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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

2025 Paul Gleason Award Winners Announced

Date:  August 13, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Leadership Development Subcommittee

The NWCG Qualifications Management Committee (QMC) and Leadership Development Subcommittee (LDSC) are proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Paul Gleason "Lead By Example" awards. Award categories include Initiative and Innovation, Mentoring and Teamwork, and Motivation and Vision.

Congratulations to the awardees:

  • Hunter Bell, U.S. Forest Service — Initiative and Innovation
  • Shannon Deane, U.S. Wildland Fire Service— Initiative and Innovation
  • Chris Delaney, U.S. Wildland Fire Service — Motivation and Vision
  • Sean Peterson, U.S. Forest Service — Mentoring and Teamwork

References:

Paul Gleason Lead By Example Award

Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP)

Leadership Development Subcommittee

LMC Equipment Bulletin 26-001: Aquatic Invasive Species – Seasonal Reminder for Mussels

Date:  July 30, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Equipment and Technology Subcommittee

The Logistics and Equipment Management Committee (LMC) issued Equipment Bulletin 26-001: Aquatic Invasive Species - Seasonal Reminder for Mussels, reminding the wildland fire community that aquatic mussels continue to be a problem. Mussels rapidly colonize hard and soft surfaces, including aquatic plants and fire equipment, clogging pipes, fouling motors, disrupting water systems, and impacting native species.

To help prevent their spread, fire personnel must follow the decontamination procedures outlined in the NWCG Guide to Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species Transport by Wildland Fire Operations, PMS 444. Additionally, report any sightings immediately to your Lead Resource Advisor and include clear, close-up photos (with a pen or your hand for size reference) and location details.”

Read the complete LMC Equipment Bulletin 26-001, to learn more. 

References:

NWCG Alerts

LMC Equipment Bulletin 26-001: Aquatic Invasive Species - Seasonal Reminder for Mussels

NWCG Guide to Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species Transport by Wildland Fire Operations, PMS 444

Intermediate Faller (FAL2) Position Task Book Update

Date:  July 24, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Tree Felling Subcommittee

NWCG Operations Management Committee (OMC) has issued an update to the NWCG Position Task Book for Intermediate Faller (FAL2), PMS 311-91. To ensure clarity for both trainees and evaluators, the updated FAL2 Position Task Book (PTB) explicitly states who is authorized to sign off on your tasks:

“Evaluators must be qualified as a FAL2, or an Advanced Faller (FAL1).”

If you are currently working out of a previously published version of the FAL2 PTB, you do not need to restart. However, OMC highly encourages you to take the following step to prevent any confusion in the field:

  • Print and replace the updated evaluator information page (page 2) in your current physical PTB.

References:

Intermediate Faller (FAL2) Position Page

RMC Memo 26-01: Transition Plan for Implementing Updates to Intermediate Faller (FAL2) Position Qualifications

NWCG Position Task Book for Intermediate Faller (FAL2), PMS 311-91

Equipment Advisory 26-001: Potential Front Driveline Joint Failure on 2018 and Earlier Ram Pickups

Date:  July 10, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Equipment and Technology Subcommittee

The Logistics/Equipment Management Committee (LMC) has released Equipment Advisory 26-001: Potential Front Driveline Joint Failure on 2018 and Earlier Ram Pickups. This advisory highlights multiple U.S. Forest Service regions reporting front driveline joint failure incidents.

This advisory recommends firefighters and fire managers to: 

  • Follow all Ram-issued inspection, maintenance, and service guidance for front driveline joints. 
  • Consider installing a driveline loop. 
  • Coordinate with fleet managers and service providers to determine the most appropriate driveline loop kit for each pickup.

For further details, please refer to the complete advisory.

References:

Equipment Advisory 26-001: Potential Front Driveline Joint Failure on 2018 and Earlier Ram Pickups

Technical Service Bulletin: 03-002-21