![](media/image1.png){width="0.8229166666666666in" height="0.875in"}

**USDA Forest Service**

**Fire and Aviation Management**

### "Line Officer Certification Program 

### For District Rangers and Forest Supervisors"

**BACKGROUND**

Fire Doctrine principles lead us to help ensure competency in line
officers who manage fire. Two elements of the Doctrine state the
following for leadership:

-   "Demonstrated fitness for command is a requirement for leadership
    positions associated with fire fighting" and

-   "Line officers with fire management responsibility will have
    knowledge and understanding of fire program management."

During the past decade the challenges associated with Wildland fire have
changed dramatically. The expanded Wildland-urban interface, drought,
and high hazardous fuel loads have all contributed to larger and more
complex fires. This increases demands on line officers for ensuring safe
operations and making high risk management decisions. In addition, the
costs associated with large fires have continued to escalate. Fire
suppression appropriations now take more than 40 percent of the Agency
budget.

**Principles:** The following principles will guide this effort:

\(1\) Regional Foresters are accountable for certification of line
officers.

\(2\) Line officer evaluation includes standards for training,
background and experience, and demonstrated ability, which will result
in a qualitative evaluation of readiness by the Regional Forester.

\(3\) When the complexity level of a fire exceeds a line officer's
certification, a coach will be assigned to advise (but not replace).

\(4\) This certification program will be periodically evaluated and
updated as needed.

\(5\) Decision Support Groups may be requested and would be assigned as
fire costs approach certain thresholds.

\(6\) The Coaching/Shadowing program, to be administered by each Region,
is an integral part of this certification program.

**Purpose:** To build line officer experience and capacity to
successfully manage incidents. To ensure line officers possess the
knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to make prudent decisions for
the safe and effective/efficient use of resources. To ensure line
officer's skills keep pace with the increasing complexity of fire
incidents with which they deal.

**PROPOSAL**

Line Officers will be evaluated in three basic areas: (1) Training, (2)
Background and experience, and (3) Demonstrated understanding of
concepts and principles.

This certification program is a multi-level process where line officers
demonstrate competence in one of three levels of managing fires. Those
levels would be **Working,** **Journey,** and **Advanced.**

**Guidelines:** In consideration of the appropriate level (Working,
Journey, and Advanced) to assign a line officer, the Regional Forester
should consider the following guidelines:

**1.** For individuals that **do not meet at least the Working Level,**
a coach will be assigned to support that line officer in managing Type
III or higher wildfire incidents.

**2.** At the **Working Level,** the line officer could manage a low to
moderate complexity[^1] fire and Fire-Use fire. The line officer should
meet the following:

-   **Training**: Fire Management Leadership or National Fire Management
    for Line Officers, and WFSA Certification (FSM 5130).

-   **Background and Experience**: Successful management of a minimum of
    one Type III or higher fire, or one successful higher complexity
    fire (Type II or higher) quality shadow assignment (consider
    complexity and size of the fires). Management oversight of a
    low-complexity fire program and/or experience as an agency
    administrator or representative. Applicable experience in all-risk
    or other incident oversight may be considered in lieu of this
    experience, as well as Fire-Use experience. Consider career fire
    experience.

-   **Demonstrated Ability**: Successful evaluation by a coach
    (including feedback from ICs or ACs) that the candidate has
    demonstrated understanding and application of the responsibilities
    of an agency administrator on smaller low-complexity fires with a
    basic understanding of the elements of the core competencies.

**3.** At the **Journey Level,** the line officer could manage a
moderate to high complexity fire. The line officer needs to be certified
at the Working Level and should meet the following:

-   **Training**: Fire Management Leadership or National Fire Management
    for Line Officers, and WFSA Certification (FSM 5130).

-   **Background and Experience**: (1) Successful management of a
    minimum of one Type II or higher fire, or one successful higher
    complexity fire (Type I) quality shadow assignment, depending on
    fire experience (complexity and size of the fires should be
    considered). (2) Management oversight of a moderate-complexity fire
    program or experience as an agency administrator or representative
    on Type II or higher fires. (3) Applicable experience in all-risk or
    other incident oversight may also be considered in lieu of other
    guidelines, as well as Fire-Use experience.

-   **Demonstrated Ability**: Successful evaluation by a coach
    (including feedback from ICs or ACs) that the candidate has
    demonstrated understanding and application of the responsibilities
    of an agency administrator on moderate to large complex fires in the
    core competencies, and other elements that may be relevant.

**4.** At the **Advanced Level,** the line officer could manage a high
complexity fire. The line officer needs to be certified at the Journey
Level and should meet the following:

-   **Training**: Fire Management Leadership or National Fire Management
    for Line Officers, and WFSA Certification (FSM 5130).

-   **Background and Experience**: (1) Successful management of a
    minimum of 5 Type I or II fires (at least one of which is a Type I
    fire), depending on fire experience (complexity and size of the
    fires should be considered). (2) Management oversight of a moderate
    to high-complexity fire program. (3) Applicable experience in
    all-risk or other incident oversight may also be considered in lieu
    of other guidelines, as well as Fire-Use experience.

-   **Demonstrated Ability**: Successful evaluation by a coach
    (including feedback from ICs or ACs) that the candidate has
    demonstrated understanding and application of the responsibilities
    of an agency administrator on large complex fires in the core
    competencies, and other elements that may be relevant.

**OTHER CONSIDERATIONS**

**Core competencies, consistent with Fire Doctrine principles,
include:**

-   Safety

-   Strategies and tactics for Cost Containment

-   Incident Management Processes

-   Understanding of decision support tools

-   Situational Awareness of resource availability & allocation

-   WFSA/WFIP

-   Monitoring and Evaluation of fire operations

-   Risk Management

-   Social/Political awareness and interpersonal relations

**Other Training Opportunities to Achieve Core Competencies --
Additional Training Opportunities/Suggestions (will be updated as
program is evaluated)**

-   Upper levels of Fire Leadership and Fire Management courses

-   Be the actual line officer in the Type III IC certification sand
    table exercises

-   Develop a "graduate-level seminar" on advanced risk management

-   The Fire Management for Agency Administrators course needs a
    curriculum revision (Currently the national and regional courses are
    redundant)

-   Get assigned to a Type I or Type II team as a training assignment
    (e.g. shadow Plans) and see the world from their viewpoint

-   Assist in 420 simulation as a line officer

-   WFSA and WFIP training

-   Include risk management and fire management topics to annual line
    officer meetings

-   Attend staff rides (staff rides need to include a stand that
    portrays the line officer perspective)

-   Prescribed fire training centers

**Guidance on the Selection of Coaches**

Coaches can be current or former line officers. The Regional Forester
determines the level of certification for which a coach is qualified.

**Implementation and Phase-in for FY 2007**

-   Regions use these 3-level guidelines for determining line officer
    readiness.

-   Regions identify coaches who are capable of supporting a line
    officer. Regions are expected to share coaches.

-   Regions are to have a process to provide coaches for line officers
    needing them based on their certification.

-   Regions will implement a coaching/shadow assignment program.

-   Regions periodically should evaluate the implementation of this
    certification program and the coaching/shadowing program.

[^1]: The complexity of a fire is defined by the complexity analysis of
    that fire.