National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center

Training Opportunities

21 Day Training Opportunity

The National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center (PFTC) is a facility designed to give individuals an opportunity to increase their prescribed fire practitioner skills. Over the course of their 21-Day training assignments, participants will gain confidence in their own ability to conduct prescribed fires and assume leadership roles in their home unit’s fire program by experiencing 10 - 12 days of hands-on burning in wildland urban interface, a variety of fuel types, and for a variety of management objectives. They will perform as a trainee burn boss, firing boss, fire effects monitor, or other prescribed fire position specialist on multiple burn assignments. Attendees will interact one-on-one with experienced prescribed fire practitioners from across the Southeast United States and gain a better understanding of fire regimes, condition classes, smoke management, and fire effects.

They will gain up-to-date knowledge on prescribed fire safety, burn planning, smoke management, monitoring and fire effects, and current fire policy. They will learn how prescribed fire practitioners have developed successful programs and public support, and get connected to a network of fire practitioners with other agencies, the private sector, and international agencies. Overall, this training should result in an increase in the participant’s and the home unit’s capacity for fire management leadership by completing training assignments as evidenced by completion of prescribed fire tasks in the NWCG task books. The variety of field experience along with the different prescriptions, planning procedures, and techniques of the various agencies offers an accelerated learning curve for the participants during their 21-day tour.

Participant Announcement

Participant Application

Workshops

Prescribed Fire Workshop for Resource Specialists

Prescribed Fire Workshop for Resource Specialists Application

Target Audience

Resource Specialists from land management agencies seeking experience in planning and implementation of prescribed fire to meet resource objectives.  Selected participants will receive hands-on experience in prescribed fire application and will have the opportunity to interact with skilled prescribed fire practitioners and resource specialists active in successful fuels management programs.

Workshop Date

November 15-19, 2009

Location

The Workshop will begin and end in Tallahassee, Florida.  However field trips may be taken throughout the panhandle of Florida and southwest Georgia.  Travel further from Tallahassee may be necessary dependent upon current weather and fuels conditions and the opportunity to take advantage of burning windows and programs.

Background Information

The National Fire Plan and the Healthy Forest Initiative have tasked land management agencies with implementing assertive fuels management programs.  As a result, these agencies are conducting unit-wide fuels management planning and implementation projects.  To effectively execute development and achievement of these projects requires an interdisciplinary approach.  It is imperative that Resource Specialists and Fire personnel work together to accomplish positive results with prescribed fire.  This one-week workshop is structured to give Resource Specialists 4+ days of experience with successful fuels management programs and several experienced fire managers in the Southeast.  During the week, Resource Specialists will have the opportunity to apply prescribed fire and interact with highly skilled practitioners and specialists.

Curriculum

This workshop will provide participants the opportunity to:

  • Become familiar with prescribed fire and identify the differences in impacts between prescribed fire  and wildfire on resources
  •  Interact with prescribed fire practitioners and resource specialists involved in successful programs
  • Discuss prescribed fire impacts related to wildlife, vegetation, exotic species, listed species, ecosystem and community restoration, soil, fisheries, as well as other areas
  • Become familiar with fireline positions and potential areas for resource specialist involvement
  • Recognize the possibility for interdisciplinary approach to fire operations including planning and implementation
  • Experience fire monitoring elements through hands-on application to assess effectiveness of fire treatments in meeting objectives

Workshop Schedule

Kickoff begins at 1700 on Sunday, November 15.  The team will spend the following morning in orientation with short briefings on safety and southeastern fuels.  The participants will be tasked with providing their expectations for the workshop and discussing what they can do to influence the use of prescribed fire on their respective home units.  Each day will include a field trip to cooperators to look at specific subject areas and discuss impacts of prescribed fire.  Federal, state and private cooperators may be visited during the workshop.  Participation on a prescribed fire is planned, weather dependent.  On the last day, participants will conduct a closeout with the cadre.  Participants should plan to travel on Sunday, November 15 and travel home Friday, November 20.  PFTC will provide all transportation during the workshop.

Cost/Requirements

There is no tuition.  All costs for travel, per diem, salary and overtime will be the responsibility of the sending unit.  PFTC will provide transportation during the workshop.  All non red-carded participants must have completed Standards for Survival (6-8 hour course) and watched the video, Using Your Fire Shelter (NFES-1568).  Participants must provide appropriate PPE. 

PFTC Contact

Greg Seamon, Fire Training Specialist
850.523.8631 (voice) | 850.523.8613 (cell) | gseamon@tnc.org

Prescribed Fire Workshop for Agency Administrators

Prescribed Fire Workshop for Agency Administrators

Target Audience

Agency Administrators/Line Officers from land management agencies seeking experience to effectively manage and oversee the implementation of an integrated fuels management program. Selected participants will receive hands-on experience in prescribed fire application and will have the opportunity to interact and mentor with skilled prescribed fire practitioners and successful fuels program managers.  Participants will have the opportunity to learn about policy, planning and implementation of fire in order to build and strengthen programs.  Experienced and diverse cadre members offer insight to management challenges (including how to restore fire to the landscape and meeting objectives for multiple resources using prescribed fire.)  For Forest Service participants, this Workshop meets FSM 5140 requirements to approve Prescribed Fire Burn Plans. 

Workshop Date

May 2 thru May 8, 2010

Location

Exact location will be determined at a later date; however, it will be somewhere in the Southeast. During the workshop the participants and cadre will move within a geographic region to take advantage of burning windows and programs.  This will necessitate changing lodging at least once, if not more, during the week.

Background Information

As a result of The National Fire Plan and the Healthy Forest Initiative, land management agencies are being tasked to aggressively implement fuels management programs. Line Officers and Agency Administrators are required to gain additional skills and increase involvement to effectively manage evolving fuels management programs. This one-week course is structured to give the managers six days of experience burning with highly skilled cooperators. PFTC will have several experienced fire managers from different parts of the United States attending the workshop and actively burning with participants. During the week, Agency Administrators will have the opportunity to apply prescribed fire and interact with highly skilled practitioners and policy makers.

Curriculum

This workshop will provide participants the opportunity to:

  • Become familiar with interagency fuels management direction, policy and planning
  •  Understand and implement key elements of successful fuels program in the WUI and landscapes
  • Interact with successful program managers and practitioners and build a network of contacts for the future
  • Discuss risk management, liability, and burn complexity as it pertains for agency administrators
  • Discuss and implement policy, burn plans, smoke management, and the decision making process
  • Enhance prescribed fire skills through applied experience burning with a variety of cooperators
  • Experience fire monitoring elements through hands-on application in order to assess effectiveness of fire treatments in meeting objectives

Workshop Schedule

Kickoff Begins at 1700 on Sunday, May 2nd.  The team will spend the following morning in orientation with short briefings on safety, equipment, and southeastern fuels.  Field trips/burning will be at potential cooperator sites located within the area chosen for the workshop.  Federal, state and private cooperators may be visited during this timeframe.  On the last day, participants will conduct a closeout with the cadre.  Participants should plan to travel home the morning of May 9th.  PFTC will provide all transportation during the workshop.

Cost/Requirements

There is no tuition.  All costs for travel, per diem, salary and overtime will be the responsibility of the sending unit.  PFTC will provide transportation during the workshop.  All non red-carded participants must have completed Standards for Survival (6-8 hour course) and watched the video, Using Your Fire Shelter (NFES-1568).  Participants must provide appropriate PPE. 

Quotes

“If there is a secret, executive level list of the best federal courses, this (Workshop) should be on it!

Drew Milroy
Natural Resources Manager, US Air Force
2004

"This is the best workshop I have attended in my 18 years in the agency in terms of meeting its objectives and my needs.  I would love to do this with my Ranger team.  I have already convinced one to attend."  

Spring Rosales
District Ranger - FS
2009

"Absolutely one of the best courses I have ever taken in 22 years with the FS.  The cadre was tremendously experienced and professional.  They also had clearly mastered the techniques of adult education.  The course provided a mix of lecture, discussion, hands-on experience, modeling, and role-playing that could not have been better designed or implemented anywhere.  I had fun and I learned a lot.  The cadre made sure that we met our individual objectives as well as the course objectives, and that everyone got direct hands-on experience."

Jerry Ingersoll,
 Deputy Forest Supervisor – FS
2009
               

PFTC Contact

Greg Seamon, Fire Training Specialist
850.523.8631 (voice) | 850.523.8613 (cell) | gseamon@tnc.org

Last Updated: June 24, 2009 | Contact: Fire Management Web Team