National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center

Training Opportunities

Resource Specialists, Agency Administrators

20 Day Training Opportunity

The National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center (PFTC) is a program designed to give individuals an opportunity to increase their prescribed fire practitioner skills. Over the course of their 20 day training assignment, participants will gain confidence in their own ability to conduct prescribed fires and assume leadership roles in their home unit’s fire program by experiencing 10 - 12 days of hands-on burning in such situations as wildland urban interface, a variety of fuel types, and for several partners from different agencies with unique management objectives. They will perform as a trainee burn boss, firing boss, fire effects monitor, or other prescribed fire position specialist on multiple burn assignments.  Participants will interact one-on-one with experienced prescribed fire practitioners from across the Southeast United States and gain a better understanding of fire regimes, condition classes, firing techniques, smoke management, and fire effects.

The participants will gain up-to-date knowledge on prescribed fire safety, prescribed fire planning, smoke screening tools, monitoring, and current fire policy. They will learn how prescribed fire practitioners have developed successful programs and public support, and get connected to a network of fire practitioners with other agencies, the private sector, and international agencies. Overall, this training will result in an increase in the participant’s and the home unit’s capacity for fire management leadership by completing training assignments as evidenced by completion of prescribed fire tasks in the NWCG task books. The variety of field experience along with the different prescriptions, planning procedures, and techniques of the various agencies offers an accelerated learning curve for the participants during their 20 day tour.  Additionally the Center encourages attendance from non-fire personnel looking to expand their understanding and experiences in fire.

Participant Announcement

Participant Application

Workshops

Prescribed Fire Workshop for Resource Specialists

Prescribed Fire Workshop for Resource Specialists Application
Prescribed Fire Workshop for Resource Specialists Flyer

Target Audience

Resource Specialists from land management agencies seeking experience in planning and implementation of prescribed fire to meet resource objectives.  Selected participants will receive hands-on experience in prescribed fire application and will have the opportunity to interact with skilled prescribed fire practitioners and resource specialists active in successful fuels management programs.

Workshop Date

December 2 - 7, 2012

Location

Exact location will be determined at a later date; however, it will be somewhere in the Southeast.  Field trips may be taken throughout Florida and south Georgia.  Travel further from the starting location may be necessary dependent upon current weather, fuels conditions, and the opportunity of burning windows.

Background Information

The Cohesive Strategy, National Fire Plan, and the Healthy Forest Initiative have tasked land management agencies with implementing assertive fuels management programs.  As a result, these agencies are conducting unit-wide fuels management planning and implementation projects.  To effectively execute development and achievement of these projects an interdisciplinary approach is required.  It is imperative that Resource Specialists and Fire personnel work together to accomplish positive results with prescribed fire.  This one-week workshop is structured to give Resource Specialists 4+ days of experience with successful fuels management programs and several experienced fire managers in the Southeast.  During the week, Resource Specialists will have the opportunity to apply prescribed fire and interact with highly skilled practitioners.

Curriculum

This workshop will provide participants the opportunity to:

  • Become familiar with prescribed fire
  • Identify the impact differences  from prescribed fire and wildfire on resources
  • Interact with prescribed fire practitioners and resource specialists involved in successful programs
  • Discuss prescribed fire impacts related to wildlife, timber, vegetation, exotic species, T&E species, ecosystem restoration, cultural resources, as well as other areas
  • Become familiar with fireline positions and potential areas for resource specialist involvement
  • Recognize the possibility for interdisciplinary approach to fire operations including planning and implementation
  • Experience fire monitoring elements through hands-on application to assess effectiveness of fire treatments in meeting objectives
  • Experience fire execution in conjunction with other fuel treatments in meeting objectives.

Workshop Schedule

Kickoff and dinner begins at 1800 on Sunday, December 2.  The team will spend the following morning in orientation with short briefings on safety and southeastern fuels.  The participants will be tasked with providing their expectations for the workshop and discussing what they can do to influence the use of prescribed fire on their respective home units.  Each day will include a field trip to look at specific subject areas and discuss impacts of prescribed fire.  Federal, state, and private cooperator sites may be visited during the workshop.  Participation on a prescribed fire is planned but is weather dependent.  On the last day, participants will conduct a closeout with the cadre.  Participants should plan to travel on Sunday, December 2 and travel home Saturday morning, December 8.  PFTC will provide all transportation during the workshop.

Cost/Requirements

There is no tuition.  All costs for travel, per diem, salary and overtime will be the responsibility of the sending unit.  PFTC will provide transportation during the workshop.  All non red-carded participants must have watched the video, Using Your Fire Shelter (NFES-1568).  Participants must provide appropriate PPE. 

Quotes

“Some of the very best training I have attended. PFTC is a very valuable center for training. I wish that I would have had something like this early in my career."

Paul Ostrum, USFS Great Divide RD, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Hayward, WI

“At this point, this is the best workshop I’ve had. It has been absolutely timely in terms of encouraging me to push our program forward…and I think that was really what I wanted coming into it.”

George Ramseur, MS Department of Marine Resources, Biloxi, MS

“The anecdotal coupled with the science (it worked, and here’s what we learned) is a great way to get ideas…I am super excited about RX after this workshop and see it improving every year. Keep doing these!”

Melanie Vining, USFS Council RD, Payette National Forest, Council, ID

“I have been reminded once again, how invaluable networking and exchange of ideas with other agency personnel, other disciplines and peer groups can be.”

Marie Kerr, NPS, Big South Fork NRRA, Oreida, TN

“This course exceeded my expectations. I learned more about prescribed fire use, as expected, but I also learned more about when to use it and how to plan it for natural resource management.”

Annabeth Rice, NPS, Southeast Region Office, Atlanta, GA

“My expectations coming in were high yet I doubted they would be met, however not only were they met, they were exceeded.”

Mark Williams, Natural Resource Specialist, Mississippi National Guard,
Camp Shelby, MS, GA

PFTC Contact

Greg Seamon, Fire Training Specialist
850.523.8631 (office) | 850.556.8613 (cell) | gseamon@tnc.org

Prescribed Fire Workshop for Agency Administrators

Agency Administrators Application
Prescribed Fire Workshop for Agency Administrators Flyer
Agency Administrator Workshop Article in Fire Management Today

 

Target Audience

Agency Administrators/Line Officers from land management agencies seeking experience to effectively manage and oversee the implementation of an integrated fuels management program. Selected participants will receive hands-on experience in prescribed fire application and will have the opportunity to interact and mentor with skilled prescribed fire practitioners and successful fuels program managers.  Participants will have the opportunity to learn about policy, planning, and implementation of fire in order to enhance their programs.  Experienced and diverse cadre members offer insight to management challenges (including how to restore fire to the landscape and meeting objectives for multiple resources using prescribed fire.)  For Forest Service participants, this Workshop meets FSM 5140 requirements to approve Prescribed Fire Burn Plans. For Fish and Wildlife Service participants, this Workshop meets Interagency Fire Management Leadership course requirements to approve burn plans (LFML).

Workshop Date

October 28 - November 3, 2012

Location

The Workshop includes interaction with active federal and state prescribed fire programs.  The selected workshop start/end point will be near a major Florida jetport to be determined at a later date. During the workshop the participants and cadre will move within a geographic region to take advantage of burning windows and programs.  This will necessitate changing lodging at least once, if not more, during the week.

Background Information

As a result of The National Fire Plan, Cohesive Strategy, and the Healthy Forest Initiative, land management agencies are being tasked to aggressively implement fuels management programs. Line Officers and Agency Administrators are required to gain additional skills and increase involvement to effectively manage evolving fuels management programs. This one-week course is structured to give the managers six days of experience burning with highly skilled cooperators. PFTC will have several experienced fire managers from different parts of the United States attending the workshop and actively burning with participants. During the week, Agency Administrators will have the opportunity to apply prescribed fire and interact with highly skilled practitioners and policy makers.

Curriculum

This workshop will provide participants the opportunity to:

  • Become familiar with interagency fuels management direction, policy and planning
  • Understand and implement key elements of successful fuels program in the WUI and landscapes
  • Interact with successful program managers and practitioners and build a network of contacts for the future
  • Discuss risk management, liability, and burn complexity as it pertains to agency administrators
  • Discuss policy, burn plans, smoke management, and the decision making process with a highly qualified cadre
  • Enhance prescribed fire skills through practical experience burning with a variety of cooperators
  • Experience fire monitoring elements through hands-on application in order to assess effectiveness of fire treatments in meeting objectives

Workshop Schedule

Kickoff and dinner begins at 1700 on Sunday, October 28.  The team will spend the following morning in orientation with short briefings on safety, equipment, and southeastern fuels.  Field trips/burning will be at potential cooperator sites located within the area chosen for the workshop.  Federal, state and private cooperators may be visited during this timeframe.  On the last day, participants will conduct a closeout with the cadre.  Participants should plan to travel home the morning of November 4.  PFTC will provide all transportation during the workshop.

Cost/Requirements

There is no tuition.  All costs for travel, per diem, salary and overtime will be the responsibility of the sending unit.  PFTC will provide transportation during the workshop.  All non red-carded participants must have watched the video, Using Your Fire Shelter (NFES-1568).  Participants must provide appropriate PPE. 

Quotes

“If there is a secret, executive level list of the best federal courses, this (Workshop) should be on it!

Drew Milroy, Natural Resources Manager, US Air Force, 2004

“Absolutely one of the best courses I have ever taken in 22 years with the FS. The cadre was tremendously experienced and professional. They also had clearly mastered the techniques of adult education. The course provided a mix of lecture, discussion, hands-on experience, modeling, and role-playing that could not have been better designed or implemented anywhere. I had fun and I learned a lot. The cadre made sure that we met our individual objectives as well as the course objectives, and that everyone got direct hands-on experience."

Jerry Ingersoll, Deputy Forest Supervisor, USFS Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 2009

“The energy the staff put into the training really made it successful. The constant re-evaluation of progress and the flexibility to shift topics and venues really made the course work”

Tim Pohlman, District Ranger, USFS Shawnee National Forest, Hidden Springs RD, 2010

“This is the most hands-on training for an Agency Administrator I’ve attended. Invaluable experience.”

Donna Mickley, District Ranger, USFS Rogue River-Siskiyou, Siskiyou Mountain RD, 2011

“The years of experience and the passion exhibited by the cadre members are unmatched in any training I have attended.”

Kim Pierson, District Ranger, USFS Payette National Forest, New Meadows RD, 2011

 

PFTC Contact

Greg Seamon, Fire Training Specialist
850.523.8631 (office) | 850.556.8613 (cell) | gseamon@tnc.org

Last Updated: June 15, 2012 | Contact: Fire Management Web Team