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Situation Unit Leader*

SITL decorative banner: photos depicting SITL position. SITL Position Description: The Situation Unit Leader (SITL) is responsible for collecting and organizing incident status and information and evaluating, analyzing, and displaying that information for use by ICS personnel and agency Dispatchers.

The Situation Unit Leader (SITL) is responsible for overseeing map production, and for fire behavior, fire weather, and incident status inputs on wildland fire incidents. The SITL supervises any configuration of Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN), Long Term Analyst (LTAN), Field Observer (FOBS), Infrared Interpreter (IRIN), and Geographic Information System Specialist (GISS). The SITL reports to a Planning Section Chief (PSC) and works in the Planning functional area.

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The Forest Service and Department of Interior are enabled by Administratively Determined Pay Plans (AD Pay Plans) to hire persons for temporary duration for the following reasons:

  1. To cope with a sudden and unexpected emergency caused by a fire, or extreme fire potential, flood, storm, or any other all-hazard emergency that threatens damage to federally protected property, has the potential to cause loss of life, serious injury, public health risk, or damage to natural or cultural resources unless brought under immediate control.
  2. To provide emergency assistance to States under formalized agreements.
  3. To meet mission assignments issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Incident Business Committee (IBC) reviews positions annually and establishes pay rate classifications for each position.

For more information on the AD Pay Plans, visit Incident Business Committee.

Date: Jan 2023

Added: 

  • Planning Section Chief Complex (PSCC) to  "SITL Maintains Currency For These Positions."
Date: Jun 2021

Added: Incident Position Description (IPD) approved.

Date: Oct 2019

Added: to Qualification Requirements:  Note: Once qualified as a SITL, the PSC3 qualification may be granted by the certifying official. Certification must be documented on a “verification/certification” page of the PSC3 Position Task Book (311-55).

Date: Oct 2015

Updated: Prerequisite experience modified as follows:
Completion and Certification of Position Task Book (311-24) as a Situation Unit Leader (SITL).

Date: May 2008

Updated: The prerequisite Required Experience for Situation Unit Leader (SITL) is Incident Commander Type 4 (ICT4).

Date: Oct 1984

Position created.

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RMC Memo 25-01: Summary of Updates to Safety Officer Positions

Date: April 9, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
RMC Member Eric Fransted

The Risk Management Committee (RMC) serves as the position steward for all Safety Officer incident positions and continues to improve position standards, training, and naming conventions. The implementation of Complex Incident Management (CIM) required changes to position titles. RMC collaborated with the NWCG Incident Position Standards Committee (IPSC) to propose and implement these updates. 

References:

RMC Memo 25-01: Summary of Updates to Safety Officer Positions 

NWCG Position Catalog

Updated, NWCG Guide to Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination, PMS 412

Date: April 8, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee

PMS 412 provides guidance for wildland fire investigations. This guide outlines recommended procedures, practices, techniques, and methods to promote a systematic approach. The last update to this publication was in 2016.

References:

NWCG Guide to Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination PMS 412

Updated NWCG Standards for Airtanker Base Operations, PMS 508

Date: March 31, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Airtanker Base Operations Unit

The updated NWCG Standards for Airtanker Base Operations (SABO), PMS 508 standardizes operations and procedures at interagency airtanker bases to ensure safe, efficient, and effective operations in support of interagency goals and objectives.

References:

NWCG Standards for Airtanker Base Operations, PMS 508

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