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RMC - Safety Grams

Safety Grams

Latest Safety Gram Issued  |  Prior Years Safety Grams

Reporting Criteria

Criteria (Revised 1-17-2012)

Safety Gram data will include fatalities, entrapments, burnovers, and other potentially life threatening accidents and injuries associated with wildland fire that result in:

Fatality

  • Entrapment(s)

  • Burnover of personnel

  • Burnover of fire suppression apparatus (e.g., fire engines)

  • Incidents/accidents that result in three or more persons requiring in-patient hospitalization

  • Serious life threatening injury/illness or high probability of life threatening injury/illness

  • Vehicle accidents (including ATV/UTVs) with potential for serious injury/property damage (e.g., rollovers)

  • Aviation Fatalities

Data will be collected for:

  • Personnel involved in the direct support of wildland fire, fire suppression damage repair and fire rehabilitation (private citizens acting on their own behalf resulting in injury or death will not be included).

  • Suppression apparatus that are damaged and/or destroyed as a direct result from operational involvement (parked vehicles with no occupants that are damaged from flame impingement will not be included).

  • Any fire resource on an incident, in mobilization or demobilization status.

  • Training or work capacity test related accidents/injuries that result in any of the above.

Data will be captured under the following categories:

Data - the date that the incident/accident occurred

Location – the location where the incident/accident occurred:

  • Incident name (if applicable)
  • Jurisdictional Unit (e.g., forest, district, refuge, etc.)State
  • If jurisdictional unit is not available, identify by nearest town/city

Activity – describe primary and secondary (if available) operational activity when incident/accident occurred:

  • Initial Attack

  • Line Construction

  • Mop-Up

  • Structure Protection

  • Fuels Management

  • Prescribed Fire

  • Driving

    • Responding to Incident

    • At Incident

    • Returning to Incident

  • Aviation

    • Helicopter

    • Fixed Wing

  • Work Capacity Test

    • Arduous

    • Moderate

    • Light

  • Fitness Training

  • Post-Suppression

  • Post-Wildland Fire Training

Agency/Entity of personnel involved – identify personnel involved by agency.

  • Specify if Federal, State or local employee or contractor

  • If state employee list the state employed not state occurred

Type of Accident/Illness – describe type of incident/accident or direct causal factor:

  • Burnover
  • Entrapment
  • Vehicle
    • Rollover
    • Struck
    • Truck
    • Water tender
    • Engine
    • Crew Vehicle
    • Bus
  • ATV/UTV
  • Hazard Tree
  • Medical
    • Burns
    • Heart Attack
    • Heat Illness
    • Fracture
    • Asphyxiation
    • Fitness Testing
    • Evacuation
    • Aviation
    • Fall from Height
    • Other

Number of People – total number of persons directly involved in the incident/accident

Number Fire Shelters Deployed – total number of shelters deployed

Fatalities – of the number of persons involved state how many resulted in fatality

Injuries – briefly describe type of injuries sustained

Totals – number of personnel involved and fatalities

The respective RMC agency representative who has jurisdiction involving the incident/accident will make the recommendation on Safety Gram posting. RMC will make final determinations for Safety Gram posting.

NWCG Latest Announcements

Updated NWCG Standards for Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations, PMS 515

Date: May 10, 2024
Contact: IFUASS Qualification and Curriculum Board (IFUASS) 

The 2024 revision of the NWCG Standards for Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations, PMS 515 is now available. PMS 515 standardizes the processes and procesures for interagency use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), including pilot inspections and approvals. This publication is now available as a PDF for easy use offline.

References:

NWCG Standards for Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations, PMS 515

Memorandum 24-003: Removal of Type 1 Command and General Staff (C&G) Incident Position Qualification Pathways

Date: May 10, 2024
Contact: Aitor Bidaburu 

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide NWCG direction for removal of the Type 1 Command and General Staff (C&G) incident position qualification pathways to transition to Complex Incident Management (CIM). Responders may continue to utilize available NWCG pathways to attain Type 1 C&G qualifications until December 31, 2024.

References:

Memorandum 24-003

CIM Story Map

2024 Professional Reading Program

Date: April 26, 2024
Contact: Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP) 

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program is announcing the 2024 Professional Reading list! The intent of the Professional Reading Program is to promote the reading and discussion of these books throughout the year. Discussion guides are provided and the corresponding Wildland Fire Leadership Levels have been identified.

The five books chosen for this year are: Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean, The Wisdom of the Bullfrog by William H. McRaven, The Art of Clear Thinking by Hasard Lee, Emotional Agility by Susan David, and Writing to Persuade by Trish Hall.

References:

Professional Reading Program

Wildland Fire Leadership Levels

NWCG Training Catalog now on Wildland Fire Learning Portal

Date: April 25, 2023
Contact: NWCG Training  

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) has migrated the training catalog from the NWCG website to the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP) as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline processes and improve efficiency. To facilitate this transition, the training catalog remains available on www.nwcg.gov through April 2024.

Starting May 2024, the training catalog will no longer be accessible on www.nwcg.gov. However, you can still access the complete training catalog by logging in as a guest to the WFLP.

References:

Wildland Fire Learning Portal