NEWS RELEASE
USDA Forest Service
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
180 Canfield St, Morgantown WV 26505
Phone: 304-285-1503; Fax: 304-285-1505
Web Site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/

Release No. MFO-05-06
E-mail: dwanner@fs.fed.us

The U.S. Forest Service’s Incident Command System
Has Made a Superb Firefighting Force Even Better

NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA— The USDA Forest Service’s Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry has helped make a superb firefighting force even better.

Before September 11, 2001, the Fire Department of New York was recognized world-wide as one of the best equipped and trained fire fighting forces in the world. Events of that day showed this perception to be correct, as thousand of New York firefighters responded to the collapse of the Word Trade Center’s twin towers, rescuing hundreds from the disaster. Many offered the greatest sacrifice possible, giving their lives in the rescue effort.

However, in the aftermath of the tragedy, the FDNY was challenged in cooperating and communicating with other emergency management agencies. For the first time, FDNY and New York City faced a situation that outstripped their resources and required assistance from other state and federal agencies. Relief came in the form of a Forest Service Type-One Incident Management Team (IMT) from Albuquerque, N.M.

Faced with fighting wild fires in remote areas, and encompassing many different jurisdictions, the Forest Service developed incident management teams as part of the Incident Command System. The system trains people from different organizations to work together and manage functions in five areas: command, operations, logistics, planning and finance/administration. Organized into teams according to the severity of the incidents they’re trained to manage, these teams can deploy anywhere in the country and help coordinate the actions of firefighters and other emergency response personnel to effectively and efficiently manage the situation.

Although there was some initial reluctance working with “outsiders” on the part of FDNY, members at all levels quickly accepted the team and the more efficient coordination it provided, so much so that when the Albuquerque team’s 60-day deployment was over, they were replaced by another Forest Service team from Alaska, at FDNY’s request.

A recommendation of the McKinsey Report, Increasing FDNY’s Preparedness, was for the department to develop and establish its own IMT, to put in place the capacity to manage a large-scale incident. In January 2003, the Secretary of Agriculture and the New York City Fire Commissioner signed a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines how training for the FDNY would address homeland security and long-duration incidents in New York City. The Forest Service’s Northeastern Area was to play a key role in coordinating the training effort.

“We’ve been the point of contact to enable the fiscal part of the training. The FDNY is covering the costs of the training, and we’re the funnel to get the money to the federal agencies providing the training,” said John Grosman, Wildland Fire Training Officer for the Northeastern Area. “The department also coordinated a lot of the training with the Southwest Team from Albuquerque. They were the first team in the city, and they developed a close relationship with FDNY from working together.”

The trainers come from all over the country, and include trainers from the Forest Service’s Washington headquarters, Region 3 (New Mexico and Arizona), Region 6 (Washington and Oregon) and the Northeastern Area, Grosman said.

Reaction to the training has been very positive, Grosman said. The training has included classroom work, simulations and practical experience. For the past three fire seasons, members of the FDNY have gone on remote assignments to gain experience in the ICS through actually working on wildfires across the country. Last year their team was deployed to New Orleans to work with their Fire Department in the aftermath of Katrina, experiencing the same initial reluctance, then followed by the NOFD’s request that they stay longer.

The cycle of training and shared work experience has been “intensely interagency,” Grosman added. For example, in May, the Forest Service helped coordinate an “all-hazard” training simulation that incorporated students from other agencies besides FDNY.

“About half the trainees came from FDNY,” Grosman said. “The rest were from the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Coast Guard. We also had New York State Emergency Management personnel, and state fire people from New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. It was high value for all of them.”

The training doesn’t focus on specific responses to particular situations, Grosman said. Rather, it provides “generic processes” that individual agencies can tailor and fit to their needs.

“It has its challenges,” Grosman said. “Emergency management invites controlling personalities, the kind of folks who like to be in charge. It can be hard to integrate. They’re a bunch of smart, capable people. Sitting down and working together before events occur is vital in building the relationships and trust you need to work together when the call comes in.”

NA serves state forestry offices and private forest landowners in the 20 Northeastern and Midwestern states and Washington, D.C., with a variety of programs for forest management, forest health and fire management. The 20 states served by the Northeastern Area include 43% of the nation’s population and 25% of the nation’s forests, of which 93% are non-federally owned.