National Wildfire Coordinating Group

RX-301, Prescribed Fire Implementation, 2009

RX-301 Decorative banner. Group of photos depicting wildland firefighters performing various duties.

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Course Delivery Information

RX-301 may be delivered as instructor-led (classroom) training.

Expectations of Instructors

  • Prepare thoroughly. Study the course content you are going to teach.
  • Establish a collaborative and constructive classroom environment.
  • Communicate expectations.
  • Encourage student engagement.
  • Respect student diversity in backgrounds, talent, experience, and learning style.
  • Professionally represent your instructor cadre, your home unit, and your agency.

Course Guidance

Course coordinators and instructors should be thoroughly familiar with the NWCG Standards for Course Delivery, PMS 901-1.  The NWCG Standards for Course Delivery establishes standards for all aspects of NWCG training course management and delivery. These standards should be used in conjunction with the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1, and the course-specific guidance stated in the NWCG Training Catalog.

See RX-301 minimum instructor qualifications

Recommended Class Size

Recommended class size is 25-30 students.  Instructors should maintain a 5:1 ratio of students to instructors/coaches to facilitate exercises and discussion and to enable strong mentorship to the students. 

Cadre Meetings

Conduct initial, pre-course, daily, and close-out instructor cadre meetings. These provide opportunities to plan, organize, preview materials, review training and exercises, and identify and address concerns and issues. Consider using an informal After Action Review process. Instructor cadre meetings are critical for instructors who do not have previous experience with the course.  Additional information is located in the NWCG Standards for Course Delivery, PMS 901-1.

Course Materials

Each student must be provided the following:

Additional Materials Needed

These materials are needed above and beyond the usual items (pens, paper, flip charts, markers, etc.).

  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including eye and ear protection (if planning an actual burn).

Technical Considerations

All presentations should be downloaded and tested before the start of class to ensure compatibility with software.

PowerPoint presentations are built in an older version of Microsoft Office.  Some features may not work correctly with newer software or systems.  

For help, visit the Microsoft Office website or contact your local IT support personnel.

Course Evaluations

Use the NWCG Course Evaluation Feedback form to collect information critical to future training improvements.

Students and cadre members are asked to contribute course evaluations. Input is welcome on all aspects of the training course, including course content, pre-course work, reference materials, quality of instruction, delivery methods, and testing procedures.

Jan 2020 Update:

Due to changes to NWCG prescribed fire standards (Interagency Prescribed Fire Planning and Implementation Procedures Guide, PMS 484, 2017), the RX-301, Prescribed Fire Implementation (2009) final exam and supporting materials (Complexity Analysis and Burn Plan) have been revised and are available by emailing blm_fa_nwcg_training@blm.gov .

NWCG recommends incorporating these updated materials into all upcoming RX-301 courses. We recognize the 2009 course materials are outdated and training cadres are updating the materials prior to teaching their courses.  Please ensure materials your cadres are teaching support the course objectives and updated testing materials.

The RX-301 course is also available within the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (delivered concurrently with RX-341). For those geographic areas that would like to use the Portal for the RX-301/RX-341 combined courses, please contact the Great Basin Training Center.

Previous Update:

Due to an update in the BehavePlus software, the inputs and outputs for the BehavePlus exercise found on page 3 of 13 through page 5 of 13 of the pre-course work document and the subsequent solution found in the pre-course work answer key on page 3 of 18 through page 8 of 18 are not correct. This will affect information found in the instructor guide on page 1.7 – 1.12 and PowerPoint slides 01-14-RX301-PPT thru 01-24-RX301-PPT.

To ensure the students and instructors come to the same solution it is suggested that instructors complete the exercise using the most recent release of BehavePlus prior to instructing unit 1. In lieu of using the slides 14 – 24 of the current PowerPoint presentation it is suggested the instructor display the Behave program and demonstrate the solution to the students in the actual software.

Bark thickness has been added to the input section of the BehaverPlus exercise. BehavePlus 5.0.5 calculates morality based on dbh. 16" dbh equates to 1" bark thickness in BehavePlus 5.0.5.

The NWCG Risk and Complexity Assessment (RCA) replaced the NWCG Complexity Analysis and NWCG Organizational Needs Assessment in January, 2014. The following table illustrates the changes to this course. 
Changes to RX-301 course.

Applies to 2009 Version.

 

Page Last Modified / Reviewed: 
2022-12-16

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. 

Due to recent hacking behavior, we are temporarily suspending our ability to upload documents.  If you need to attach additional information, please email the file to BLM_FA_NWCG_Webmaster@blm.gov.

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