Master Parachute Rigger

Introduction

This position serves as Parachute Loft Technician. The incumbent serves as an FAA licensed Master Parachute Rigger, provides the needed technical skill and supervision of parachute packing and repair, and performs various other loft duties.

Duties

Plans work schedule on a daily or project basis and makes adjustments to meet changes in workload, variations in staffing, and to meet priorities. Plans for and obtains supplies and insures that equipment is available, ready, and safe to use. Maintains work accomplishment report.
Assigns work to individuals based on their training or experience, and sets standards of performance, participates with supervisors in directing and preparing training and operating guidelines. Has one or more assistants who demonstrate, observe and correct work practices, and review routine work accomplishments. Takes corrective action to obtain satisfactory quality and quantity of work. Informs incumbents of the objectives of management.
Assumes full responsibility for numerous technical decisions. Commonly resolves technical problems in emergency situations. Unit Supervisor is available for consultation on any project problem.
Workforce varies with a minimum of 6 to 40 and includes one or more assistants at the GS-7.
The incumbent plans and schedules work assignments; ensures that supplies, equipment and operating plans are provided. The size of the workforce fluctuates seasonally. The workload is variable and unpredictable due to the emergency nature of fire suppression. The incumbent must exercise currency on agency manuals, FAA regulations, national and regional policies. In the absence of Unit Supervisor and/or Operations foreman is given full authority.
Informs licensed parachute riggers of current packing and repair methods. Provides parachute rigging training to returning experienced jumpers.
Interprets detailed parachute loft manuals and insures adherence to standards.
Oversees inventory in parachute loft and that all items are accounted for.

Position Knowledge and/or Requirements

Thorough knowledge of parachute loft operations and FAA licensed Master Parachute Rigger to advise and perform technical repairs and related loft activities.
Responsible for the supervision and training of personnel assigned to the loft for the repair and packing of parachutes and related equipment.
Thorough knowledge of FAA rules and regulations to locate, interpret and apply them to recurring parachute loft operation assignments and problems.
Well-developed written and verbal communication skills to prepare reports and provide formal and information instructions to trainees.
Complete knowledge of entire parachute loft equipment to accurately track inventory.

Supervisory Control

This position works under the general supervision of the Unit Supervisor who sets objectives, establishes priorities, and provides assistance during the completion of unusual, exceptional or precedent setting actions. The incumbent plans and schedules recurring work and independently handles most problems and carries most work through to completion on own initiative according to previous training and experience. The Supervisor reviews work for technical accuracy, coordination with parachute loft and fire suppression functions and consistency with policy.

Guidelines

Guidelines include agency manuals (specifically air operation), FAA regulations, the Health and Safety Code, Smokejumper Handbook, Fireline Handbook, and other written guides and oral instructions. The incumbent must locate and interpret applicable guides and precedents from a variety of sources and apply them to unique problems. Considerable judgment must be employed because of the complexity in parachute rigging and fire suppression support activity.

Complexity

Assignments involve organizing, developing and directing projects in the parachute loft and supervising fire suppression support functions. Incumbent must exercise independent and mature judgment. Parachute loft projects often require departing from past approaches and extending traditional techniques of developing new ones to meet major objectives.

Scope and Effect

The purpose of the work is to provide technical expertise and leadership skills in the operations of the parachute loft assignments. Work efforts have a definite impact on the subordinate’s performance. Decisions made by the incumbent will provide for safety and minimize the loss of forest resources and wildlife.

Last Modified / Reviewed: 2023-12-15

NWCG Latest Announcements

NWCG Equipment Technology Committee Releases New Equipment Bulletins

Date: September 27, 2024
Contact: Equipment Technology Committee

The Equipment Technology Committee (ETC) has released three new Equipment Bulletins:

ETC-EB-24-003 Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) in fuel containers.
ETC-EB-24-004 Two-compartment fuel and oil container (Dolmar) unavailable in the United States (US) and reminders for upkeeping current inventories.
ETC-EB-24-005 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Inspection, Care, and Maintenance.

These bulletins remind field going personnel of important issues related to equipment for wildland firefighting efforts.

References:

NWCG Alerts

ETC-EB-24-003 Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) in fuel containers

ETC-EB-24-004 Two-compartment fuel and oil container (Dolmar) unavailable in the United States (US) and reminders for upkeeping current inventories

ETC-EB-24-005 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Inspection, Care, and Maintenance

The Experiential Learning Subcommittee is looking for your feedback on Staff Rides

Date: September 20, 2024
Contact: Ashleigh D'Antonio and George Risko, Leadership Committee

The Experiential Learning Subcommittee needs to hear from the field about where the greatest need lies regarding staff rides and their accessibility.

Do you have an event you would like to turn into a learning experience?
Do you have a staff ride built, but are struggling to implement the delivery?
Do you need help building capacity?
What other ideas do you have to support experiential leadership training?

Fill out this short survey below to help us help you.

References:

Staff Rides: Feedback

Staff Rides

Updated NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934

Date: September 19, 2024
Contact: Incident Business Committee

The Incident Business Committee has updated the NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934. This update expands the provisions for hiring emergency personnel.

References:

NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934

IBC Memorandum 24-03

NWCG 2024 Spring/Summer Highlights

Date: September 13, 2024

Welcome to our latest highlights from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, where we explore the latest updates, insights, and efforts that develop interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners.

The Performance Support Package, which for ABRO includes the Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book were developed through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. The Performance Support Package will support trainees, those qualified in the position, and evaluators.

NASA JOINS NWCG!

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is officially an associate member of NWCG. As such, NASA is beginning to collaborate with wildland fire management agencies with the goal of increasing collaboration across agencies and leveraging NASA data, technology, and innovation for nation-wide efforts in wildland fire management. NASA has a rich history of research, development, and technology transfer in the areas of Earth science, space technologies, and aeronautics that support the NWCG mission.

WWW.NWCG.GOV HAS A NEW LOOK AND DESIGN

The NWCG web team dedicated the past two years to making a significant upgrade to the www.nwcg.gov site. This upgrade involved a comprehensive redesign of over 7,700 web pages.

The modernization of NWCG’s website involved migrating to Drupal 10, a cutting—edge content management system, and leveraging Amazon Web Service GovCloud for secure and efficient hosting. These upgrades help ensure that the NWCG website remains current in content management practices, offering enhanced customization, improved performance, and an overall superior user experience.

NWCG Leadership Committee

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program announced the Professional Reading Program’s 2024 list!

The years books include:

Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog by William H. McRaven
The Art of Clear Thinking by Hasard Lee
Emotional Agility by Susan David
Writing to Persuade by Trish Hall

Learn more at the NWCG Leadership Committee

INCIDENT PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING MODERNIZATION

In 2023, NWCG kicked off the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. A training system overhaul focused on developing a performance-based training system designed to shift training to on-the-job when appropriate.

Over the next five years, NWCG intends to analyze all positions within the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1. To date we are currently working on 30 incident positions, and planning for 20+ in calendar year 2025.

Subject Matter Experts from a variety of geographical areas and agencies recently completed the position analysis for 16 positions. From this analysis, Incident Positions Standards and a Next Generation Position Task Book will be developed for each position.

Incident Performance and Training Modernization

NEXT GENERATION POSITION TASK BOOK

In April 2024, NWCG launched the new Next Generation Position Task Book (Next Gen PTB) which is a key component of the IPTM effort. This revised evaluation tool is designed to work in conjunction with the newly developed Incident Position Standards.

Major Next Gen PTB changes:

Structured to improve constructive conversations between evaluators and trainees.
Reference new Incident Position Standards.
Include only tasks required to be evaluated for successful performance.
Trainees will be rated on their performance vs. initialing whether a task was completed.
Must include written feedback when trainee does not meet the standard.
Will be position specific (no combined PTBs).

Screen shot of the Next Gen Position Task Book

Banner image of the Wildland Fire Learning Portal website

NWCG’s training course catalog is now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP).

To access the training course catalog, visit WFLP and either set up an account or login as a guest.

Master Parachute Rigger

Introduction

Duties

Position Knowledge and/or Requirements

Supervisory Control

Guidelines

Complexity

Scope and Effect

NWCG Latest Announcements

References:

References:

References:

NASA JOINS NWCG!

WWW.NWCG.GOV HAS A NEW LOOK AND DESIGN

NWCG Leadership Committee

INCIDENT PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING MODERNIZATION

NEXT GENERATION POSITION TASK BOOK

NWCG National Wildfire Coordinating Group

NWCG

National Wildfire Coordinating Group