The National Wildfire Coordinating Group has released new standards for Wildland Fire Modules (WFM), which a few years ago were called Fire Use Modules. WFMs are frequently used for conducting prescribed fires, monitoring and managing long-term “fire use” fires, and for fuel modification projects.
The most significant change is the establishment of Type 1 and Type 2 Modules, when before there was no typing system. If you ordered a WFM you could receive a highly skilled group of firefighters that included a Type 2 Burn Boss and several Module members with significant Red Card qualifications. Or not.
The new standards, published in a 42-page document, require that a Type 1 WFM have a leader who is qualified as a Task Force Leader and Crew Boss. And there must be members on the Module who are a Type 2 Burn Boss, Type 4 Incident Commander, Firing Boss, and Field Observer. The leader of a Type 2 WFM must be a Crew Boss and there must be one Squad Boss who is a Type 5 Incident Commander. A Module must have at least seven qualified individuals for dispatch to an incident.
Below is a portion of the chart showing the minimum Module standards. Click on it to see a larger version.
