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

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

WFSTAR 2025 Core Components Module Package

Local Topics

  • Fire Year In Review 2024

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    • Revisit significant events and statistics from the 2024 fire season. Identify lessons learned to prepare for the future. Explore intelligence sources to independently enhance big picture situational awareness.

Vehicle Safety Operations

  • Module (Driving the Miles)
    • This module explores the risk exposure associated with operating vehicles during wildland fire assignments. In it, we review rapid lesson sharing of vehicle incidents and common factors that caused them. In the end we hear from a Superintendent of an Interagency Hotshot Crew who addresses human factors, driving watch outs, and standard operating procedures to provide for driving safety within the wildland firefighting community.
       

Incident Reviews and Lessons Learned

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    Identify escape routes and safety zones, and make them known. A fire crew is walking through a meadow on a path lined with pink flagging.  Behind them, a fire is growing in heavy timber.

     Module (Bench Lake Fire Immersive Case Study)

    • A case study about a successful firefighting operation near Stanely, Idaho. Fire managers and support personnel protected a community from a threatening wildfire. This case study examines what factors and decisions led to their success and how we might emulate that success in future operations.
  • Module (Duvall Creek IWI Case Study)
    • A case study involving a medical extrication on a wildfire in western Oregon. The person in charge of the extrication had to decide the best method to get the patient to definitive medical care. This case study examines their decision and the factors they had to consider.

Fire and Aviation Operational Safety

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    Weather conditions can significantly impact fire behavior, and weather forecasts help firefighters anticipate changes. This Standard Firefighting Order shows a remote automated weather station (RAWS) which sends real-time weather information to incident fire personnel.

     Module (Line Is Clear)

    • Build a knowledge base by listening to three aerial firefighting experts explain best practices when utilizing aerial resources and clarify what it means for a line to be clear.
  • Module (Short-haul Capabilities and Limitations)
    • Understanding the capabilities and limitations of Short-haul operations will help you utilize a Short-haul resource effectively. Whether you’re a Duty Officer responsible for deciding what type of resource to send to a new incident in a remote area, or you are a first-year crewmember awaiting your first fire assignment, this module will help you make informed decisions in the field by providing insight into Short-haul operations relevant to all wildland firefighters.

Human Factors, Communication, and Decision Making

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    Watch Out Situations #5. Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards.

     Module (Unmanned Aircraft Systems Capabilities and Limitations)

    • Agency operated Unmanned Aircraft Systems are becoming more prevalent and more capable every year. This video is designed to provide all firefighters with a baseline understanding of UAS capabilities and limitations. Through that lens the video covers typing, communications, integration in the Fire Traffic Area, decision making when ordering, and updates in the Incident Response pocket guide.
  • Module (Country Fire Deployment Case Study)
    • A case study involving a shelter deployment on a fire near Sacramento, California. An engine responding to an initial attack call was burned over after conditions rapidly and dramatically changed fire behavior. The two crewmembers were forced to use their fire shelters to survive. This case study examines the situation and their decisions.

Fire Shelters and Entrapment Avoidance

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Photo of deployed fire shelters.

Resources

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NWCG Latest Announcements

Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book Available for Helicopter Crewmember

Date: April 28, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee

NWCG is excited to announce that the NWCG Incident Position Standards for Helicopter Crewmember, PMS 350-22, and the NWCG Position Task Book for Helicopter Crewmember (HECM), PMS 311-22, are now available.

These resources, part of the Performance Support Package developed through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort, support trainees, qualified personnel, and evaluators.

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

References:

NWCG Incident Position Standards for Helicopter Crewmember, PMS 350-22

NWCG Incident Position Standards for Helicopter Crewmember, PMS 350-22

NWCG Position Task Book for Helicopter Crewmember (HECM), PMS 311-22

Updated NWCG Standards for Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations, PMS 515

Date: April 23, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Interagency Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Subcommittee

The NWCG Standards for Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations, PMS 515 standardizes processes and procedures for the interagency use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), including pilot inspections and approvals. This updated publication provides the aviation community with standards to ensure UAS are used safely, effectively, and efficiently in support of fire management goals and objectives.

References:

NWCG Standards for Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations, PMS 515

NWCG National Interagency Aviation Committee

ETC Bulletin 25-001: Retrofitted Hot/Cold Beverage Kits - 2025 Field Season

Date: April 16, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Equipment Technology Committee

Due to spout failures and the associated risk of burn injuries, manufacturers have retrofitted the Hot/Cold Beverage Kits using a heat-shrinking band to secure the black spout at the insertion site. The updated kits feature a fluorescent label on each full kit assembly for easy identification. Catering units are encouraged to confirm the clear heat-shrinking bands are intact around each spout before filling.

ETC Bulletin 24-001 regarding Hot/Cold Beverage Kits has been archived and replaced by ETC Bulletin 25-001 for the 2025 season.

References:

NWCG Alerts

ETC-EB-25-001 Retrofitted Hot/Cold Beverage Kits

NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212, and Next Generation Position Task Book for Basic Faller Are Now Available

Date: April 14, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Hazard Tree and Tree Felling Subcommittee

The updated NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212, and NWCG Position Task Book for Basic Faller (FAL3), PMS 311-19 are now available.

The NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212 includes position standards designed to be used in conjunction with the Next Generation Position Task Book (Next Gen PTB). The Next Gen PTB for Basic Faller (FAL3) includes an evaluation guide with suggested rating elements to consider when assessing trainees.

References:

NWCG Standards For Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212

NWCG Position Task Book for Basic Faller (FAL3), PMS 311-119

NWCG Basic Faller (FAL3)