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All NWCG Announcements

NWCG Standards for M-2002 Fire Shelters, PMS 411

Date: May 15, 2023
Contact: Fire Shelter and Personal Protective Equipment Subcommittee (FSPPES)

An updated PMS 411 with a new name NWCG Standards for M-2002 Fire Shelters, is now available on the NWCG website. PMS 411 is no longer a PDF but is now an interactive web portal. The portal contains 10 sections, each explaining a different part of the fire shelter, training for its use, and the use of the fire shelter on the fireline.

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2024 Standards for Interagency Incident Business Management (SIIBM) Comment Period, Memo 23-06

Date: May 9, 2023
Contact: Incident Business Committee (IBC)

The IBC has recognized several changes to business practices that necessitate a revision to release a new edition in the Spring of 2024. Like the previous SIIBM update, the 2024 version will only be available via the NWCG website for downloading and printing. There will not be a hard copy version published and available to order from the cache.
The IBC is requesting comments and content edits from the field regarding potential revisions to the 2024 SIIBM. The memo's attached comment sheet describes the format in which comments should be provided. Comments are due by November 3, 2023.

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Glossary Term for Review

Date: April 26, 2023
Contact: Data Standards and Terminology Board (DSTB)

The Data Standards and Terminology Board is requesting feedback on the new term Incident Complexity Level.
The proposed definition is: The incident level established by completing an incident complexity analysis considering the level of difficulty, severity, or overall resistance the incident or event presents to incident management or support personnel as they work to manage it; a categorization that helps leaders compare one type of incident or event to another.  
Please review, share with your subgroups, and provide feedback as appropriate. The term will be out for review until May 26 , 2023.

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Standardized use of FireNet by Geographic Areas and Incident Management Teams for the 2023 Fire Year

Date: April 17, 2023
Contact: Katy O'Hara and Nick Heller

The purpose of this memorandum is to reinforce FireNet as the recognized standard official electronic messaging and file collaboration system to support interagency wildland fire missions during the 2023 fire year. 
FireNet is the designated environment for conducting wildland fire operations, and as such, Incident Management Teams (IMTs), dispatch centers and other fire support operations must be using FireNet email, Teams, and SharePoint to the maximum extent possible. 

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NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire First Aid, PMS 560

Date: April 3, 2023
Contact: Emergency Medical Committee (EMC)

NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire First Aid establishes minimum standards for first aid for wildland fire environments. The intent of NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire First Aid is to address the gaps in traditional first aid courses and the wildland fire environment. NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire First Aid could be met through a variety of methods, including supplementing traditional first aid courses with existing resources or through development and utilization of wildland fire specific first aid training programs.  NWCG standards are interagency by design; however, the decision to adopt and utilize them is made independently by the individual member agencies.

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2023 WFSTAR Core Component Module Packages

Date: March 29, 2023
Contact: Joe Schindel

The 2023 WFSTAR Core Component Module Packages are available here:  RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) | NWCG

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Incident Management Organization Permissible Values List

Date: March 27, 2023
Contact: Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee (CEPC)

The Data Standards and Terminology Board is requesting feedback on the Incident Management Organization permissible values list. The proposal is to add the value CIMT.
Please review, share with your subgroups, and provide feedback as appropriate. The standard will be out for review until April 27, 2023.

Thank you for your engagement in the standards  process – your participation is key to our success.

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Geospatial Standard for Review

Date: March 13, 2023
Contact: Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee (CEPC)

The Data Standards and Terminology Board has the Fire Restrictions Polygon ready for review. Please review, share with your subgroups, and provide feedback as appropriate. The standard will be out for review until April 10, 2023.
This standard was developed between the Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee (CEPC) and stakeholders. CEPC will be the steward of this standard.
Thank you for your engagement in the standard process – your participation is key to our success.

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Safety Warning 23-01: Non-Specification Fire Shelters

Date: March 10, 2023
Contact: David Maclay-Schulte, Equipment Specialist, 406-329-3965 

Issue:  Non-specification fire shelters are being advertised and sold on the open market as meeting Forest Service (FS) specification 5100-606 requirements.
The non-specification shelters are made from unknown materials and components that have not been tested and certified to ensure compliance with specification requirements. The unspecified materials can impact the performance and safety of the non-specification fire shelter if utilized in a deployment.

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Equipment Bulletin 23-01: Discontinuation of Shelf Stable Food Boxes (NFES 7478) in NISC

Date: March 7, 2023
Contact: Sam Wu, 909-731-9072

The shelf stable food box pilot program has concluded. While the item received positive field feedback, it is both labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive to continue offering. It will be discontinued and not available from the National Interagency Support Cache (NISC) system.
A Cache Memo will be distributed to the National Interagency Cache System for direction to remove the Shelf Stable Food Boxes from the National Interagency Cache System.

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NWCG Archived Announcements Prior to 2023