Uncategorized Archives - Page 7 of 1618

Annual Poll: Preparedness Level 5 this year?

Kelly AnderssonJuly 2, 2023July 2, 2023NIFC, UncategorizedPL5 poll, Preparedness Level13 Comments

I don’t know which year Bill Gabbert started this PL5 poll but I always enjoyed it and I’m reviving it.
When do YOU think we will move to PL5 this year? And, will there be a “Moses Letter” this year?

PL2 In 2018 on this date, Bill wrote that the National MAC Group had just moved the national fire level up to PL4 “due to increased significant wildland fire activity from central TX to WA state, the commitment of IMTs, and the potential for new wildland fires across multiple GACCs.”

The highest level is 5. Today on July 2 at the NICC in Boise, we’re at PL2.

NIFC has more information about Preparedness Levels, but here are the criteria for PL5:

This is the highest level of wildland fire activity. Several geographic areas are experiencing large, complex, wildland fire incidents, which have the potential to exhaust national wildland resources. At least 80 percent of the country’s IMTs and wildland firefighting personnel are committed to wildland incidents. At this level, all fire-qualified federal employees become available for wildfire response.

Please tell us what you think in our poll. Last day to vote is August 19.

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Sometimes when we’re in PL4 or 5 the honchos in Washington will distribute what’s called a “Moses Letter,” telling regional and local units to Let My People Go so they can go fight fire and save lives.

Exodus 8:1 — Then the Lord said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me.'”

Of course they don’t officially actually call it a Moses Letter and probably won’t quote the Bible if they do send one, but you never know — this country’s in a new norm now, for many reasons. For bonus points, let us know in the comments if you think the folks in the head shed will send a Moses Letter this year.

PL5

Tuesday is July 4th

Kelly AnderssonJune 29, 2023Uncategorizedfireworks4 Comments

Data breach hits state and federal agencies

Kelly AnderssonJune 15, 2023June 16, 2023Uncategorizedbreach, MOVEit2 Comments

The FederalNewsNetwork is reporting that several federal agencies have been hit with cyber intrusions by a zero-day vulnerability in a popular file transfer service, and Department of Energy organizations are among the victims.

UPDATE 06/16: The global data breach exposed the personal information of millions of Oregonians who have a DMV-issued identification card. Airlines, banks, universities, foreign governments, and other state-level agencies were also compromised by the attack. Those compromises include a government-managed radioactive waste storage site, and the victim count outside of government agencies was about 50 as of late yesterday. KPTV News reported that the Oregon DMV was made aware of the breach on June 1. The Oregon DOT announced yesterday that personal information of about 3.5 million residents may have been compromised; ODOT was alerted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) that a popular file transfer tool called MOVEit could allow unauthorized access to its user systems. Around a dozen other U.S. agencies have active MOVEit contracts, according to the Federal Data Procurement System. TechCrunch reported that this includes the Department of the Army, the Department of the Air Force, and the Food and Drug Administration.

Multiple sources confirmed that Oak Ridge Associated Universities and Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico experienced data breaches caused by the MOVEit vulnerability. It was unknown whether the incident affected any internal Energy Department-run systems, but it had impacted agency data at those locations.

Multiple U.S. agencies have been compromised by attackers who had exploited flaws in popular software tool MOVEit and had collected information from a range of victims. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Thursday that several federal agencies were affected but which agencies was not yet clear. CLoP‘s Russian-speaking hackers have managed recent attacks exploiting MOVEit.

The breach compromised the personally identifiable information of potentially tens of thousands of individuals, including DOE employees and contractors, and DOE officials took immediate steps to prevent further exposure. Other agencies will also likely be affected by the breach because MOVEit is a popular transfer software.

“This software is embedded in a lot of systems, and there could be a long tail on this one,” one source said. “There’s probably stuff out there you just don’t know about yet.” The government of Nova Scotia and the University of Rochester were the first victims to be identified in North America while organizations such as Britain’s communications regulator Ofcom, the BBC, British Airways, and Irish carrier Aer Lingus have disclosed data theft.

Minnesota’s Department of Education announced a wide-ranging breach involving the data of hundreds of thousands of students.

TheRecord reported that security company Censys said they examined organizations exposed to the internet who use MOVEit Transfer and found that 31 percent of the hosts running MOVEit are in the financial services industry, 16 percent in healthcare, 9 percent in information technology, and 8 percent in government and military.

Missouri’s Office of Administration, Information Services and Technology Division (OA-ITSD) said on Tuesday it is investigating what was taken by hackers during a cyberattack on the MOVEit system they use to transfer files and information between agencies. State agencies in Illinois also said they are investigating.

Train-the-Trainer courses in ICS announced

Kelly AnderssonJune 7, 2023UncategorizedFEMA NETC ICS

The Emergency Management Institute at FEMA has released its National Incident Management System (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) position-specific Train-the-Trainer virtual “K” course schedule.

ICS Train-the-Trainer courses — FEMA National Emergency Training Center

These courses prepare students to instruct NIMS ICS courses, which are position-specific. These courses are virtual, but graduated instructors will teach in the field to students who are first responders — and other professionals from federal, state, and local agencies and organizations. Emphasis is placed on classroom-based deliveries, including compliance with the NIMS Training Program, adult education methodologies, deployment of course activities, pre- and post-testing, and training program management.

Course goals include preparing instructors to teach NIMS ICS courses. The target audience is emergency responder personnel who are or may be members of an Incident Management Team (IMT). To participate in the Train-the-Trainer course, candidates must be already fully qualified in the position, with a minimum of 3 years’ credentialed IMT experience, and with a significant teaching background.

Selection Criteria:
All applicants for admission into the Train-the-Trainer Program must:

- - Provide documentation of their completion of the baseline course they plan to teach prior to applying
  - Provide documentation of their quals in the position (completed task book and credentials in the position)
  - Provide documentation of experience as a member of an IMT

Documents must be in the form of credential, ICS 225, copies of IAP sections showing assignment, deployment records, or other appropriate citations.

Prerequisites:
The most current version of these courses is required:

- - IS-100 – Introduction to the Incident Command System, (IS-100c)
  - IS-200 – Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response, (IS-200c)
  - E/L/K/G0300 – Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents, ICS-300 (May 2019 or more recent)
  - E/L/K/G0400 – Advanced Incident Command System for Complex Incidents, ICS-400 (May 2019 or more recent)
  - IS-700 – An Introduction to the National Incident Management System, (IS-700b)
  - IS-800 – National Response Framework, An Introduction (IS-800d)

* Special Note: Air Group Supervisor Train-the-Trainer candidates must have completed both the E/L/K0987 Introduction to Air Operations and the E/L0986 Air Support Group Supervisor courses.

Other important details about qualifications and applying for the program are online at tinyurl.com/n98c7svz

Additional questions should be directed to NETC Admissions by email at netcadmissions@fema.dhs.gov or you can view the National Emergency Training Center online admissions application (training.fema.gov/netc_online_admissions). The course manager, Robert Patrick, can be reached at robert.patrick@fema.dhs.gov or at (301)447-1297.

An amazing firefighter GoFundMe: Casey Budlong

Kelly AnderssonMay 31, 2023June 7, 2023UncategorizedCasey Budlong9 Comments

UPDATE: CASEY IS HOME and is doing well, considering.
Still not out of the woods, more details from James and Katy pending …
His GoFundMe page has a bunch more photos!

June 2 MESSAGE FROM KATY,
Casey has been released from the hospital and is home on the farm! We are still waiting on the final pathology results, but we know he will have to undergo chemotherapy and radiation again. We are so thankful for the love and support that we have received, and we will continue to keep everyone updated.

Hey everyone my name is James Snell with the La Grande Airtanker Base. Unfortunately, as many of us already know, Casey’s brain cancer has returned and as I’m typing this message Casey is undergoing open brain surgery. Casey has over 20 years working in wildland fire for the US Forest Service, with the last 5 years working at the La Grande Airtanker Base. He began his service as a wildland firefighter in his hometown of Detroit Lake, Oregon and went on to serve at various locations in eastern Oregon, including 8 years with La Grande Hotshots. Katy Budlong, his wife, has said expenses for medical bills not covered by insurance will be at least $30,000.

For this reason, we here at the La Grande Airtanker Base have decided to start up a GoFundMe to assist the Budlongs with their out-of-pocket costs.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/casey-budlong-and-his-family

The length of Casey’s post-surgery recovery is unknown at this point. Your donations will help cover medical expenses, hotel stays, and gas money for travel between La Grande and Portland, among other expenses that will arise during his rehabilitation. Please consider donating, a gift of any amount would mean the world for the Budlongs.

MESSAGE FROM KATY:
Casey Budlong was diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2018 and underwent two brain surgeries, six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy, and then another five months of intensive chemotherapy. Casey recovered remarkably well and faced the challenge with positivity and humor. Unfortunately, in April 2023, he developed a bad headache and lost peripheral vision in his left eye. A trip to the ER and a CAT scan revealed a new tumor located right-rear; the first tumor was right-front. The ER doctors immediately referred Casey back to Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) in Portland, and he has gotten further tests and is working on getting surgery scheduled. So, surrounded by an amazing support system of family and friends and an exceptional medical team, Casey will once again face this challenge.

UPDATE FROM KATY:
Casey is doing great! They removed the drain tube this afternoon and are keeping his pain level down. After the last surgeries, he developed a blood clot in his leg, so they did a scan today and unfortunately found a clot in the same spot, so they will be placing an IVC filter tomorrow morning for that. He is still in ICU, but with orders to be transferred to general as soon as they have a room ready, but it might not be till tomorrow. He has definitely become the favorite patient and has kept the staff laughing, and they all love him! His nurse last night was briefing some of the medical team outside his room, describing his history and how well he is doing, and told them, “You have Captain America in there!” He is a superhero, although Chris said he is more like the Hulk. He is also eating in true Casey fashion and loving the hospital food. He may go home tomorrow, but that will depend on how he does. As always, thank you for your thoughts and prayers! ❤️

https://www.gofundme.com/f/casey-budlong-and-his-family

OREGON: keep an eye out for contents from this trailer

Kelly AnderssonMay 30, 2023June 1, 2023UncategorizedLebanon, Oregon

Firefighters in Oregon are on the lookout for thieves who stole investigation gear and evidence from a Lebanon Fire District trailer parked at a fire station about 90 miles north in Fairview, Oregon.

KOIN-TV reported that thieves broke into the trailer and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of investigative equipment.

Firefighters said they discovered the break-in on Monday at Station 33 in Fairview; thieves had cut through a new security fence on the back of the property, cut the locks on the Lebanon Fire Investigation Team trailer, and stolen fire investigation tools including lights and cameras.

“Thefts such as these are extremely frustrating,” said Fire Marshal Ken Foster. “Having to replace all our investigation equipment may delay any pending or future fire investigations and has a direct effect on our community.” The Lebanon Fire District is asking for help; anyone with information should contact the Linn County Sheriff’s Office at 541-967-3950 and refer to case number 23-02101.

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