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Geospatial Subcommittee

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Mission Statement

Mission Statement

The Geospatial Subcommittee (GSC) provides national leadership for the integration of geospatial information, technology, and systems into all phases of wildland fire management. This includes the development and promotion of standards and tools; trusted data to support wildland fire operations; training; the development of geospatial capability in the field; and providing geospatial expertise to other wildland fire lines of business.

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Primary Objectives

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  • Define, promote, and recommend the use of NWCG standards-based interagency datasets, both current and historic. Develop processes for combining agency datasets to build interagency datasets.
  • Develop requirements for centralized acquisition, storage, and delivery of trusted interagency geospatial datasets, including governance, quality control, access, and maintenance of included data.
  • Provide a platform for the development, revision, review and adoption of the NWCG Standards for Geospatial Operations, PMS 936, the NWCG GISS Workflow, PMS 936-1, and geospatial data standards to enable wildland fire geospatial data to achieve broad usage throughout the interagency community. Identify gaps in standards and propose solutions. Promote the use of interagency standards within wildland fire applications.
  • Identify common GIS training needs and resources, and plan or make recommendations for the development and presentation of training in cooperation with other groups, programs, or agencies in the wildland fire community.
  • Establish and regularly update wildland fire incident position standards related to GISS and IRIN. This includes incident position descriptions and position requirements for training, experience, physical fitness, and position currency.

Guidance Documents

Standard Templates, Tools, and References

We have collected a variety of tools, documents, and other resources can be downloaded from this page to assist the GISS on an incident. Please provide any suggestions for page content to your GSC representative.

Job Aids and Reference Information

Spatial Data Sources

Wildfire Response GIS Group on GeoNet

You are invited to join the Wildfire Response GIS group on GeoNet!  The new Wildfire Response GIS group in the GeoNet Community is open. This is a place to ask questions, get updates from the NIFC ArcGIS Online Organization Admins, and connect with your Fire GIS colleagues.  It is a private group, which means the content is not searchable by the public and is only accessible to members of the group.

Get started: Join and contribute today!

  1. Go to GeoNet.
  2. Log in with your NIFC AGOL Org username and password and accept the Esri GeoNet Terms of Use and Conditions.​
    • NOTE: GeoNet only allows an email address once in the entire system. If you have ever signed into GeoNet with another AGOL account that uses the same address, you will receive an error. If you receive this error, you can submit a Support Request to change your NIFC Org account email to a different address.  Alternatively, if you actively use the other account, you may log in and request access with it.  If you use your work email address for your NIFC account and your agency uses an Enterprise Login for their own AGOL Org (BLM, NPS, USFS), we recommend you submit a Support Request to change your NIFC Org account email or use your agency login to request access to the group.
  3. Click “Ask to join this group” and give the Admins at least 1 business day to approve your request. You will receive a notification in your GeoNet inbox once you’ve been accepted in.
  4. Read the welcome blog post Start Here: Welcome to the Wildfire Response GIS Community.

Got Questions? Check out these GeoNet Community Quick tips

Thanks for joining and we look forward to your questions and engagement in our new GeoNet Community!

Chair: Beauchaine, Tony

NWCG Coordinator: Lamb, Erica

Parent Committee: Data Management Committee

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NWCG Latest Announcements

RMC Safety Bulletin 26-001: Rhabdomyolysis in Wildland Firefighters

Date:  May 28, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Risk Management Committee

The Risk Management Committee (RMC) has issued Safety Bulletin 26-001: Rhabdomyolysis in Wildland Firefighters. Research from 2016 to 2025 shows that 88 cases of rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) were reported. Analysis of reports from eSafety, the Safety Management Information System (SMIS), and the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center (LLC) indicates that rhabdo is common during this time of year due to Work Capacity Tests and contributing factors such as weather, hydration, nutrition, and medication or supplement use.

RMC issued this safety bulletin to raise awareness in the Wildland Fire Community, and to provide research findings and educational resources that support reducing future cases of rhabdo.

References:

NWCG Alerts

RMC Safety Bulletin 26-001: Rhabdomyolysis in Wildland Firefighters

NEW! D-110, Expanded Dispatch Recorder Course Available Now

Date:  May 15, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Dispatch Position and Curriculum Management Subcommittee

NWCG is pleased to announce the new D-110, Expanded Dispatch Recorder (Instructor-led) course is now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP). Developed through the National Coordination System Committee, this course introduces the structure and function of expanded dispatch, the qualities of an effective dispatcher, and provides hands-on experience with the Interagency Resource Ordering Capability (IROC) system. 

The D-110, Expanded Dispatch Recorder course aligns with the competencies and duties outlined in the NWCG Incident Position Standards for Expanded Dispatch Recorder, PMS 350-59, and is designed for individuals with no prior experience who may be called upon to support dispatch operations.

References:

D-110, Expanded Dispatch Recorder (Instructor-Led)

Expanded Dispatch Recorder (EDRC), Position Page

NWCG Incident Position Standards for Expanded Dispatch Recorder, PMS 350-59

Wildland Fire Learning Portal

Leadership Committee IAP Flyer Now Available

Date:  May 8, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Leadership Committee

The NWCG Leadership Committee promotes and enables leadership development across the wildland fire service. The committee provides education, training opportunities, and support for leadership innovation and best practices throughout the community.

A new IAP flyer is now available on the committee website, offering an overview of the products, curriculum, and learning opportunities the Leadership Committee develops. This resource is ideal for posting in your office, sharing with new employees, or distributing through your incident management teams to engage new voices in the leadership journey and reinforce a culture of self‑reflection, development, and growth.

References:

Leadership Committee 2026 IAP Flyer

Incident Operations Subcommittee Updates the Next Generation Position Task Book for FFT1

Date:  May 7, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Incident Operations Subcommittee

The NWCG Incident Operations Subcommittee (IOSC) has updated the NWCG Position Task Book for Firefighter Type 1 (Squad Boss) (FFT1), PMS 311‑14. The FFT1 Position Task Book transitioned to the Next Generation (Next Gen PTB) format in June 2025 through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization effort. Since then, IOSC has received feedback from the wildland fire community regarding coding for one of the tasks. Task #13 has been updated to include the option of evaluation in a simulation.

See IOSC Memorandum 26‑01: Transition Plan for Implementation of Updates to the NWCG Position Task Book for Firefighter Type 1 (Squad Boss) (FFT1), PMS 311‑14 for more information.

References:

IOSC Memorandum 26-01: Transition Plan for Implementation of Updates to the NWCG Position Task Book for Firefighter Type 1

NWCG Firefighter Type 1 Squad Boss Position Page