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

Patient Assessment

This video features subject matter experts guiding you through the process of patient assessment with the help of the Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG).

Category: Medical

Core Component(s):

Fire and Aviation Operational Safety

Estimated Delivery Time: 20 minutes

Video Length: 8:07

Intent

This module shows firefighters how to use standardized checklists from the NWCG Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461, during emergency responses. These tools improve communication and guide you through medical procedures. Firefighters with minimal medical experience can utilize the Patient Assessment and Medical Incident Response (MIR) checklists in the IRPG.

Facilitator Preparation

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

Facilitating the Discussion

Show the video.
Facilitate a small or large group discussion using the activity and discussion questions.
Present the scenario below and guide students through the exercise.

Scenario

You are on a single resource assignment as a heavy equipment boss on the Wolf Jaw Fire. In preparation for a burnout operation, you have been working with a skid steer operator for three days to move deadfall from a fireline.

At 10:00 AM on the third day, you watch as the skid steer operator grabs one end of a tree with the grapple and begins pushing it into the planned burn area. The tree meets resistance against a standing tree, slips off the grapple and smashes through the skid steer’s front glass. The operator reverses, stops, and then yells to you for help. You assist the operator out of the skid steer and have them sit on the ground. You notice blood seeping through the operator’s pants but cannot immediately see the extent of the wound. The operator says they feel dizzy and nauseous.

What do you do now? Discuss as a class

Image 1: The top of the tree (in blue circle) smashed through the skid steer glass and hit the operator.

Image 2: The skid steer glass was smashed by the tree.

Conduct Activity (Optional)

Divide the class.
Give each group the Activity Questions below.
Discuss group responses.

Activity Questions

Find the Patient Assessment page in your IRPG.
Find the Medical Incident Report in your IRPG.
What is the ABC (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) check used for? What are additional considerations to ABC?
Go to Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center and search for “Schenk” or “Schenk Prescribed Fire Hit by Tree 2024.” Read the Rapid Lesson Sharing report (RLS). Discuss how your responses to the activity compare to this real life success story.

Resources

Website: WFSTAR, Medical Incident Report
Website: WFSTAR, Short-haul Capabilities and Limitations
Website: Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center
Publication: NWCG Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461, Emergency Medical Care (red pages)

Table of Abbreviations:

ABC: Airway, Breathing, Circulation. The most important considerations of life threats in addition to blood loss.
IRPG: Incident Response Pocket Guide
MIR: Medical Incident Report, often referred to as a MIR report.
RLS: Rapid Lesson Sharing

Additional Video Information

The video is also available as a download (Size 1.23GB); with the .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 and Firefox, right click the word download and select Save Link As; for IE, right click and select Save Target As.

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Last Modified / Reviewed: February 13, 2026

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RMC Safety Bulletin 26-001: Rhabdomyolysis in Wildland Firefighters

Date: May 28, 2026
Questions?
Please contact: Risk Management Committee

The Risk Management Committee (RMC) has issued Safety Bulletin 26-001: Rhabdomyolysis in Wildland Firefighters. Research from 2016 to 2025 shows that 88 cases of rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) were reported. Analysis of reports from eSafety, the Safety Management Information System (SMIS), and the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center (LLC) indicates that rhabdo is common during this time of year due to Work Capacity Tests and contributing factors such as weather, hydration, nutrition, and medication or supplement use.

RMC issued this safety bulletin to raise awareness in the Wildland Fire Community, and to provide research findings and educational resources that support reducing future cases of rhabdo.

References:

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RMC Safety Bulletin 26-001: Rhabdomyolysis in Wildland Firefighters

NEW! D-110, Expanded Dispatch Recorder Course Available Now

Date: May 15, 2026
Questions?
Please contact: Dispatch Position and Curriculum Management Subcommittee

NWCG is pleased to announce the new D-110, Expanded Dispatch Recorder (Instructor-led) course is now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP). Developed through the National Coordination System Committee, this course introduces the structure and function of expanded dispatch, the qualities of an effective dispatcher, and provides hands-on experience with the Interagency Resource Ordering Capability (IROC) system.

The D-110, Expanded Dispatch Recorder course aligns with the competencies and duties outlined in the NWCG Incident Position Standards for Expanded Dispatch Recorder, PMS 350-59, and is designed for individuals with no prior experience who may be called upon to support dispatch operations.

References:

D-110, Expanded Dispatch Recorder (Instructor-Led)

Expanded Dispatch Recorder (EDRC), Position Page

NWCG Incident Position Standards for Expanded Dispatch Recorder, PMS 350-59

Wildland Fire Learning Portal

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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 Position Task Book for Firefighter Type 1

NWCG Firefighter Type 1 Squad Boss Position Page

RT-130 (WFSTAR)

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