RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR)
WFSTAR Highlights
RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher Intent
The intent of RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) is to focus line-going personnel on operations and decision-making issues related to fireline safety in order to recognize and mitigate risk, maintain safe and effective practices, and reduce accidents and near misses.
Target Group
RT-130 is required for designated positions in order to maintain currency, for all personnel assigned to positions with fireline duties, and for any position assigned to the fireline for non-suppression tasks.
| Position Title | Position Code |
|---|---|
| Air Support Group Supervisor | (ASGS) |
| Air Tactical Group Supervisor | (ATGS) |
| Incident communications Technician | (COMT) |
| Crew Representative | (CREP) |
| Crew Boss, Single Resource | (CRWB) |
| Division/Group Supervisor | (DIVS) |
| Engine Boss, Single Resource | (ENGB) |
| Advanced Faller | (FAL1) |
| Intermediate Faller | (FAL2) |
| Basic Faller | (FAL3) |
| Fire Behavior Analyst | (FBAN) |
| Felling Boss, Single Resource | (FELB) |
| Fire Effects Monitor | (FEMO) |
| Firefighter Type 1, Squad Boss | (FFT1) |
| Firefighter Type 2, Crewmember | (FFT2) |
| Firing Boss, Single Resource | (FIRB) |
| Field Observer | (FOBS) |
| Finance/Administration Section Chief Complex | (FSCC) |
| Helicopter Crewmember | (HECM) |
| Heavy Equipment Boss, Single Resource | (HEQB) |
| Helibase Manager | (HEBM) |
| Helicopter Coordinator | (HLCO) |
| Helicopter Manager, Single Resource | (HMGB) |
| Incident Commander Complex | (ICCI) |
| Incident Commander Type 1 | (ICT1) |
| Incident Commander Type 2 | (ICT2) |
| Incident Commander Type 3 | (ICT3) |
| Incident Commander Type 4 | (ICT4) |
| Incident Commander Type 5 | (ICT5) |
| Logistics Section Chief Complex | (LSCC) |
| Long term Fire Analyst | (LTAN) |
| Operations Branch Director | (OPBD) |
| Operations Section Chief | (OPS3) |
| Operations Section Chief Complex | (OSCC) |
| Operations Section Chief Type 1 | (OSC1) |
| Operations Section Chief Type 2 | (OSC2) |
| Planning Section Chief Complex | (PSCC) |
| Public Information Officer Complex | (PIOC) |
| Public Information Officer Type 1 | (PIO1) |
| Public Information Officer Type 2 | (PIO2) |
| Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 1 | (RXB1) |
| Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 2 | (RXB2) |
| Prescribed Fire Manager | (RXMG) |
| Radio Operator | (RADO) |
| Situation Unit Leader | (SITL) |
| Safety Officer Complex | (SOFC) |
| Safety Officer Type 1 | (SOF1) |
| Safety Officer Type 2 | (SOF2) |
| Safety Officer, Line | (SOFR) |
| Strategic Operational Planner | (SOPL) |
| Staging Area Manager | (STAM) |
| Strike Team Leader Crew | (STCR) |
| Strike Team Leader Engine | (STEN) |
| Strike Team Leader Heavy Equipment | (STEQ) |
| Structure Protection Specialist | (STPS) |
| Task Force Leader | (TFLD) |
Firefighters who receive initial fire training are not required to take RT-130 in the same calendar year.
Hours of attendance requirements for RT-130 are determined by each agency and issued through agency-specific directives systems.
BIA, BLM, USFWS, NPS, and USFS RT-130 hours requirements are stated in the Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations (Red Book), Chapter 13.
Course Content and Delivery
The RT-130 modules provide a range of training options to meet NWCG position training requirements and agency-specific RT-130 course-hours requirements. The intent of the NWCG Executive Board is that, regardless of the agency-specific RT-130 course-hours requirements, all RT-130 training covers the core components identified below.
RT-130 Core Components
- Local Topics: (replacing Current Issues) Review and discuss local topics and areas of concern that can impact firefighter safety in the upcoming fire season. Topics may include:
- WFSTAR Year In Review.
- Previous fire season statistics.
- Current national and local Predictive Services products for upcoming fire season.
- Local Fire Management updates and expectations.
- Local staffing and availability updates.
- Local and national aviation updates and availability.
- Incident Reviews and Lessons Learned (replacing Other Hazards and Safety Issues) Review and discuss lessons learned from past local, regional, and national incident response. Topics may include:
- The Lessons Learned Center Annual Review Summary.
- Responding to an incident within an incident utilizing the Medical Incident Report.
- Local lessons learned.
- Case studies, accident reports, facilitated learning analysis, or lesson learned reports.
- Fire and Aviation Operational Safety: (replacing Entrapment Avoidance) Review and discuss the risk management principles and tools that promote safe and effective incident operations. Utilize the appropriate sections of the IRPG. Topics may include:
- Aviation for fireline personnel.
- LCES, Standard Firefighting Orders, Watch Out Situations.
- Common Denominators of Fire Behavior on Tragedy Fires.
- Common Tactical Hazards.
- Downhill Checklist.
- Equipment.
- Safety Zones.
- Weather and fire behavior.
- Wildland Urban Interface.
- Chainsaw Operational Safety.
- Driving Safety.
- Heavy Equipment.
- SAFENET and SAFECOM reports.
- All hazard response.
- Other hazards and safety issues.
- Human Factors, Communication and Decision Making: Discuss the complexity of human factors, their impact on communications and decision making. Topics may include:
- Operational Leadership.
- Communication Responsibilities.
- Situational Awareness.
- Command Presence.
- Leader’s Intent.
- Mental Health.
- Fire Shelters and Entrapment Avoidance: Review and discuss shelter use, deployment site selection, shelter inspections, personal protective equipment, and practice proper deployment techniques. Topics may include:
- Conduct hands on fire shelter proficiency drills in different environments.
- Case studies related to entrapment avoidance.
- Annual updates and reminders for fire shelters from NWCG Fire Shelter and Protective Equipment Subcommittee.
Additional Fire Shelter Resources:
- 2021 Training Update/Reminders
- General Fire Shelter Information
- National Technology and Development Program fire shelter deployment stories can be found in the Case Study category in the WFSTAR catalog.
Functional Area:
Operations
Primary Committee:
Required For:
ASGS, ATGS, COMT, CREP, CRWB, DIVS, ENGB, FAL1, FAL2, FAL3, FBAN, FELB, FEMO, FFT1, FFT2, FIRB, FOBS, HEBM, HECM, HEQB, HLCO, HMGB, ICCI, ICT1, ICT2, ICT3, ICT4, ICT5, LTAN, OPBD, OPS3, OSC1, OSC2, OSCC, PIO1, PIO2, PIO3, PIOC, PIOT, RXB1, RXB2, RXMG, RADO, SITL, SOF1, SOF2, SOFC, SOFR, SOPL, STAM, STCR, STEN, STEQ, STPS, TFLD
Page Last Modified / Reviewed:
2023-04-12