Skip to main content

RT-130 (WFSTAR)

WFSTAR Overview

WFSTAR Catalog

Course Delivery Information

Core Components

2025 Fire Year in Review

2026 Core Components Module Package

Target Audience

FAQ

Historical Modules (Archived)

 

RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR)

RT-130 Decorative banner. Group of wildland firefighters hiking down a valley to a fire. Black topo map and WFSTAR logo on left.

Santiago Fire

"Fire Shelter Deployments: Stories and Common Insights" is a program developed by the US Forest Service National Technology and Development Program in Missoula. It will help you understand what you may experience in a fire shelter deployment.
Category: Case Studies
Core Component(s):
Human Factors, Communication and Decision Making, Fire Shelters and Entrapment Avoidance
Estimated Delivery Time: 1 hour
Video Length: 15:32

Remote Video

Intent

Review the sequence of events that led to the Santiago entrapment/deployment and discuss significant lessons learned.

Facilitator Preparation

  • Review the video and module tools.
  • Consider additional activities and discussion questions relevant to the location and agency.

Facilitating the Discussion

  • Show the video.
  • Facilitate a small or large group discussion using the activity and discussion questions below.
  • Guide discussion based on the Risk Management Process in the NWCG Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461. Provide copies of the IRPG for students to utilize and answer questions.

Discussion Questions

Part 1

Identify Hazards (Situation Awareness)

  1. When did the involved personnel obtain the basic critical information?
    1. Objectives, communication, who’s in charge, previous fire behavior, weather forecast, and local factors.
    2. Was the assignment scouted?

Assess Hazards

  1. Were potential fire behavior hazards estimated?
  2. Which tactical hazards or Watch Out Situations were present?
  3. What other warnings or indicators were present prior to the entrapment?

Develop Controls and Make Risk Decisions

  1. Where was the fireline anchor point?
  2. Was there an established lookout?
  3. What communication links were in place between the involved personnel and their fireline supervisor or adjoining forces?
  4. What was the pre-identified escape route(s)?
  5. What was the pre-identified safety zone(s)?
  6. Was a Medical Plan in place?

Implement Controls

  1. Were the necessary hazard controls in place for this situation? If not, what was lacking?
  2. Were the strategies and tactics based on expected fire behavior? If not, why?
  3. Did all involved resources have an opportunity for feedback during the decision-making process? If not, why?

Supervise and Evaluate

  1. What individual or human factors existed that increased the potential for decision errors?
  2. What organizational factors existed that increased the potential for decision errors?
  3. As the fire and situation evolved, did the strategy, and tactics continue to work? Did the hazard controls evolve as the fire and situation evolved?

Part 2

  • Consider the casual factors identified in Part 1; then summarize the significant lessons to be learned from this case study.

Resources

Additional Video Information

  • This video is also available as a download (zip file, size 45 MB) .srt file for closed captioning (you may need to right-click and Save As). For information on how to add closed captioning to a video, see this how-to page.
  • Note: For Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, right-click the word download and select Save Link As; for Internet Explorer (IE), right-click, and select Save Target As.

Please Provide Feedback

Indicates required field

If you would like to provide feedback, NWCG values your constructive input.

Would you like a response?

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. 

CAPTCHA
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Last Modified / Reviewed:

Print PDF

NWCG Latest Announcements

Leadership Committee IAP Flyer Now Available

Date:  May 8, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Leadership Committee

The NWCG Leadership Committee promotes and enables leadership development across the wildland fire service. The committee provides education, training opportunities, and support for leadership innovation and best practices throughout the community.

A new IAP flyer is now available on the committee website, offering an overview of the products, curriculum, and learning opportunities the Leadership Committee develops. This resource is ideal for posting in your office, sharing with new employees, or distributing through your incident management teams to engage new voices in the leadership journey and reinforce a culture of self‑reflection, development, and growth.

References:

Leadership Committee 2026 IAP Flyer

Incident Operations Subcommittee Updates the Next Generation Position Task Book for FFT1

Date:  May 7, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Incident Operations Subcommittee

The NWCG Incident Operations Subcommittee (IOSC) has updated the NWCG Position Task Book for Firefighter Type 1 (Squad Boss) (FFT1), PMS 311‑14. The FFT1 Position Task Book transitioned to the Next Generation (Next Gen PTB) format in June 2025 through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization effort. Since then, IOSC has received feedback from the wildland fire community regarding coding for one of the tasks. Task #13 has been updated to include the option of evaluation in a simulation.

See IOSC Memorandum 26‑01: Transition Plan for Implementation of Updates to the NWCG Position Task Book for Firefighter Type 1 (Squad Boss) (FFT1), PMS 311‑14 for more information.

References:

IOSC Memorandum 26-01: Transition Plan for Implementation of Updates to the NWCG Postion Task Book for Firefighter Type 1

NWCG Firefighter Type 1 Squad Boss Position Page 

NEW! S-212, Intermediate Faller (Online) Course Available Now 

Date:  April 23, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Hazard Tree and Tree Felling Subcommittee

NWCG is pleased to announce that the new S‑212, Intermediate Faller (Online), course is now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP). This second course in the series provides students with the knowledge and skills required to perform the duties of an Intermediate Faller (FAL2), as described in the FAL2 Incident Position Description. This course is intended for individuals seeking to advance from Basic Faller (FAL3) to FAL2.

S‑212, Intermediate Faller is a fully online, self‑paced training program consisting of 13 units. Learners will engage with interactive, scenario‑based content designed to progressively build foundational skills and knowledge essential for the FAL2 role.

Students must be qualified as a Basic Faller (FAL3) prior to enrolling in S‑212, Intermediate Faller course.

Any changes to qualification pathways will take effect with the next update of the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1, scheduled for January 2027.

References:

S-212 Intermediate Faller (Online)

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

Intermediate Faller (FAL2) Position Page

NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212

New Aircraft Flight Schedule Form, PMS 249

Date:  April 17, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: National Coordination System Committee

A new publication from the National Coordination System Committee (NCSC) is now available. The NWCG Aircraft Flight Schedule Form, PMS 249, will be used for aviation crews and dispatch to share flight information that is needed for resource tracking, and if needed, for emergency procedures.

For further details, please contact your NCSC representative. 

References:

NCSC Memo 26-01: Implementation of NWCG Aircraft Flight Schedule Form, PMS 249

NWCG Aircraft Flight Schedule Form, PMS 249