Safety Officer Type 2*

SOF2 decorative banner: photos depicting SOF2 position. The Safety Officer (SOF2), a member of the Command Staff, is responsible for monitoring and assessing hazardous and unsafe situations and developing measures for assuring personnel safety. The Safety Officer will correct unsafe acts or conditions through the regular line of authority, although they (Safety Officer) may exercise emergency authority to stop or prevent unsafe acts when immediate action is required.<br>Only one Safety Officer will be assigned for each incident. The Safety Officer may have assistant Safety Officers as necessary, and the assistant Safety Officer may represent assisting agencies or jurisdictions. Assistant Safety Officers may have specific responsibilities, such as air operations, hazardous materials, etc.

SOF2 Homepage Button Position Incident Position Description Button Position Reference Materials Button Position Qualification Requirements Button

The Safety Officer Type 2 (SOF2) is responsible for monitoring the overall operation of an incident from a risk management perspective and providing recommendations to mitigate hazards in order to provide for the welfare of assigned resources. The SOF2 may function as a member of the Command Staff of a Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) or may be a single resource. The SOF2 may supervise the Medical Unit Leader (MEDL) or other members in the safety organization. The SOF2 typically reports to the Incident Commander (IC) and works in the Command functional area.

The Forest Service and Department of Interior are enabled by Administratively Determined Pay Plans (AD Pay Plans) to hire persons for temporary duration for the following reasons:

  1. To cope with a sudden and unexpected emergency caused by a fire, or extreme fire potential, flood, storm, or any other all-hazard emergency that threatens damage to federally protected property, has the potential to cause loss of life, serious injury, public health risk, or damage to natural or cultural resources unless brought under immediate control.
  2. To provide emergency assistance to States under formalized agreements.
  3. To meet mission assignments issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Incident Business Committee (IBC) reviews positions annually and establishes pay rate classifications for each position.

For more information on the AD Pay Plans, go to https://www.nwcg.gov/committees/incident-business-committee

Date: 
Apr 2021

Incident Position Description (IPD) approved.


Date: 
Oct 2019

Added to Required Experience Section:  Note: Once qualified as a SOF2, the SOFR qualification may be granted by the certifying official. Certification must be documented on a “verification/certification” page of the SOFR Position Task Book (311-82).


Date: 
Oct 2017

Added Incident Commander Type 2 (ICT2) to These Positions Maintain Currency for SOF2 and SOF2 Maintains Currency for These Positions.


Date: 
Oct 2014

Position Taskbook language updated to reflect the following: Once qualified as a SOF2, the SOFR qualification may be granted by the certifying official. Certification must be documented on a “verification/certification” page of the SOFR Position Task Book (311-82).


Date: 
Oct 2013

Addition of Operations Section Chief Type 2 (OSC2) to the positions that maintain currency.


Date: 
Oct 1993

Position created. Safety Officer in 1984 PMS 310-1.

 

Page Last Modified / Reviewed: 
2021-04-08
Primary Committee: 
Risk Management Committee
Steward: 
Risk Management Committee
Key Stakeholder (s): 
Incident Command Subcommittee

Please Provide Feedback

NWCG values your constructive input and we thank you for taking the time to provide feedback.

Although contact information is optional, we hope that you provide a way for us to contact you in case we need clarification on your comment. If you would like to be contacted regarding your feedback, you must provide contact information. 

If you would like a response, you must provide contact information below.
More information
  • Files must be less than 2 MB.
  • Allowed file types: gif jpg jpeg png pdf.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.