NIMO

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NIMO

• National Incident Management Organization

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Historical Perspective

• Like the question of slavery, the question of
  forest fires may be shelved for some time, at
  enormous costs in the end, but sooner or later it
  must be met. Gifford Pinchot - 1898

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AS QUOTED IN 1911
Staggered by an enormous deficit, horrific
losses of natural resources and human life, the
Forest Service must make a valiant effort to
strengthen its resolve and address the issue of
fire.
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Historical Perspective

• 1999 the Forest Service commissioned a review of
  the Fire Management Program which produced An
  Agency Strategy for Fire Management, also known
  as The Jacobs Report.

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The Forest Services ability to provide adequate
support to large fires is diminishing.
The Forest Service fire and fuels program is not
well integrated with the land management program
of the agency. Many cooperators and partners thin
k the Forest Service is ineffective and
inefficient in fire management.
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Background

• The following reports all emphasized the need to
  improve the complex incident management system
  
• The Jacobs Report
• The Rains Report
• IMRT and Federal Fire Policy (19952001)
• GAO Report-03-805 which addressed fuels treatment
  and priorities.
  
• NAPA Report, Wildfire Suppression Strategies.
• Where Have All the Firefighters Gone Brookings.

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January 2003, NWCG chartered NIMO Project to

• Review Jacobs Report.
• Evaluate alternative implementation strategies.
• Develop recommendations of implementing the
  reports actions.
  
• Develop specific implementation options.
• Ensure implementation actions are consistent with
  Fire Policy.

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This study analyzes organizational options which
allows the agencies to simultaneously meet

• Land and Resource Management Objectives
• Fire Program Management Objectives
• Complex Incident Management Objectives

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Project Objectives

• Develop and evaluate organizational options to
• Meet natural, cultural and resource management
  objectives on the local unit.
  
• Meet the needs for complex incident management
  including non-fire incidents.
  
• Improve interagency cooperation in
  initial/extended attack and complex incident
  management.

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Project Objectives, Contd.

• Based on the evaluation of organizational
  options, develop a preferred strategic
  recommendation.
  
• Improve quality and effectiveness of fire program
  management on the local unit.

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Supply and Demand

• The need and use of IMTs is growing while the
  available number of IMTs is decreasing.
  
• In 2000 all available IMTs were committed, and
  even with assistance from the International
  community, there were still outstanding orders
  for IMTs.

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• Numerous reports have shown the need for a more
  aggressive fuels program to improve overall
  ecosystem health and targets in fuels and
  vegetative management have substantially
  increased since 2000.
• The people who accomplish these targets are the
  same who staff IMTs.

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Federal, state, and local agencies must strike
at the main causes of wildland fires to bring the
costs of fighting them under control.
These costs have increased dramatically with the
buildup of hazardous fuels, rising home
construction in fire-prone areas, and severe
drought.
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IMT and Area Command Currently in use

• There are currently
• 16 Type 1 IMTs
• 35 Type 2 IMTs
• 22 State IMTs
• 4 FUMTs
• 6 NPS All-Risk IMTs
• 4 Area Command Teams

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Turnover and Attrition

• In next 5 years the Type 1 and Type 2 IMTs and
  Area Command Teams will turn over 92 (473 of 512
  positions) due to retirements, tenure, inability
  or unwillingness to participate.
• If the existing formal classroom training is
  structured as in the past, the demand for new
  qualified IMT members will not be met.

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Issues and Concerns

• Increased complexity of local resource management
  and changing employee values has lead to the
  unavailability for IMT's.
  
• Local ability to effectively supervise initial
  and extended attack.
  
• Same people who do complex incident management,
  are the people who are needed at the home unit
  for target accomplishment and fire program
  management needs.
• Integration of Fire Management with other land
  and resource management activities.
  
• Highly decentralized organizations and differing
  agency cultures.

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• Determining the capacity of the agencies to meet
  future demands of the National Response Plan.
  
• Ability to resolve the current limited number of
  IMTs for an expanding number of incidents.
  
• Over the last 5 years, suppression costs have
  increased 200.
  
• Ensuring the safety of the responders and the
  public.
  
• Increased complexity due to hazardous fuels and
  the WUI, both are growth industries.
  
• Determining the authorities, liabilities and
  reimbursements of NIMO.
  

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• Demands by Congress, the Administration and the
  public for a more cost effective approach to
  fire.
  
• Mega-Fires have become common and collectively
  the agencies do not have a shared strategy.
  
• Complex incident management has evolved into
  all-risk incidents i.e. hazmat, evacuations, SR,
  structure protection.
  
• The National Response Plan requirements will be
  met in the use of IMT's.
  
• The adaptability of agencies to accept
  organizational change.
  

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• The ability to utilize non-wildland fire
  agencies/services to support IMTs.
  
• Some options will require agency policy changes
  and significant human resources commitment.
  
• Few career incentives encourage participation in
  complex incident management.
  
• IMT participation is not included in position
  descriptions or performance evaluations.
  
• Perceptions of some Agency Administrators that
  supporting complex incident management and
  achieving land and resource management objectives
  are mutually exclusive.

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Organizational Options

• 5 options were considered.

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Option 1 Current Organization

• 16 Type 1 IMTs
• 35 Type 2 IMTs
• 6 NPS All-Risk IMTs
• 4 FUMTs
• 4 Area Command Teams

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Option 2 Enhanced Current Organization

• Maintains IMT structure with the following
  federal agency policy changes
  
• Federal Agencys requirement of 3-year commitment
  of 60-days/year participation in incident
  management support.
  
• Local Type 3 organizations will be required.
• Incident management participation is included in
  annual work planning, thus worked missed will be
  foregone and not accomplished.

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Option 3- NIMO IMTs

• 50 IMTs with no type classification.
• 30 team members are NIMO employees, the
  remainder of team filled with volunteer militia,
  State and Local Government and Private Wildland
  Fire Services.
• Area Command (4/team) are NIMO.
• All three agency policy changes in Option 2
  apply.

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Option 4- NIMO IMTs

• 50 IMTs with 10 permanent NIMO employees/team or
  NWCG Short-team configuration. The remainder of
  team filled with volunteer militia, State and
  Local Government and Private Wildland Fire
  Services.
• Area Command (4/team) are NIMO.
• All three agency policy changes in Option 2
  apply.
  

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Option 5- Type 1 NIMO IMTs

• 16 T1 IMTs with 60 NIMO employee/team. Area
  Command Teams (4/team) are NIMO.
  
• 34 T2 IMTs provided by GAs and are staffed by
  volunteer militia, State and Local Government,
  and Private Wildland Fire Service.
  
• All three Federal Agency policy changes apply.

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Evaluation Criteria

• Improve Safety and Risk Management.
• Improve local unit meeting land and resource
  management, and fire program management
  objectives.
  
• Improve meeting complex incident management
  objectives.

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• Improve interagency and inter-governmental
  cooperation and efficiencies.
  
• Agency acceptance of the organizational option.
• Meets direction of the National Response Plan.
• Improve the integration of complex incident
  management with other agency missions.
  
• Improve the development of fire leadership.

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Study Timeline

• The NIMO Task Force and Management Option Team is
  requesting feedback on the Study by March 10,
  2004.
  
• The presentation of the preferred alternative to
  NWCG will be May 2004.
  
• The presentation of the preferred alternative to
  the Federal Wildland Fire Council will be June
  2004.

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Consider the words of John Maclean
perhaps we lack the fortitude or will to take
the necessary program changes to ensure it (fire
management) remains at the leading-edge level.

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FEEDBACK

• Questions? ?
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• In writing, e-mail or verbally.
• Whatever the choice, do it now.