**Chapter 01**

**Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Guidance Overview**

**Scope**

*Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations,* states,
references, or supplements policy for Bureau of Land Management, Forest
Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service fire and
fire aviation program management. Original source policy is stated or
referenced throughout this handbook. This handbook attempts to quote
verbatim, rather than to paraphrase, policy that is stated elsewhere. It
also attempts to limit duplication of source policy when a reference
will suffice. *Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation
Operations* is intended to comply with and support the *2001 Federal
Wildland Fire Management Policy* and other existing federal policy.

**Purpose**

*Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations* provides
fire and fire aviation program management direction for Bureau of Land
Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park
Service managers. Employees engaged in fire management activities will
continue to comply with all agency specific health and safety policy
documents. Employees engaged in fire suppression and other fire
management activities will comply with standards stated in the *NWGC*
*Incident Response Pocket Guide* (PMS 461, NFES 1077) and the *NWCG
Fireline Handbook* (PMS 410-1, NFES 0065).

**2001** **Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy**

The 2001 Federal Fire Policy comprises the following Guiding Principles
and discreet policies. As a whole these guiding principles and policy
statements guide the philosophy, direction, and implementation of fire
management planning, activities, and projects on federal lands.

**Guiding Principles of the Federal Wildland Fire Management**
**Policy**

1.  Firefighter and public safety is the first priority in every fire
    management activity.

2.  The role of wildland fire as an essential ecological process and
    natural change agent will be incorporated into the planning process.
    Federal agency land and resource management plans set the objectives
    for the use and desired future condition of the various public
    lands.

3.  Fire Management Plans, programs, and activities support land and
    resource management plans and their implementation.

4.  Sound risk management is a foundation for all fire management
    activities. Risks and uncertainties relating to fire management
    activities must be understood, analyzed, communicated, and managed
    as they relate to the cost of either doing or not doing an activity.
    Net gains to the public benefit will be an important component of
    decisions.

5.  Fire management programs and activities are economically viable,
    based upon values to be protected, costs, and land and resource
    management objectives. Federal agency administrators are adjusting
    and reorganizing programs to reduce costs and increase efficiencies.
    As part of this process, investments in fire management activities
    must be evaluated against other agency programs in order to
    effectively accomplish the overall mission, set short- and long-term
    priorities, and clarify management accountability.

6.  Fire Management Plans and activities are based upon the best
    available science. Knowledge and experience are developed among all
    wildland fire management agencies. An active fire research program
    combined with interagency collaboration provides the means to make
    these tools available to all fire managers.

7.  Fire Management Plans and activities incorporate public health and
    environmental quality considerations.

8.  Federal, state, tribal, local, interagency, and international
    coordination and cooperation are essential. Increasing costs and
    smaller work forces require that public agencies pool their human
    resources to successfully deal with the ever-increasing and more
    complex fire management tasks. Full collaboration among federal
    agencies and between the federal agencies and international, state,
    tribal, and local governments and private entities results in a
    mobile fire management work force available for the full range of
    public needs.

9.  Standardization of policies and procedures among federal agencies is
    an ongoing objective. Consistency of plans and operations provides
    the fundamental platform upon which federal agencies can cooperate,
    integrate fire activities across agency boundaries, and provide
    leadership for cooperation with state, tribal, and local fire
    management organizations.

*(2001 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy, pages 21-22)*

**Elements of the Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy**

1.  **Safety**

> Firefighter and public safety is the first priority. All Fire
> Management Plans and activities must reflect this commitment.

2.  **Fire Management and Ecosystem Sustainability**

> The full range of fire management activities will be used to help
> achieve ecosystem sustainability, including interrelated ecological,
> economic, and social components.

3.  **Response to Wildland Fire**

> Fire, as a critical natural process, will be integrated into land and
> resource management plans and activities on a landscape scale across
> agency boundaries. Response to wildland fires is based on ecological,
> social and legal consequences of the fire. The circumstances, under
> which a fire occurs, and the likely consequences on firefighter and
> public safety and welfare, natural and cultural resources, and values
> to be protected; dictate the appropriate response to fire.

4.  **Use of Wildland Fire**

> Wildland fire will be used to protect, maintain and enhance resources
> and, as nearly as possible, be allowed to function in its natural
> ecological role. Use of fire will be based on approved Fire Management
> Plans and will follow specific prescriptions contained in operational
> plans.

5.  **Rehabilitation** **and Restoration**

> Rehabilitation and restoration efforts will be undertaken to protect
> and sustain ecosystems, public health, safety, and to help communities
> protect infrastructure.

6.  **Protection Priorities**

> The protection of human life is the single overriding suppression
> priority. Setting priorities among protecting human communities and
> community infrastructure, other property and improvements, and natural
> and cultural resources will be done based on the values to be
> protected, human health and safety, and the costs of protection. Once
> people have been committed to an incident, these human resources
> become the highest value to be protected.

7.  **Wildland Urban Interface**

> The operational roles of the federal agencies as a partner in the
> Wildland Urban Interface are wildland firefighting, hazard reduction,
> cooperative prevention and education, and technical assistance.
> Structural fire suppression is the responsibility of tribal, state or
> local governments. Federal agencies may assist with exterior
> structural fire protection activities under formal fire protection
> agreements that specify the mutual responsibilities of the partners,
> including funding. (Some federal agencies have full structural
> protection authority for their facilities on lands they administer and
> may also enter into formal agreements to assist state and local
> governments with structural protection.)

8.  **Planning**

-   

-   

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-   Every area with burnable vegetation must have an approved Fire
    Management Plan. Fire Management Plans are strategic plans that
    define a program to manage wildland and prescribed fires based on
    the area's approved Land Management Plan. Fire Management Plans must
    provide for firefighter and public safety ; include fire management
    strategies , tactics, and alternatives ; address values to be
    protected and public health issues ; and be consistent with resource
    management objectives , activities of the area , and environmental
    laws and regulations.

9.  **Science**

> Fire management plans and programs will be based on a foundation of
> the best available science. Research will support ongoing efforts to
> increase our scientific knowledge of biological, physical, and
> sociological factors. Information needed to support fire management
> will be developed through an integrated interagency fire science
> program. Scientific results must be made available to managers in a
> timely manner and must be used in the development of land management
> plans, fire management plans, and implementation plans.

10. **Preparedness**

> Agencies will ensure their capability to provide safe, cost-effective
> fire management programs in support of land and resource management
> plans through appropriate planning, staffing, training, equipment, and
> management oversight.

11. **Suppression**

> Fires are suppressed at minimum cost, considering firefighter and
> public safety, benefits, and all values to be protected; consistent
> with resource objectives.

12. **Prevention**

> Agencies will work together with their partners, other affected
> groups, and individuals to prevent unauthorized ignition of wildland
> fires.

13. **Standardization**

> Agencies will use compatible planning processes, funding mechanisms,
> training and qualification requirements, operational procedures,
> values-to-protected methodologies, and public education programs for
> all fire management activities.

14. **Interagency Cooperation and** **Coordination**

> Fire management planning, preparedness, prevention, suppression, fire
> use, restoration and rehabilitation, monitoring, research, and
> education will be conducted on an interagency basis with the
> involvement of cooperators and partners.

15. **Communication and Education**

> Agencies will enhance knowledge and understanding of wildland fire
> management policies and practices through internal and external
> communication and education programs. These programs will be
> continuously improved through the timely and effective exchange of
> information among all affected agencies and organizations.

16. **Agency Administrator and Employee Roles**

> Agency administrators will ensure that their employees are trained,
> certified and made available to participate in the wildland fire
> program locally, regionally, and nationally as the situation demands.
> Employees with operational, administrative, or other skills will
> support the wildland fire programs as necessary. Agency administrators
> are responsible and will be held accountable for making employees
> available.

17. **Evaluation**

> Agencies will develop and implement a systematic method of evaluation
> to determine effectiveness of projects through implementation of the
> 2001 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy. The evaluation will
> assure accountability, facilitate resolution of areas of conflict, and
> identify resource shortages and agency priorities.

*(2001 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy, pages 22-24)*

**Fire Operations Doctrine**

**Purpose of Fire Operations Doctrine**

Fire operations doctrine states the fundamental principles on the
subject of fire operations. Doctrine establishes a particular way of
thinking about fire operations. It provides a philosophy for leading
firefighters in fire operations, a mandate for professionalism, and a
common language. Fire operations doctrine does not consist of procedures
to be applied to specific situations so much as it sets forth general
guidance that requires judgment in application.

**The Nature of Fire Operations**

Fire is a complex, dynamic, and often unpredictable phenomenon. Fire
operations require mobilizing a complex organization that includes
management, command, support, and firefighting personnel, as well as
aircraft, vehicles, machinery, and communications equipment. While the
magnitude and complexity of the fire itself, and of the human response
to it, will vary, the fact that fire operations are inherently dangerous
will never change. A firefighter utilizing the best available science,
equipment, and training, and working within the scope of agency doctrine
and policy, can still suffer serious injury or death.

**Fire Operations Safety**

The primary means by which we achieve safety in fire operations is
through risk management. Our safety philosophy acknowledges that
although the ideal level of risk may be zero, absolute safety is not a
reasonable or achievable goal in fire operations. Our safety philosophy
maintains that through organized, comprehensive, and systematic risk
management, we will determine the acceptable level of risk that allows
us to provide for safety yet still achieve fire operations objectives.
Risk management is intended to minimize the number of injuries or
fatalities experienced by wildland firefighters.

**Fire Preparedness**

Fire preparedness is the state of being prepared to provide an
appropriate response to wildland fires based on identified objectives.
Preparedness is the result of activities that are planned and
implemented prior to fire ignitions. Preparedness requires identifying
necessary firefighting capabilities and implementing coordinated
programs to develop those capabilities. Preparedness requires a
continuous process of developing and maintaining firefighting
infrastructure, predicting fire activity, identifying values to be
protected, hiring, training, equipping, pre-positioning and deploying
firefighters and equipment, evaluating performance, correcting
deficiencies, and improving operations. All preparedness activities
should be focused on developing fire operations capabilities and on
performing successful fire operations.

**Fire Operations Command Philosophy**

It is essential that our philosophy of command support the way we fight
fire. First and foremost, in order to generate effective decision making
in fire operations and to cope with the unpredictable nature of fire,
command intent must be lucid and unambiguous, and lines of authority
must be clearly articulated and understood. Subordinate commanders must
make decisions on their own initiative based on their understanding of
their commander's intent. A competent subordinate commander who is at
the point of decision may understand a situation more clearly than a
senior commander some distance removed. In this case, the subordinate
commander must have the freedom to take decisive action directed toward
the accomplishment of operational objectives.

However, this does not imply that unity of effort does not exist, or
that actions are not coordinated. Unity of effort requires coordination
and cooperation among all forces toward a commonly understood objective.
Unified, coordinated action, whether between adjacent single resources
on the fireline or between the highest command level and the most
subordinate firefighter, is critical to successful fire operations.

**Fire Suppression**

The purpose of fire suppression is to put the fire out in a safe,
effective, and efficient manner. Fires are easier and less expensive to
suppress when they are smaller. When the management goal is full
suppression, aggressive attack is the single most important method to
ensure the safety of firefighters and the public, and to limit
suppression costs. Aggressive attack provides the Incident Commander
maximum flexibility in suppression operations. Successful attack relies
on speed and appropriate force. All aspects of fire suppression benefit
from this philosophy. Planning, organizing, and implementing fire
suppression operations should always meet the objective of directly,
quickly, and economically contributing to the suppression effort. Every
firefighter, whether in a management, command, support, or direct
suppression role, should be committed to maximizing the speed and
efficiency with which the most capable firefighters can engage in
suppression action. When the management goal is other than full
suppression, or when conditions dictate a limited suppression response,
decisiveness is still essential, and an aggressive approach toward
accomplishment of objectives is still critical.

**Principles of Suppression Operations**

The primary means by which we implement command decisions and maintain
unity of action is through the use of common principles of suppression
operations. These principles guide our fundamental fire suppression
practices, behaviors, and customs, and are mutually understood at every
level of command. They include Risk Management, Standard Firefighting
Orders and Watch Out Situations, LCES and the Downhill Line Construction
Checklist. These principles are fundamental to how we perform fire
suppression operations, and are intended to improve decision making and
firefighter safety. They are not absolute rules. They require judgment
in application.

**Principles of Fire Suppression Action**

The principles of fire suppression action provide a framework for
developing fire suppression strategy and for conducting fire suppression
operations. Again, these are not absolute, immutable rules. These five
principles give us a consistent set of considerations with which to
evaluate decisions, plans and actions in different situations.

1.  **Objective**

> The principle of the objective is to direct every fire suppression
> operation toward a clearly defined, decisive, and obtainable
> objective. The purpose of fire suppression operations is to achieve
> the suppression objectives that support the overall management goals
> for the fire.

2.  **Speed and Focus**

> Speed is rapidity of action. Focus is the convergence of appropriate
> resources at the desired position to initiate action. The principle of
> speed and focus maintains that rapidly deploying and concentrating
> firefighting resources, in a calculated fashion, at the decisive time
> and place increases the likelihood of successful suppression actions.

3.  **Positioning**

> The principle of positioning maintains that rapid, flexible and
> opportunistic movement increases the effectiveness of fire suppression
> resources. Positioning ranges from single resource offensive or
> defensive reactions to dynamic fire conditions, to pre-positioning of
> multiple resources based on predicted activity and values at risk.
> Positioning should always be undertaken with speed and focus in mind,
> and with sufficient time for positioning to occur before operations
> begin.

4.  **Simplicity**

> The principle of simplicity is that clear, uncomplicated plans and
> concise orders maximize effectiveness and minimize confusion.
> Simplicity contributes to successful actions.

5.  **Safety**

The principle of safety maintains that ensuring the safety of
firefighters and other persons affected by fire operations is
fundamental to successful suppression action. Safety not only
contributes to successful actions, it is indispensable to them.

**Cost Effective Fire Operations**

Maximizing the cost effectiveness of any fire operation is the
responsibility of all involved; including those that authorize, direct
or implement those operations. Cost effectiveness is the most economical
use of the suppression resources necessary to accomplish mission
objectives. Accomplishing fire operations objectives safely and
efficiently will not be sacrificed for the sole purpose of "cost
savings." Care will be taken to ensure that suppression expenditures are
commensurate with values to be protected, while understanding that other
factors may influence spending decisions, including the social,
political, economic, and biophysical environments.

**Fire Management Objectives**

Federal agency fire management programs should help resource managers
protect, maintain, and enhance federal lands in a cost effective manner.
Wildland fire management objectives are:

-   Protect human life, property, and natural/cultural resources both
    within and adjacent to agency administered lands.

-   Minimize damages and maximize overall benefits of wildland fire
    within the framework of land use objectives and Resource Management
    Plans.

-   Manage the wildland fire program in accordance with congressional
    intent as expressed in the annual appropriations act and enabling
    legislation, and comply with applicable departmental manual and
    agency policies and procedures.

-   Promote an interagency approach to managing fires on an ecosystem
    basis.

-   Employ strategies to manage wildland fires that provide for
    firefighter and public safety, minimize cost and resource damage,
    and are consistent with values to be protected and management
    objectives.

-   Stabilize and rehabilitate resources and improvements lost in or
    damaged by fire or suppression activities.

-   Minimize, and where necessary, mitigate human-induced impacts to
    resources, natural processes, or improvements attributable to
    wildland fire activities.

-   Promote public understanding of fire management programs and
    objectives.

-   Organize a fire staff that can apply the highest standards of
    professional and technical expertise.

-   Encourage research to advance the understanding of fire behavior,
    effects, ecology, and management.

-   Integrate fire management through all levels of the planning
    process.

-   Prevent and investigate all unplanned human-caused fires.