefighter health and wellbeing matters. The MPHAT Charter and subsequent guidance issued via FMB Memorandum can be found on this page.

Wildland Firefighter Health and Wellbeing

2023 Prevention and Management of Infectious Disease During Wildland Fire Operations

Purpose

Wildland fire personnel should consider these public health practices and management guidelines as an anchor point from which further, site-specific organizational, or unit-specific fire management practices and guidelines can be expanded. This guidance is intended to help limit/prevent the spread of infectious disease, including COVID-19 within the wildland fire community, and may be used at home, duty stations, while in travel, and on incidents.

This guidance will continue to be updated for the fire community in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations and the Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce direction.

 

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