Good afternoon everyone! Once again we have another update from our Incident Management Specialist, Chad Northcraft:
"The nation has returned to a Planning Level (PL) 4 after briefly dropping to PL 3 for about a week. The Rocky Mountain region is currently experiencing the highest fire activity and holds the highest priority nationally. Pennsylvania presently has a crew assigned to the highest priority fire in the country, the Elk RBX.
This time of year, filling crews becomes a challenge for our state. At present, we have only one crew and two engines deployed, one of which will be returning soon due to a lack of available personnel for a restock. While several individuals are available, the program’s operational capacity relies heavily on approximately 20 individuals our Crew Bosses (CRWB) and Engine Bosses (ENGB).
This number is smaller than it seems because these individuals often serve in multiple critical roles, including Incident Commander Type 5 (ICT5) and Faller 2 (FAL2), qualifications that crews require in specific numbers (three ICT5s and three FAL2s per crew).
This shift in qualification requirements helps explain a common question: “What happened to the crew program? We used to send out ten crews a year.” The answer is that national standards have changed. Crews have moved from Type 2 to Type 2 Initial Attack, requiring more personnel with qualifications above Firefighter Type 2 (FFT2). The availability of qualified personnel directly impacts a crew’s ability to mobilize, if even one key role is unfilled, the crew cannot go available.
At present, we are unable to post another crew due to a shortage of ICT5s, two to be specific. We continue to strongly encourage FFT2s to obtain the FAL2 qualification, which would allow more flexibility for CRWBs and ICT5s to serve in their primary roles, ultimately increasing crew availability. While it takes significant training and experience to become a CRWB or ENGB, we sometimes must assign them as FAL2s or ICT5s to meet crew needs, roles that, while important, could be filled by less experienced personnel with the proper training.
Pennsylvania Resources Update
• E-604 (4-person Engine)
Currently assigned to Monticello, UT, for initial attack operations. The crew has been actively patrolling and reports seeing several large fires from their location. Conditions have been hot, dry, and windy for several consecutive days. Due to lack of resources, we cannot currently restock this engine, and it will return early next week.
• PA-PAS – Anthracite (20-person Type 2IA Crew)
Assigned to the Elk/Lee Fire (primary work on Lee) in CO. Working swing shifts with the hotshot crews, their day begins around noon and ends near 0200. They have been engaged in structure protection and burnout operations along the highway. To top it off they also rescued a box of kittens. We intend to restock this crew when their assignment ends, likely next week, if resources allow.
• E-603 (4-person Engine)
Assigned to initial attack operations on the Malheur National Forest. The crew has already responded to several IAs and activity is expected to increase. We plan to restaff this engine as needed.
Single Resources
- 37 deployed so far this year
- 12 currently assigned"
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