232 FW 6 Firefighter Training	FWM#:347 (replaces FWM 190, 04/20/95) Date:February 7, 2000 Series:Employee Development and Training Part 232: Training Operations Originating Office: Division of Refuges
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6.2 What are the objectives of this chapter? We have established the following objectives for the wildland fire management training program:

A. Fire management training will promote safe individual job performance through appropriate training for wildland and prescribed fire management activities.

B. Fire management training staff will provide technical and logistical support as well as wildland and prescribed fire management training to regional offices and field areas.

C. Fire management training will provide and manage a job performance and instructor certification tracking system.

D. Fire management training staff will cooperate and coordinate with the interagency wildland fire management community to achieve mutual training objectives.

E. We will use training offered by other sources in the wildland and prescribed fire curricula whenever possible.

6.3 Who is responsibile for fire management training? 621 FW 1 lists responsibilities and delegations of authority for our entire fire management program.

6.4 What are the minimum training requirements for personnel involved in fire management?

A. Initial Training. All of our personnel who perform on-line wildland firefighter or prescribed fire duties must complete the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) courses: S-130 Basic Firefighter and S-190 Introduction to Fire Behavior. If S-130 does not include Standards for Survival, you must take this course as an additional course.

B. Agency Administrator Training. Refuge managers/project leaders and Program and Assistant Regional Directors who are responsible for managing or providing oversight to a fire program on our lands must attend the current interagency fire management leadership course. Even those who attended our Fire Management for Line Officers course in the past must attend the current interagency Fire Management Leadership course because the overall Federal policy has changed. The national or local level sponsors this course.

C. Fire Management Officer Training. We require all Fire Management Officers (FMO) to attend the interagency Fire Program Management course, either as a student or as a member of the instructor cadre. Your Regional Fire Management Coordinator will determine, on a case-by-case basis, those FMOs who will attend as students and those who will attend as a member of the cadre.

D. Annual Training. We require an annual firefighter safety refresher course, covering the Standard Fire Orders, 18 Watch Out Situations, and fire shelter training, for all personnel with wildland and/or prescribed fire management duties, including refuge managers/project leaders and other regular refuge staff.

6.5 What specialized training is needed for wildland and prescribed fire positions?

A. Refuge or interagency operations.

(1) You must meet training requirements detailed in the National Interagency Incident Management System Wildland and Prescribed Fire Qualifications System Guide, PMS 310-1 to perform on interagency wildland or prescribed fire assignments.

(2) All personnel funded with fire management funds hired under a position description containing wildland or prescribed fire duties must meet PMS 310-1 requirements for the appropriate fire position. Personnel will also meet or exceed our established requirements for Service specific positions.

(3) Regular refuge personnel who wish to obtain and maintain interagency wildland and/or prescribed fire qualifications must also meet all PMS 310-1 standards.

B. Strictly Limited to Refuge Operations:

(1) Our long-range goal is to train our employees to safely and efficiently conduct wildland and prescribed fire operations.

(2) PMS 310-1 gives us authority to establish Service-specific positions to meet refuge wildland and prescribed fire needs. We list standards for the following positions in the Fire Management Handbook.

(a) We established skill positions, such as Engine Operator, Dozer Operator, and Tractor/Plow Operator to enable us to identify technical specialists available to operate equipment in a wildland and prescribed fire capacity. Normally, personnel in these positions operate this equipment as a part of their regular job and their Region has already certified them as qualified operators.

(b) We established the Burn Boss Type 3 (RXB3) position for use on refuge prescribed fires of low complexity. Prescribed fires of moderate or greater level that involve interagency personnel require a RXB2 or RXB1 qualification.

C. Extended Attack. We must staff any refuge wildland fire that exceeds the training and qualification capabilities of the available refuge personnel with personnel qualified to PMS 310-1 standards for the appropriate positions. This may require requesting personnel through the nearest dispatch center.

6.6 How do I obtain certification/qualifications for fire management positions?

A. Through our management structure, we are responsible for certifying and recertifying wildland and prescribed fire qualifications of our personnel. We outline specific guidance in PMS 310-1 and in the Fire Management Handbook.

B. Each Region must identify personnel qualified to serve as evaluators of trainees for specific positions using the criteria established in PMS 310-1. If our personnel are not available to serve as evaluators, we may enlist help from cooperating agency evaluators.

C. We must enter employee training and experience meeting interagency and/or Service specific standards into our national fire qualifications database for tracking purposes.

D. We will certify personnel qualified in Service-specific positions, i.e. tractor/plow operator, dozer operator, engine operator, and Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type III. Our Fire Management Handbook contains the details for qualifying these Service-specific positions.