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| #                                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| **Participants Manual**                                               |
|                                                                       |
| # SERIOUS ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION COURSE                               |
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| **LESSON 3: Team Preparation and Activation**                         |
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| **INSTRUCTOR:**                                                       |
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| **Objectives:**                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| **After completing this lesson the participants will be able to:**    |
|                                                                       |
| -   **Ensure team is prepared for activation.**                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   **Understand team activation procedures.**                        |
|                                                                       |
| -   **Gather pertinent initial information upon team activation.**    |
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| **Unit Title: Team Preparation and         |                         |
| Activation**                               |                         |
+============================================+=========================+
| **Lesson 3:**                              | **Notes**               |
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| **SELF PREPARATION**                       |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| Pre-pack personal gear pack:               |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Cell phone with charger                |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Laptop computer with charger           |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Serious Accident Investigation course  |                         |
|     flash drive                            |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Forest Service Accident Investigation  |                         |
|     Guide                                  |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Call-up list                           |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Field Attire                           |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Personal protective equipment (lack of |                         |
|     PPE has caused some delays in past     |                         |
|     investigations)                        |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION KITS**            |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| Accident Investigation kits are available  |                         |
| from the BLM National Fire and Aviation    |                         |
| Directorate Safety Office. Handout 3-1     |                         |
| gives an inventory of kit items. This list |                         |
| can also be used for recommended item s    |                         |
| for a Chief Investigator's kit.            |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **BLM CALL-UP/ACTIVATION PROCEDURES**      |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The BLM National Safety Office and the     |                         |
| Fire & Aviation Directorate (FAD) have     |                         |
| standard procedures to provide order to    |                         |
| our SAIT activations. BLM will have        |                         |
| organized teams that will be on-call for   |                         |
| two week rotations throughout the year.    |                         |
| For non-fire investigations, teams will be |                         |
| mobilized by BLM's National Safety Office. |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| For fire-related investigations, teams     |                         |
| will be mobilized by the Fire & Aviation   |                         |
| Directorate (FAD). The core team will      |                         |
| consist of the Team Leader, Chief          |                         |
| Investigator, Safety Manager and           |                         |
| Interagency Representative. Wildland fire  |                         |
| specific technical experts will be added   |                         |
| to the team upon mobilization (e.g., fire  |                         |
| behavior analyst, fire operations          |                         |
| specialist).                               |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| You will be notified at the time of        |                         |
| activation as to who will be making travel |                         |
| arrangements. If you prefer, you can make  |                         |
| your own travel arrangements.              |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| For fire-related investigations, team      |                         |
| ordering will be formally documented and   |                         |
| processed through the National Interagency |                         |
| Coordination Center (NICC)                 |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CALL-UP/ACTIVATION |                         |
| PROCEDURES**                               |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The National Park Service upon initial     |                         |
| notification of a serious accident within  |                         |
| the Region, the Associate Regional         |                         |
| Director- Operations (or equivalent) will  |                         |
| mobilize the SAIT.                         |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| For wildland fire-related investigations,  |                         |
| teams will be mobilized by the National    |                         |
| Fire Director. The core team will consist  |                         |
| of the Team Leader, Chief Investigator,    |                         |
| Safety Manager and Interagency             |                         |
| Representative.                            |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The following actions will take place when |                         |
| a SAIT is mobilized:                       |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The NPS DASHO provides a delegation of     |                         |
| authority to the Associate Regional        |                         |
| Director-Operations (ARD-O) or the         |                         |
| National Fire Director (NFD) requiring     |                         |
| that a Serious Accident Investigation be   |                         |
| conducted.                                 |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The ARD-O or NFD accesses the most recent  |                         |
| Safety and Fire Callout Roster prepared by |                         |
| WASO Risk Management and selects a Team    |                         |
| Leader. Team Leaders [must]{.underline} be |                         |
| selected from outside the Region and the   |                         |
| selection should have the concurrence of   |                         |
| the Chief, Risk Management Division.       |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The ARD-O or NFD contacts the Team Leader  |                         |
| and ensures their availability for the     |                         |
| assignment. A written delegation of        |                         |
| authority is provided by the ARD-O or NFD. |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The ARD-O or NFD and the SAIT Team Leader  |                         |
| select a qualified Chief Investigator,     |                         |
| Safety Manager, and Subject Matter         |                         |
| Technical Experts. Interagency             |                         |
| Representatives are acceptable to serve as |                         |
| core members of any NPS SAIT.              |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The ARD-O or NFD coordinates with the      |                         |
| senior site manager from the unit          |                         |
| experiencing the accident to identify a    |                         |
| Management Liaison for the SAIT, and that  |                         |
| resources are available to meet the team's |                         |
| needs.                                     |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The SAIT Team Leader contacts the          |                         |
| Management Liaison or senior site manager  |                         |
| to identify key on-site personnel or       |                         |
| technical specialists that will be         |                         |
| required for the investigation and         |                         |
| initiate mobilization.                     |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The SAIT Team Leader distributes the       |                         |
| Serious Accident Investigation account     |                         |
| number, telephone contact information,     |                         |
| travel arrangement and logistics to all    |                         |
| the team members and promptly mobilizes    |                         |
| the team.                                  |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE           |                         |
| CALL-UP/ACTIVATION PROCEDURES**            |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The Service\'s Safety Manager maintains    |                         |
| lists of people trained, their location,   |                         |
| and note any specific                      |                         |
| interests/experiences they have.           |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| Team Leaders and Chief Investigators will  |                         |
| be selected based on a case by cases basis |                         |
| depending on their availability and the    |                         |
| specifics of the accident. Team leaders    |                         |
| and Chief Investigators will not           |                         |
| investigate accidents occurring within     |                         |
| their own Region.                          |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| A list of technical experts will be        |                         |
| developed and maintained to assist the     |                         |
| Team Leader and Chief Investigator. Also,  |                         |
| a contracted subject matter expert who is  |                         |
| experienced in and familiar with the       |                         |
| requirements of a Serious Accident         |                         |
| Investigation may be a member of the team  |                         |
| depending on the type and complexity of    |                         |
| the investigation.                         |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| Teams will be ordered to conduct the       |                         |
| investigation via a formal Delegation of   |                         |
| Authority signed by the FWS DASHO,         |                         |
| Assistant Director -- Business Management  |                         |
| Operations, and will be provided with a    |                         |
| cost code to charge all investigation      |                         |
| expenses to, excluding salary. All         |                         |
| non-salary costs associated with the       |                         |
| investigation will be paid by the National |                         |
| Safety Office.                             |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **FOREST SERVICE CALL-UP/ACTIVATION        |                         |
| PROCEDURES**                               |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| When injury and/or damage thresholds have  |                         |
| been met to launch a Chief level           |                         |
| investigation the DASHO is notified by the |                         |
| Office of Safety & Occupational Health     |                         |
| (OSOH). OSOH will discuss with the DASHO   |                         |
| the necessity of assigning a WO Chiefs     |                         |
| investigation or delegating Chief's level  |                         |
| investigation authority to the Region.     |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| Recommendations for Team Leader are        |                         |
| presented to the DASHO based on rotations  |                         |
| and currency. Considerations for this      |                         |
| include; type and severity of incident,    |                         |
| fire, ground, or aviation, experience of   |                         |
| the Team Leader and/or the experience of   |                         |
| the Chief Investigator/ASI, time since     |                         |
| last investigation, location of the        |                         |
| accident, extent of media interest and     |                         |
| availability. The rest of the team members |                         |
| are selected by the OSOH based upon the    |                         |
| same considerations. The DASHO will        |                         |
| provide the proper Delegation of Authority |                         |
| letter to designate the Team Leader and    |                         |
| establish the team's investigative duties. |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| Team member names are kept on a roster     |                         |
| maintained in OSOH. Team members are added |                         |
| to the roster after completing the         |                         |
| appropriate investigation course and have  |                         |
| completed at least one investigation under |                         |
| training.                                  |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **TEAM ACTIVATION**                        |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| Upon team activation, you will need to     |                         |
| record the following information on the    |                         |
| Serious Accident Investigation Team        |                         |
| Activation Notification form. Let's take a |                         |
| few minutes and go over this information   |                         |
| in Handout 3-2                             |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **Notes regarding Handout 3-2:**           |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **UNIT POINT OF CONTACT**                  |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The Agency Administrator may assign a      |                         |
| Point of Contact to the team to assist     |                         |
| with logistical tasks. Although this       |                         |
| person is valuable to the SAIT, they are   |                         |
| not a member of the investigation team.    |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The National Park Service has a similar    |                         |
| position called Management Liaison: These  |                         |
| individuals are selected by the Associate  |                         |
| Regional Director of Operations or         |                         |
| National Fire Management Officer and the   |                         |
| affected Agency Administrator              |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| It is imperative that the individual       |                         |
| assigned is not involved in the accident   |                         |
| either directly or indirectly.             |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| Realize that the local unit is likely to   |                         |
| have no experience in dealing with a       |                         |
| serious accident and as Team Leader you    |                         |
| may have to guide them through the         |                         |
| process.                                   |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **HANDOUT 3-3 CHECKLIST TO UNIT**          |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| This checklist will be faxed to the local  |                         |
| unit by your Agency National Safety        |                         |
| Office, Fire and Aviation Directorate      |                         |
| (BLM) (FAD), or the National Interagency   |                         |
| Coordination Center (NICC) in preparation  |                         |
| for your arrival.                          |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The Team Leader should make sure that the  |                         |
| Unit Point of Contact has received the     |                         |
| checklist and is beginning to obtain the   |                         |
| requested information.                     |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY**                |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| The Team Leader will be given delegation   |                         |
| of authority from:                         |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Agency DASHO (or designee)             |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Associate Regional Director of         |                         |
|     Operations (NPS Non-Fire)              |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| -   Fire Directors for DOI Agencies (for   |                         |
|     fire related investigations)           |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| For interagency wildland fire related      |                         |
| SAIs, the preferred method of delegation   |                         |
| is through one joint delegation of         |                         |
| authority letter from involved agencies.   |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| This is your authority to request the      |                         |
| resources needed to conduct the            |                         |
| investigation.                             |                         |
|                                            |                         |
| **Handout 3-4** is the template of this    |                         |
| delegation for your agency. You also have  |                         |
| a copy on your flash drive in your         |                         |
| participant's manual in case you need it.  |                         |
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