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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.

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.
Category: Aviation
Core Component(s):
Fire and Aviation Operational Safety, Human Factors, Communication and Decision Making
Estimated Delivery Time: 45 minutes
Video Length: 12:41

Intent

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.

Facilitator Preparation

  • Review the video and module tools prior to presenting.
  • Review Planning for Medical Emergencies in the IRPG and rehearse procedures unique to your module such as medical equipment, capabilities, and limitations.
  • Print or display the module tools for students to reference during the activity and discussion.
  • Design a medical scenario in a remote area you’re familiar with (consider Duvall Creek RLS for ideas).
  • Utilize applications such as Google Earth and/or navigation applications such as Gaia or Avenza to present visual references.
  • Research the response time for a ground ambulance to your scenario area.
  • Identify a potential road or heli-spot where a ground medivac, or short-haul medivac can rendezvous with definitive care for patient hand-off.
  • Review the necessary touch-down pad specifications for type 3 helicopters.

Facilitating the Discussion

  • Show the video.
  • Facilitate a discussion to include the medical scenario in a remote area.
    • How does your module plan for a medical incident prior to engaging in daily operations?
    • What kinds of tools and medical equipment is your module equipped with to respond to a medical incident?
    • If you’re the Incident Commander of the medical incident, what factors are you considering when developing your medevac plan?
    • Based on your assessment, what will you order to assist with the mission?
  • Have the group come up with a medivac plan based on the scenario.
    • How will the patient be transported to definitive care and where will the transfer of care take place?
    • What are your contingency plans?

Questions / Scenario / Directions

  • If you are performing a role as a Taskforce Leader, Division Group Supervisor, or an Operations Section Chief on an extended attack incident, how would you utilize a short-haul capable platform assigned to the incident for fire support missions? If you’re in fire management, and performing a Duty Officer role, what missions would you consider utilizing a short-haul resource for versus employing other aerial delivered resources such as smokejumpers or heli-rappellers?
  • What factors are you considering and why? What are approximate site specifications of a short-haul site? How does a short-haul site compare to a helispot or a sling site?
  • As a wildland firefighter, why is understanding the capabilities and limitations of short-haul operations important to you?

Resources

Additional Video Information

The video is also available as a download (zip file, size 1.72 GB) with .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, Firefox, and Edge, right click the word download and select Save Link As; for IE, right click and select Save Target As.

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ETC Equipment Bulletin: 25-003 Flame-Resistant Shirt Survey

Date: June 12, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Equipment Technology Committee

The U.S. Forest Service National Technology and Development Program (NTDP) is seeking input on the Forest Service-designed flame-resistant (FR) shirt, currently available through the National Interagency Support Cache system and FedMall.

NTDP is conducting a product review to improve future FR shirt designs. As part of this effort, a short survey is now open for federal employees who have worn any of three recent FR shirt models. Feedback will guide design improvements to better meet the needs of wildland firefighters.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, responses are limited to federal employees. The survey is open through September 12, 2025. 

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NEW! S-130, Firefighter Training (Blended) Now Available

Date: June 10, 2025
If you have questions, please visit our FAQ page. 
If your question is not answered there, you can 
submit your question using our Contact Us form. 
 

The S-130, Firefighter Training (Blended), equips new wildland firefighters with essential skills through a mix of online learning and hands-on training. The course features a required online component and an instructor-led exercise, reinforcing online concepts with practical performance-based training.

The course builds competencies in wildland fire operations, safety, and equipment use, applicable across various operational environments. Both the online component and instructor-led field exercise must be completed to receive a certificate of completion. Students are required to finish the prerequisite S-190, Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior, before enrolling in S-130, Firefighter Training (Blended).

References:

S-130, Firefighter Training (Blended)

S-190, Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior

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Date: June 3, 2025
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The Emergency Medical Committee has issued interim guidance for Rapid Extraction Module Support (REMS) teams. Until further notice, Type I and II REMS teams must designate a team leader qualified at Firefighter Type 1 Squad Boss (FFT1) or higher. This temporary change replaces the Single Resource Boss (SRB) requirement, which is currently not feasible due to administrative barriers.

This memorandum does not include any other changes to the NWCG Standards for Rapid Extraction Module Support, PMS 552. This interim change takes effect immediately and will remain in place until further notice.

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EMC Memo 25-001: Interim Rapid Extraction Module (REMS) Training and Qualification Requirements

NWCG Standards for Rapid Extraction Module Support, PMS 552

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The Equipment Technology Committee issued Equipment Bulletin: 25-002 to address a manufacturing nonconformity affecting Forest Service specification, 6170-4K Chain Saw Chaps. The issue applies to chaps manufactured in 2024 and 2025 and distributed through FedMall. These chaps may have incorrectly bound edges that expose inner protective layers.

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