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Incident Position Descriptions (IPD's)

  • Provide the single authoritative source for the essential duties and responsibilities for each NWCG position.
  • Ensure connection between the position and established operational standards.
  • Build consistency (organization, nomenclature, terminology) internal to each position and across the inventory of positions.
  • Prevent unnecessary duplication of duties across positions.
  • Help identify performance support needs such as job aids, training courses, and Position Task Books (PTBs).

Steps to Creating an IPD

  1. Determine if the position meets criteria for inclusion in NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1.
  2. Review previously completed IPDs as examples.
  3. Collect duty and responsibility statements from existing standards documents, course materials, PTBs, and subject matter expert experience.
    1. Include laterally qualified (not qualified higher than the position) personnel in this process to ensure duties and responsibilities remain at the appropriate level.
    2. List the source next to the statement. This creates an inventory that connects the position duties to the operational and position-specific standards. This will not appear in the final IPD.
  4. Transfer these statements into the relevant category in the IPD Template (docx) IPD template. Check for redundancy throughout statements.
  5. Compare the draft IPD to the List of Standard IPD Statements. Can you use a standard statement to promote consistency across the inventory of all NWCG positions?
  6. Begin statements with action-oriented verbs. Avoid vague verbs such as “be familiar with,” “knowledge of,” or “understand.”
  7. Organize the statements in the IPD from an incident standpoint – from initial dispatch to demobilization and everything in-between.
  8. Compare the IPD with others in your functional area. Are similar statements worded identically, or do they diverge? Can they be worded similarly?
  9. Collaborate with key stakeholders that may have an interest in providing IPD feedback.
  10. Share the draft IPDs with the parent committee (if they are not the position steward) and the NWCG coordinator.
  11. Work with the NWCG coordinator and the NWCG webmaster to post the IPDs to the NWCG website. The IPDs will be statused as Under Review. Widespread input from the user community will be solicited using NWCG’s communication and feedback processes. Assess input and incorporate as warranted.

Parent Committee Approval and Long-Term Management of the IPD

When the position steward has completed assessing and incorporating inputs, they should inform their parent committee. The parent committee will approve the IPD. IPDs should be dynamically managed according to the NWCG Incident Position Performance Cycle; as operational standards evolve, so should the IPD.

IPD Management

NWCG Latest Announcements

Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book Available for Helicopter Crewmember

Date: April 28, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee

NWCG is excited to announce that the NWCG Incident Position Standards for Helicopter Crewmember, PMS 350-22, and the NWCG Position Task Book for Helicopter Crewmember (HECM), PMS 311-22, are now available.

These resources, part of the Performance Support Package developed through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort, support trainees, qualified personnel, and evaluators.

Any changes to qualification pathways will take effect with the next update of the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1.

References:

NWCG Incident Position Standards for Helicopter Crewmember, PMS 350-22

NWCG Incident Position Standards for Helicopter Crewmember, PMS 350-22

NWCG Position Task Book for Helicopter Crewmember (HECM), PMS 311-22

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

Date: April 23, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Interagency Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Subcommittee

The NWCG Standards for Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations, PMS 515 standardizes processes and procedures for the interagency use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), including pilot inspections and approvals. This updated publication provides the aviation community with standards to ensure UAS are used safely, effectively, and efficiently in support of fire management goals and objectives.

References:

NWCG Standards for Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations, PMS 515

NWCG National Interagency Aviation Committee

ETC Bulletin 25-001: Retrofitted Hot/Cold Beverage Kits - 2025 Field Season

Date: April 16, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Equipment Technology Committee

Due to spout failures and the associated risk of burn injuries, manufacturers have retrofitted the Hot/Cold Beverage Kits using a heat-shrinking band to secure the black spout at the insertion site. The updated kits feature a fluorescent label on each full kit assembly for easy identification. Catering units are encouraged to confirm the clear heat-shrinking bands are intact around each spout before filling.

ETC Bulletin 24-001 regarding Hot/Cold Beverage Kits has been archived and replaced by ETC Bulletin 25-001 for the 2025 season.

References:

NWCG Alerts

ETC-EB-25-001 Retrofitted Hot/Cold Beverage Kits

NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212, and Next Generation Position Task Book for Basic Faller Are Now Available

Date: April 14, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Hazard Tree and Tree Felling Subcommittee

The updated NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212, and NWCG Position Task Book for Basic Faller (FAL3), PMS 311-19 are now available.

The NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212 includes position standards designed to be used in conjunction with the Next Generation Position Task Book (Next Gen PTB). The Next Gen PTB for Basic Faller (FAL3) includes an evaluation guide with suggested rating elements to consider when assessing trainees.

References:

NWCG Standards For Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212

NWCG Position Task Book for Basic Faller (FAL3), PMS 311-119

NWCG Basic Faller (FAL3)