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Emergency Medical Committee

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Mission Statement

Mission Statement

The Emergency Medical Committee (EMC) provides national leadership in incident emergency medical services (EMS) for wildland fire personnel. The EMC establishes NWCG standards that support rapid delivery of high quality emergency medical services on national interagency wildland fire incidents.

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Primary Objectives

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  • Establish wildland fire EMS operations, staffing, and equipment standards.
  • Establish standards that enable system-wide accountability, including quality assurance, medical direction and oversight, provider credentialing, and records maintenance.
  • Facilitate national mobility and availability of wildland fire EMS personnel.
  • Establish standardized EMS data collection practices for wildland fire incidents.
  • Collaborate with key stakeholders among the federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners in support of wildland fire EMS standardization and improvement efforts.
  • Contribute to the standardization of information technology systems (such as FireNet, IROC, etc.) to collect and distribute data, processes, forms, and other operational elements.

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Other Policy/Guidance Documents

The NWCG EMC annually recognizes and honors individuals and/or organizations who have demonstrated outstanding work, actions, or programs in emergency medical service for our nation’s wildland firefighters.  

The five Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Award categories include:  

  • Outstanding Wildfire EMS Individual of the Year
  • Outstanding Wildfire EMS Squad/Crew/Team of the Year
  • Outstanding Wildfire EMS Distinguished Service of the Year
  • Excellence in Wildfire Emergency Medical Service/Rescue
  • Janette Peterson Lifetime Achievement in Wildfire Emergency Medical Service 

2026 Award Nominations

To nominate an individual or group for an NWCG Wildland Fire EMS Award, complete this nomination form:

2026 Emergency Medical Service Award Nominations

Previous winners

 

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Additional Resources

Critical Incident Stress Management(CISM)

Line-of-Duty Death (LODD)

Chair: Hnat, Mark

NWCG Coordinator: Gaskill, Steven

Parent Committee: N/A

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NWCG Latest Announcements

2026 Week of Remembrance

Date:  June 30, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: 6 Minutes for Safety Subcommittee

As we approach the 2026 Week of Remembrance (WOR), June 30–July 6, we dedicate this time to reflect on past incidents from 2016 and honor the fallen through learning. Since its inception in 2014, WOR has honored wildland firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice while encouraging critical discussions that reinforce lessons learned.

Throughout the week, we encourage thoughtful and generative conversations that promote a culture of continuous learning and safety.

References:

2026 Week of Remembrance: Letter to Leadership

Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

RMC Memorandum 26-02: SAFENET Modernization and SafeNetX Launch

Date:  June 25, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Risk Management Committee

The Risk Management Committee (RMC) is pleased to announce the launch of SafeNetX, the modernized safety reporting system now available to the wildland fire community. Effective June 15, 2026, SafeNetX enables reporting of unsafe, unhealthy, near-miss, and high-risk operations across wildland fire, all-hazard incidents, training, and related work environments.

SafeNetX is the result of a multi-agency modernization effort led by RMC, which began evaluating improvements to the legacy SAFENET system in 2021. To learn more, read the full RMC memorandum in the links provided.

References:

SafeNetX

RMC Safety Memorandum 26-02: SAFENET Modernization and SafeNet X Launch

2025 Wildland Fire EMS Awards

Date:  June 12, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Emergency Medical Committee

The NWCG Emergency Medical Committee (EMC) announces the recipients of the 2025 Wildland Fire Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Awards. EMC annually recognizes individuals and groups who have demonstrated outstanding actions or accomplishments that are above and beyond the expectation of one’s normal mission or job duties.

Congratulations to all the awardees and nominees. Through leadership and initiative, they have made significant contributions to the safety of the wildland fire community. These awards are well deserved.

References:

2025 Wildland Fire EMS Awards

Emergency Medical Committee

Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Book Now Available for RAMP

Date:  June 12, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Airtanker Base Operations Unit

NWCG is excited to announce that Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Book are now available for Ramp Manager (RAMP).

The Performance Support Package for this position was developed as part of the Incident Performance and Training Modernization effort. These resources support trainees, qualified personnel, and evaluators in their respective roles.

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 release in January 2027.

References:

NWCG Ramp Manager Position Page

National Interagency Aviation Committee