Northern Rockies Strategic Action Committee (SAC)
For Private Fire Service Contracting
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Minutes of the Meeting: January 4 – 5, 2005
Montana DNRC Fire & Aviation
Missoula, Montana
Committee Members In Attendance:
Tim Murphy, NRCG Contractor Liaison
Marci Giblin, MT DNRC, Business Committee
Mark Romey, USFS, Operations Committee
Kathy Benson, USFS, Business Committee, Contracting
Kathy Elzig, BLM, Dispatch
Bruce Swick, State of Montana, Business Committee
Nancy Gibson, USFS, Training Committee
Roberta Whitlock, R-1 Incident Business Administrator
Kevin Erickson, USFS, Equipment Committee
Caleb Senn, Scribe
Private Individuals in Attendance:
Joe Degan, Northern Rockies Wildfire Contractors Association (NWRCA)
Dave Russell, NRWCA
Debi Parrish, NWRCA
Bill Nooney, NWRCA
Attendance at 1/5 conference call also included Roy Montgomery and Don Moritz from
the PNW Blue Ribbon Task Force.
The meeting began with follow-up on a couple of items from the last meeting relating to
communications:
• Tim will provide contractors’ associations with meeting notes and updates. He
also will update the NRCG Board of Directors.
• Kathy Benson will take the lead in updating the contracting community, and
NRCG Business Committee.
• Kathy Elzig will represent Dept. of Interior overall.
• Marci Geblin talked with Brian Shiplett and will represent Idaho Department of
lands, and keep them updated.
• We have had no input from North Dakota State Forestry about their participation
or representation.
• Mark Romey will liaison with the incident management teams.
• Kevin Erickson will be the lead contact with the Forest Fire Management
Officers.
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In order to facilitate efficient participation by private vendors, each SAC meeting
will have a specific time set aside for their input. Outside of that established
block of time, they will be observers only.
Meeting notes will be condensed into a summary including decisions, important
dates, progress reports, and assignments. Nancy will draft notes, send them to
Tim for final review and he will have them posted and send them out as
appropriate. They will be posted to the SAC link from the NRCG website.
Tim is developing a short briefing paper that will be available to accompany
EERA’s, and a short “Reader’s Digest” version of what the committee is doing,
will be included, and posted on the web.
Tim has a first draft of a “stand-alone” fire service booklet.
We reviewed the NRTC Task Orders, shared updates, and discussed each of the tasks.
NRCG Task Orders
• 1) Develop Mandatory Performance Evaluation System
for Engines & Water Tenders (Operations)
• 2) Develop a Complaint Database for recording
Performance (Training)
• 3) Define Best Value & Develop Criteria & Process for
Determining “ Best Value” (Business)
• 4) Develop Procedures for Dispatching “Best Value”
Resources (Dispatchers)
• 5) Develop Resource Mobilization System Based on
“Best Value” Rewarding Contractors for High Quality
Work (Dispatchers)
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NRCG Task Orders
• 6) Identify Number & Type of Resources needed
{Biggest Challenge } (Dispatch & Operations)
• 7) Develop Performance Standards for Personal,
Equipment & Consequences for Poor Performance
(Equipment)
• 8) Define Roles of Govt., Cooperators & Contract
Resources (Operations)
• 9) Process for Fair Share Administration (Business)
• 10) Develop & Implement a Task Book for the IACR
Position or COTR Position (Training & Business)
TASK/TIMELINE UPDATES
Identify Number & Type of Resources Needed. Kathy Elzig reported that NRCC can
pull data from ROSS database to show equipment use for 2003 and 2004. Some initial
attack data would not be in the database. Prior years’ data will need to be pulled from the
Lotus databases and local records that were used prior to 2003.
In the conference call on 1/5 with PNW Blue Ribbon folks, there was much information
provided about the CHEETAH computer program they are using to generate historic data
to help determine numbers and types of contract resources needed. After lengthy
discussion, the SAC group agreed we would not use the CHEETAH program at this
point. SAC agreed the ROSS database from 2003 & 2004 would be utilized to
establish the initial basis fro identifying numbers & types of resources needed by
Zone & the NR GA. It would require a large investment of money, and extensive time
entering historical fire data and resource use data from the various agencies. We think
we can use data from ROSS and local records as a reasonable starting point.
Dispatch and Operations will continue to gather and evaluate information from
local fire managers as to their perceived needs, as well as historical data.
Develop Performance Evaluations, Process and System for Logging: PNW has
developed a numerical crosswalk with the ICS-224, which assigns numbers to the
currently used rating system, and adds a narrative description and instruction on what
needs to be rated. Roy Montgomery will send this to Tim, and Mark (Operations)
and Nancy (Training) will review it to see whether it will work for us & SAC will
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discuss at their February meeting. Can we attach to the 2005 EERA’s information and
direction to vendors about acquiring evaluations and how/who will log them? PNW is
developing guidance to the field on using contract resources, to encourage their
appropriate use. PNW Program Managers are reviewing this document now, and we will
be able to look at it when it’s complete. We’ll stress the value of the evaluations in
improving the quality and consistency of contract resources, and in determining Best
Value in the new contracts. We need to develop a plan for getting evaluations
completed on incidents, and somehow logged, beginning with EERA’s in 2005.
Operations Committee (Mark) & Dispatch Group (Kathy E.) should review during
their winter meeting. Recording and utilizing evaluations will be the challenge.
Training and Development of COTR/IACR: PNW has draft Task Book for IACR, which
they will send to us. PNW agreed to host three people from NR at their
COTR/IACR training March 14-18. Roberta and Kevin will identify potential
students by 2/04 SAC meeting, who can return and provide similar training in the
Northern Rockies this spring. Business and Equipment committees will schedule
and coordinate the Northern Rockies Session. Nancy will see if Training Committee
can help find and recruit attendees. Kevin and Roberta will develop a list of
desirable skills and attributes, reporting back to SAC in March. Roberta will send
to PNW (Roy) the “white paper” and other information that’s been developed by
the NWCG IOS Working Team.
Other Issues, Tasks, Bin Items:
There will be no National Engine contract this year. Regions entering into Engine
Contracts will need to use the National engine template. Crew contracts will be as last
year, extended till August 5, 2005. Drafts of the revised Crew Contract & Engine
Specifications will be sent to all Forests for review & comment. Kevin & Tim represent
the NR .
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EERA’s within Northern Rockies will be status quo for 2005. We need to
recommend to local units and contracting folks that 2005 EERA’s be issued
for one year only, since major change is anticipated with best value contracts
in 2006. Kathy B. and Bruce will develop language to insert into Northern
Rockies supplement to the IBMH (“blue pages”).
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Prior to next SAC meeting, 2/15-16, Bruce and Marci will have continued
discussions with Montana State do confirm they will be the lead agency on
co-signed best value contracts. Marci will discuss with IDL & NDSF their
willingness to have Montana DNRC host contracts.
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February SAC meeting will include more discussion on budget. A decision
about whether to request money for EATiS will be postponed till the March
meeting, after the demonstration.
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February SAC meeting will include another review of the Timeline, with
update to the NRCG Board of Directors to follow.
DATES:
• February 15, 16: SAC meeting
• February 23, 24: EATiS demonstration in Missoula. (Most SAC member
planning to attend)
• March 14-18: PNW IACR Training in Sun River, OR
• March 21-25: Advanced Equipment Inspectors Workshop in Helena
• April 11-15: Basic Equipment Inspectors Workshop in Kalispell.
• February 1-2: NRCG Operations Committee Meeting, Missoula
• February 28 - March 1: NRCG Training Committee Meeting in Bozeman
• March 1-3: Dispatchers Workshop, Bozeman
• March 30-31: SAC Meeting DNRC
• April 19-20: SAC Meeting NRCC
• May 17-18: SAC Meeting DNRC
Comment from the private individuals at this meeting:
Contractors thank NRCG and SAC for their efforts. There is extensive support
for “raising the bar” on the quality of contract resources in the Northern Rockies. There
is also an understanding that, with any system, not everyone will fill his or her needs are
met. It was agreed that notes from the SAC meetings will be delivered to contractors
associations, and made available to contractors on their website.
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