Basic Firefighter Training: Round Valley Tribal Training Course
Classroom and Field-Based Training Course: September 18-22, 8:00am-5:00pm in Covelo, CA.
Round Valley Tribes offered a basic firefighter training September 18th-22nd at their facilities in Covelo, CA.
The training was part of a concerted effort by prescribed fire practitioners in the area to increase workforce capacity to burn local landscapes in the right places at the right times of year. “Fire has been a forest management tool for Native people and neighbors in this place to protect communities from severe wildfire, keep cultural resources healthy and productive, and keep ecosystems balanced for centuries. "It feels so good to get back to using that tool more again,” Joe Parker, Fire Prevention Technician (FPT) for the Natural Resources Department of the Round Valley Indian Tribes. “Bottom line: In this day and age, we can’t resume the use of intentional fire without more technically trained people.”
The training was co-hosted by the Round Valley Indian Tribes, the Nature Conservancy, North Coast Resource Partnership, California Polytechnic State University, and the California Indian Environmental Alliance with course instruction provided by the prescribed fire focused non-profit Torchbearr. The classes covered introduction to fire behavior and how to be a firefighter Type 2 to meet National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) standards.
In this course, participants learned the basic principles of Wildland Fire Behavior and Wildland Fire Science. This training course meets the S-130, S-190, and L-180 requirements outlined by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG). Typically, people take this course because they are pursuing national or state certification for work with wildland fires. Successful completion of this course can satisfy prerequisites for more advanced courses and certification.
S-130 Basic Wildland Firefighting (Class & Field Course) - This course is a hands-on training providing entry level firefighting skills. Students were taken to the field for a day of instruction which included safety orientation, firefighter preparedness, tools, and equipment, firing devices, use of water, suppression, securing the control line, use of maps, hazardous materials, and operating safely.
S-190 Basic Fire Behavior - This is the first and foundational wildland fire behavior course in a five-course sequence in the NWCG curriculum. It introduces students to the basic concepts of wildland fire behavior, including:
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The primary wildland fire environment components: fuels, weather, and topography;
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How characteristics and interactions of fuels, weather, and topography affect fire behavior;
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How fire behavior affects risk to firefighters.
L-180 Human Factors in the Wildland Fire Service - This course exposes students to human performance concepts as part of basic wildland firefighter training. The course is specifically designed for entry-level operational personnel; however, this course also applies to all wildland fire service personnel, including non-operational personnel. By the end of the course, students practiced decision-making skills in an interactive simulation as a member of a fire crew and will apply their Human Factors knowledge to a variety of scenarios. Throughout the simulation, students answered questions and made decisions regarding situational awareness and hazard identification, decision-making, and team cohesion. Responses were tracked and reported at the end of the activity.
Participants who complete these course with passing final test scores will receive certification of S-190, L-180and S-130 from TorchBearr Fire School. This training meets NWCG requirements and is accredited.
Only Tribal applicants were eligible to attend this training, with a limit of 1-3 attendees per Tribe.
| Time & Date | Details |
|---|---|
| 9/18: 8am-5pm | Introductions/Leaders Intent/ Course Introductions |
|
S-190 Introduction to Fire Behavior |
|
| 9/19 - 9/22: 8am-5pm | S-130 Basic Wildland Fire Fighter Training |
| L-180 Human Factors in Wildland Fire Service | |
| 9/22: |
Pack Test |
| 3pm-5pm | Final Exam |
Trainers
Scot Steinbring, Director of Operations Manager, TorchBearr Fire School
Scot Steinbring has spent over thirty years working in fire-related fields. His career has spanned both fire suppression and prescribed burning in that time completing many acres of thinning, project layout, planning and implementation . He started on a Forest Service fire engine at age 18 and from there pursued every training opportunity he could get, becoming qualified as a firefighter, squad boss, crew rep, engine boss, fire instructor, type 2 burn boss, and division group supervisor. He also opened a task book for packing fire resources into remote areas, and loves working with horses. Scot spent 25 years working at the Forest Service, and his time at that agency culminated in a job at Sequoia National Forest where he managed a program of 480 call-when-needed crew-members and took responsibility for their training, mobilization and safety. Scot then took his considerable fire experience and skills to Cal Fire, where he worked for three years as a prevention officer in the Tulare unit, learning valuable lessons in fire inspections and public outreach. Scot also serves as a qualified Division Group Supervisor and Operations Section Chief trainee on a California Type 2 Incident Management Team that responded nationally. Subsequently, Scot went to work for two California Tribes as a Fire Management officer, Consulted for private fire contracting company, and currently a CWN Type 2 burn boss for the Nature Conservancy. He also recently co-founded the non-profit organization Torchbearr, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on promoting prescribed fire for a brighter fire future for all. Torchbearr uses training, hands on burning, and education to accomplish this mission. Scot enjoys training future generations, and logs over 600 hours of training per year. Those hours include everything from basic 100 series fire classes to more advanced 300 series fire classes. Scot provides fire instruction and burn boss services to partner organizations including prescribed burn associations throughout California.
His motto is “Learn from the past, Train the present or fail the future”
Terry Warlick, Type 2 Burn Boss and Fire Instructor
Terry Warlick is a veteran fire lighter and fire fighter who serves as a Type 2 Burn Boss and Fire Instructor. He started his career in fire at Shasta Trinity National Forest in 1991 and finished it 29 years later at Mendocino National Forest. During that time he has served as a firefighter working on an engine, a hotshot fire fighter, a fuels planner, and he retired as a Battalion Chief in 2020. Coming from the generation of firefighting he did, Warlick has had ample opportunity to learn and teach to National Wildfire Coordinating Group standards, and to apply that learning and teaching on the ground during controlled burns and wildfires. Warlick brings a wealth of fire knowledge and background to his Torchbearr responsibilities, and is excited to help build capacity and comfort levels for prescribed fire.
Codie Donahue, Fire Fighter Type 1, TorchBearr Fire School
