National Wildfire Coordinating Group

S-130, Firefighter Training, 2021

S-130 Decorative banner. Group of photos depicting wildland firefighters performing various duties.

Course Overview Page ButtonCourse Delivery ButtonCourse Materials Button

Course Delivery Information

S-130 may be delivered as instructor-led (classroom) or blended (online self-directed plus field exercise) training.

Major changes for the 2021 S-130 revision include:

  • Course content is updated to reflect current wildland fire operations practices and the position duties stated in the FFT2 Incident Position Description.
  • Course content and related performance support materials are available from the website so they are fully interconnected, easily accessible, and can readily serve as reference material.
  • The final examination is replaced with a Student Evaluation Task Sheet, which is similar to a Position Task Book.
  • The student workbook is replaced by the Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461 to eliminate redundancy and conflict, and to train to established standards. The IRPG is the only cache item that needs to be ordered. All other Student Materials can be downloaded from this page. 
  • Instructor guidance is integrated into the PowerPoint presentations.

The 2008 S-130 (blended course with instructor-led and self-directed delivery components) remains available. For those choosing this delivery option, NWCG recommends combining the instructor-led components from the 2021 version with the self-directed components of the 2008 version.

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 S-130 minimum instructor qualifications

Recommended Class Size

Recommended class size is 24 students. Instructors should maintain a 6:1 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:

Technical Considerations

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

PowerPoint presentations are built in Microsoft Office 365.  Saving them in an earlier version of PowerPoint may prevent some features from working correctly.  Instructor notes are built into the presentation slides under Presenter Notes.

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

Student Assessment

Knowledge checks are embedded in the S-130 course in the form of exercises and discussion questions. Knowledge checks are not graded; they are designed to encourage student engagement and class discussions, and to enable students to demonstrate understanding of course content.

The S-130 Student Evaluation Task Sheet provides a more formal method for students to demonstrate understanding of course content. The task sheet mimics the format and intent of the NWCG Position Task Book. Task sheets should be distributed during the Course Introduction.

Course Evaluations

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.

Blended Course Description

S-190, Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior is a prerequisite and must have been successfully completed prior to taking the S-130, Firefighter Training course.

L-180, Human Factors on the Fireline, is no longer included as part of this course. Students that successfully complete S-130, Firefighter Training will no longer be given credit for completing L-180, Human Factors on the Fireline.

The L-180 course will now be presented as a standalone course. This can be accomplished through directing students to complete the Self-Directed (Online) version of the course.

Instructions for Online Component

This course is available in the NWCG Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP). Log on as a guest to search for S-130 or self-enroll directly.

For those who do not have a WFLP account and cannot get one, the course is also available through National Fire Academy (NFA) Online. An NFA Online account is needed; follow the directions on NFA Online to obtain an account. Search for course title in the catalog and add the online course to your To-Do-List. NFA Online will track your progress. When all modules are successfully completed, you will receive a certificate. It is recommended you either print or save this certificate.  online component of the course.  

Instructor-Led Component

To complete the instructor-led component (field day exercise) you must find a local, state, or federal agency that is hosting the field day exercise. 

 

 

 

Page Last Modified / Reviewed: 
2023-06-29

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.

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.