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

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 medivac 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

• Website: Short-Haul Map
• Website: Medical Incident Report
• Publication: Anvil Fire Extraction RLS.pdf
• Publication: Short_Haul_Summary_2018_RLS1.pdf
• Publication: NWCG Standards for Helicopter Operations (NSHO), PMS 510

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.