0000074247 00000 n If helicopters are widely used in the USA to fight forest fires, they can also be used to burn them. An official website of the United States government. There are two kinds of USFS contracts. Although I dont know if this counts as a legacy platform. So given that the PM and the HS are both aviation folks, this means that they have certain goals that they are trying to achieve given the shape that the Solicitation is taking. TheNWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Resource Typingestablishes minimum typing standards for aircraft, crews, and equipment for national mobilization to wildland fire incidents. AMD-23E Instructions for USFS National Type 1 & 2 Call When Needed (CWN) Contract Helicopters hired for DOI Incidents. I know we arent alone in how upset we are with the Forest Service right now. Sunrise/Sunset Calculator. Call-When-Needed (CWN) Large Jet Transport, Matthew Olson,Contracting Officer For an operator to be competitive in the LPTA world, you need to amortize the cost of the a/c over 10 years or more. Aircraft Maintenance Contracts, Regions 1,5,6 To meet this commitment, we continue to monitor and update our content to make sure our documents meet these standards. Us, Northern Rockies Coordination Center They may also be federal agencies such as Indian Affairs or the Bureau of Land Management, who are responsible for natural areas that must be fought against forest fires. Hawaii beats the national average by 4.2%, and Tennessee furthers that trend with another $4,165 (5.9%) above the $71,117. There is obviously some back door dealing going on with this RFP as it very specifically pushes money to certain equipment providers and tips the hat to certain helicopter companies. If the income is lower and lower due to LPTA and the job security is year to year with no guarantee, most lenders will tell you to try another house to mortgage your house. Large Airtankers (LATs) can deliver from 2,000 to 4,000 gallons of fire retardant to support firefighters on the ground. DO NOT listen to your bosses, DO THE RIGHT thing and pull this RFP back and get it rightMILLIONS of U.S. citizens are expecting that you will. PRINT NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Resource Typing, PMS 200, NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Resource Typing, PMS 200, M-581, Fire Program Management Course Steering Committee, M-582, AA Advanced Wildland Fire Course Steering Committee, Committee Roles and Membership Information, Course Steering Committee Guidance & Templates, International Association of Fire Chiefs Roster, National Association of State Foresters Roster, Alternative Pathways to NWCG Qualification, Incident Performance Training Modernization (IPTM), Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program, NWCG Data Standard: Fire Resource Kind, Category, and Type, Incident and Position StandardsCommittee, Standards forInteragency Hotshot Crew Operations, Retardant or water-carrying capability (gal), Maximum gross takeoff and landing weight (lb). The EC135/145 have potential, but at what cost? Smokejumper Aircraft These are also similar systems found in the lower section of the DC-10 Tanker 10, and there are also constant flow bunkers found on board many tankers such as the C-130, P -3 Orion and other RJ-85AT. Being able to pump water from bodies of water inaccessible to fixed wings, they operate with fast rotations and can also be loaded to delay if necessary, thanks to mobile cages that firefighters can position close to the area of operations. What do you do with an expensive asset like a helo when youre only customer suggests to just not submit? On May 9 the agency released a list of 14 helicopters for the >1,600 tier. We have gone a few years in the past 10 where we had zero USFS work at all based on fire behavior but they want their random equipment to be installed on our dime. A Department of Defense liaison was added as a permanent partner at NIFC in 2008. Nor is it actually clear to me that is what is happening. And the hits just keep on coming. Pratt & Whitney Engine Maintenance. Additional information for required crew training and equipment recommendations can be found at the position catalog. Oh, and dont glance over the cockpit camera, which they want even on restricted category bucket ships. They can transport up to nine firefighters at one time. So given these facts, what do you think they are trying to achieve in ultimately reducing the number of a/c in a time when we need more of them? Wont the guaranteed hours for a contract be a exclusive use. MOU - Interagency Fire Helicopter Standards Forest Service Agreement # 13IA-11130206-011 . Sucks that theyre limiting their choices on the RFP. Thank you. Large Jet Transport They ensure the impressive attack on flames with water. Its coming, and sooner than you expect. All the experienced aviation folks leading the latest helo RFP need to know that what youre proposing will lead to less a/c and more accidents/deaths. 10 0 obj <> endobj Thats discouraging as it suggests that the customer really isnt listening and just providing the perception of doing so.your point of just not choosing to submit if an operator doesnt like it is incredibly insensitive and uninformed. They are versatile fire management tools. For an operator to be competitive in the LPTA world, you need to amortize the cost of the a/c over 10 years or more. The intent of the USFS for acquiring helicopter services for 2022 is as follows: 1. Office: (208) 387-5252 Mobile: (208) 866-0417 xref hb```, cb YL On the CWN list, Aero Flite went from four to one aircraft and Coulson dropped their L-382G and substituted a B-737 which began working in North America for the first time last week. Rotating blades are also present and again play a discrete but essential role where their natural qualities are exploited at best. Initial attack/can be broken up into squads, fireline construction, firing to include burnout. Jeffrey McGinley, Associate Branch Chief, Aviation 43 aircraft are under exclusive contract with the USFS in 2018. Sadly, this is just another reason why operators will have to get out of the fire fighting business or send the aircraft to other countries where they will actually be treated like the critical assets that they are. What do you do with an expensive asset like a helo when youre only customer suggests to just not submit? Qualification Category. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Guide to customs clearance for a Helvetian aircraft, Bell unveils industrialists on the Invictus program. To request access to this page, submit request to FS-FS AQM ISB. For example, the 2017 average daily rate for large federal call when needed air tankers was 54 percent higher than aircraft on exclusive . Next Generation Multi-Engine Fixed-Wing Airtankers 3.0 Official websites use .gov These may be local governments seeking to preserve a territory, but also counties or even states. Other aircraft can be rigged with a Bambi Bucket but several operators have made the choice to heavily modify their helicopters with internal bunkers and complex release systems. Obviously another FS fella here. Personnel and Equipment: 219 total personnel; 2 helicopters, 14 Type-6 engines, 13 Type-2 tractor plow units, 1 drone, . These helicopters can strategically drop thousands of gallons of water or retardant with pinpoint accuracy, while working closely with ground personnel and other firefighting aircraft. If it aint broke, dont try to fix it. Welcome to the Nation's Logistical Support Center | National . "Today is a day of zeros, zero rate of spread, zero flame length, zero probability of ignition and zero fire growth." . - R1 Overdue/Missing Aircraft Protocol, DOI And then everything over 4 hours is paid too obviously. The most spectacular heavy-duty helicopters have long been the Erickson AirCrane, the CH-54 refurbished by the Oregon-based company that has developed for them a constant-rate and controlled-release airdrop that is considered one of the most efficient and reliable. Flight Following (AFF), FlightAware Regardless of how many aircraft are available it is how to use them in a timely manner, not a 1000 mile ferry two days later. However, multi-year contacts must also include an aspect of a cancellation ceiling which must be funded up front. Great to see that ole S-58T N1168U workhorse from Aris is still getting after it! Initial attack, fireline construction, firing as directed. Type 3 engines and tactical water tenders shall be equipped with a foam proportioner system. These publications are "specified by more than 47 state departments of transportation," and is "the only privately researched and published equipment rate guide approved by the Federal Highway Administration for use on federally-funded construction projects." Yes, the customer is the FS. Typos or errors, report them HERE. AMD-23E v2.0. DAY OFF DAILY AV RATE HRLY FT RATE (DRY) 150Hrs/Over 150 Hrs DAILY OPTIONAL POST AV RATE CONTRACTING OFFICER 1. Type IIs? The FS doesnt seem to trust the input from the industry on this, so maybe the FS should ask the people who provide the mortgage? Airtankers, Helicopters, Long-term Retardant Contracts. Category 3 includes helicopters capable of lifting more than 700 gallons of water or retardant. Hows about an STC for personal electronic devices, only available from one company, nobody else in the industry even knows what the hell the STC is or is for! One has to write to the audience who butters their bread!. A lot of the operators that will get pushed out because of this RFP do a lot of irrefutably safe work when fire season peaks, or when resource work is needed, with excellently maintained legacy platforms at great value to the taxpayers. One vendor said new requirements could reduce the number of helicopters on contract. There are still going to be normal cwn helicopters. Nevertheless, the aviation branch of the US Forest Service is often seen as a versatile administration, without any long-term vision, with abrupt and sometimes difficult to understand decisions and against which innumerable legal proceedings and even lawsuits are brought by its subcontractors and those who are in line to become one. Id guess many of them follow your websites, but if not and you have access to them, it would be good to alert them to the commentary here on this pageif anyone else feels strongly negative about this, chime in!! 553 0 obj <>stream Airbus Helicopters breaks ground on first helicopter as Leonardo: Centaurium Aviation Ltd. takes delivery of it Health Crisis: the French Gendarmerie air support. We operate Type III helicopters and are now faced with 40lbs+ of equipment (costing over $60k per aircraft) to meet minimum requirements - things that we really don't need like a Traffic Avoidance System (but the ADS-B they required last year isn't good enough) and a loudspeaker (because yelling at the fire helps? Under contract this season there are 28 heavyweights, including Kaman KMax, CH-46, CH-47, S-70, CH-54 and S-61 from a dozen companies. Video of two Type 1 helicopters reloading with retardant, 41 Companies on $1B Forest Service Helicopter Support Contract, Updates on Nob Fire and WatchDuty is looking for help, North Carolina: Great Lakes Fire burning in footprint of 2012 fire. 0000004574 00000 n Aerial Supervision Module (ASM) Lead Planes Certainly valid concerns regarding the quantity of helicopters to transition and timeline. The obvious answer is same thing the US Military replaced the Hueys with, the Blackhawk. Normally both are higher with a CWN. GPS Visualizer - Convert Coordinates. Smaller helicopters carry water in buckets that hold between 100-400 gallons of water. DOI Incident Position Qualification Guide (IPQG) AABI. Helicopters with buckets can pull water from water sources that are deep enough for the buckets. Aviation Safety and Mngmnt Plan Smokejumper STC All water tenders and engine types 3 through 6 shall be able to prime and pump water from a 10 foot lift. There are certainly concerns with moving to a twin engine platform related to performance, and Im not currently versed enough in all of the platforms to have an opinion, but I do know that this article doesnt address it and instead seems to be a sounding board for industry without presenting the case for increased firefighter safety and performance in modern aircraft. Aircraft Type: DC-10. Crews from the White River National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, and Aspen Fire executed a prescribed burn at Collins Creek on Sunday. No wonder there is absolutely no concern about the financial impact of this proposal. National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) Support 545 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<699CE8B7B060C148BAB896A267C961CC>]/Index[527 27]/Info 526 0 R/Length 94/Prev 249949/Root 528 0 R/Size 554/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Access to these sites is restricted and the information and files provided through these sites is not intended for general disclosure or distribution to anyone other than Authorized Government Representatives and solely for the purpose of facilitating the performance of their Official Duties with respect to their administration of these contracts. For operators, the Grail is a contract with the US Forest Service. USFS FIRE CONTRACTS. Aircraft Purchases: Todd Novinger, Contracting Officer A 407 isnt a twin, even tho a 407hp will outperform all the above as a type III. Im not convinced that either trying to do an abrupt transition is appropriate NOR is standing still while other more modern aircraft are available. Smokejumperstravel all over the country, including Alaska, to provide highly-trained, experienced firefighters and leadership for quick initial attack on wildland fires in remote areas. Give me a break. Fax: (208) 387-5384, https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/contracting, Important Information Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic, Access to the U.S. Forest Service Contracting, Incident Support Branch, DOI SharePoint Page must be granted individually. Large, heavy-lift helicopters can fill their water tanks with a snorkel that siphons water from lakes, rivers, or other sources. The Forest Service also has helicopters on Call When Needed contracts, on the hope that they will be available when the phone rings. Guess what those choppers wont have cockpit cameras or loudspeakers or TAS. Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. 0000001330 00000 n Furthermore the numbers they provide are usually . flight time rates. These aircraft are classified in three categories, depending on their capabilities, categories that also determine the value of the contracts. Office: (208) 387-5610 Mobile: (208) 867-5073, Tonya Campbell,Contracting Officer They essentially want a Sky Crane to do a Jet Rangers job. Working together, these partners provide . AMS Mission Codes. Staffing Report, NIROPS 310-1 Wildland Fire Qualification System Guide. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 0000047667 00000 n What happens when they implement it towards Type Is? The reason your seeing all the blackhawk bucket ships is because you can buy a milsurp bird for less than 2$ million and be flying on a fire for less than 5. Todd more well informed insight here. See Full Story. 2023 US FOREST SERVICE AIRTANKERS - SCHEDULE OF ITEMS (April 26, 2023) Next Generation Airtankers 2.0 Next Generation Airtankers 3.0 CWN Activations. If we have an aircraft on the market that give us a better margin of safety in the high and hot environment the USFS works in why wouldnt we pursue it other than money? Forest Service CWN Medium/Heavy Helicopters Fire Suppression Orders 11/1/2021 Through 10/31/2022 DOI OC Small Type III Helicopter - National Park Service Search and Rescue (SAR) (2022) For Alaska/Hawaii Emergency/Fire/SAR task order numbers, please contact Heather Sizick, Lead Contracting Office at 571-479-0323 or Rebecca Fentzke, Division . Fire camp infrastructureand Incident Command Post (ICP) is a location at which primary command functions are executed. HUn6S@F$E]7Mb UOm"!'!RKGO%zqRHR.~H"Z~QBEIGjZW_^VJ4)+lMT@I-|7%J81^ USFS R8 / USFWS R4 Annual Operating Plan for the use of the AS350B2 Helicopter. Bill wrote 3 sentences without even putting his opinion in, the overwhelming response is that the only people happy or satisfied with this RFP are the people who wrote it. Aviation Safety Management System, IAT Say goodbye to the 205 and 212, its brand new 412EPXs or nothing. If a vendor doesnt like the requirements, they can choose not to submit a proposal. Steve Peterson, Contracting Officer Columbia sold to another company last year and with the combined ammount of aircraft they are considered a large company. Modular AirborneFirefighting System (MAFFS) Mechanics Just like how the new GM Suburban for Diplomates costs millions of dollars each and the contract went to the one company that can make it. The FS is certainly aware of Mr. Gabbert who has reached out to public affairs folks within the agency on numerous occasions. Maybe they could have figured out a better transition, maybe not. The question and answer document shows the USFS is unwilling to be understanding its our way or the highway, thanks for nothing. endstream endobj 11 0 obj <> endobj 12 0 obj <> endobj 13 0 obj <> endobj 14 0 obj <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/ExtGState<>>> endobj 15 0 obj <> endobj 16 0 obj <> endobj 17 0 obj <>stream Category 3 includes the lightest helicopters with the lowest payload. 0000008566 00000 n A lock ( For example they get 4 hours of flight pay whether they fly 0 or 3.8. 0 0000001055 00000 n 5765 West Broadway, Missoula, Montana 59808-9361, Automated Bill would rather not take his private industry advertisers $$$, but he should and needs to get paid for the hard work he puts in and he knows you Government boys cant/wont pay him to tell the truth. The S-70 could work but again, at what cost? Typos, let us know, and please keep in mind the commenting ground rules before you post a comment. PDF Fillable Forms must be downloaded to your computer, you can then open them up in your Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat software to fill them in and save. We all understand that. CWN aircraft, both fixed and rotor wing, cost more than exclusive use ships. Oh and theres a reason for the price difference, all the vendors you see with blackhawks have restricted category aircraft. In each case, only the first year is guaranteed. If you like warm beer, buy a FS refrigerator. All the UTFs for rotors can get name-tied back to a few individuals at NIFC. The Huey will soon give way to the S-70 FireHawk, a model close to the aircraft operated in the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which will be a clear progression of air assets for the state of California. For aircraft in the first two categories, fire-fighting equipment consists of efficient and versatile ventral kits or a Bambi Bucket. For information about Lower 48 Aircraft Rental Agreements, please contact John Anderson 208-433-5018, For information about Air Tactical Contracts please contact Matthew Allen, Lead Contracting Officer at 703-972-5080, On-Call Fixed Wing Alaska please contact Heather Sizick, Lead Contracting Officer at 571-479-0323, For information about Alaska/Hawaii Contracts please contact Heather Sizick, Lead Contracting Officer at 571-479-0323, For information about WHB and ACETA Contracts please contact Jeanhei Christy, Contracting Officer at 208-433-5019, For information about SEAT Contracts please contact Angelina Clements, Lead Contracting Officer at 571-479-0325, For information about On Call Small Helicopter Contracts please contact Austin Carter, Lead Contracting Officer at 208-433-5032, For DOI project or non-fire needs requiring a medium/heavy helicopter, please contact Austin Carter, Lead Contracting Officer at 208-433-5032 for contract and cost data information along with instructions for placing an order, Heather Sizick, Lead Contracting Officer at 571-479-0323, Aviation Information Reporting Support (AIRS), Fire Suppression & Search & Rescue Task Order Numbers, On Call & ARA Fire Suppression Task Order Numbers, DOI OC Small Type III Helicopter - Both DOI and USFS Task orders when hired under DOI, Forest Service CWN Medium/Heavy Helicopters Fire Suppression Orders 11/1/2021 Through 10/31/2022, DOI OC Small Type III Helicopter - National Park Service Search and Rescue (SAR), On-call Alaska Fixed Wing Sample Contract, On-Call Alaska Helicopter Sample Contract, On-Call Hawaii Helicopter Sample Contract, USFS/DOI Medium/Large Helicopter Contract, AQD-10 Airplane Rental Agreement Price List, AQD-11 Helicopter Rental Agreement Price List, AQD-13A Questionnaire for Airplane Services Requirements, AQD-13H Questionnaire for Helicopter Services Requirements, AQD-16 Contract Award/Renewal Recommendation and Funding Availability Certification, For Alaska/Hawaii Emergency/Fire/SAR task order numbers, please contact Heather Sizick, Lead Contracting Office at 571-479-0323 or Rebecca Fentzke, Division Chief at 703-964-5320. Comments, questions, and recommendations shall be submitted to the appropriate agency representative assigned to the steward for each resource. Add to this that they are wanting us to throw all of this money into our aircraft to get on the contract (which is now a 10 year contract!) Some of these aircraft are even qualified for night dropping, a capacity which is now rare but which could revolutionize the art of fighting fires. The user of this information is responsible for confirming they have the most up-to-date version. The day started at 10 a.m. around a truck bed fully stocked with boxes of discount croissants, a bag of clementines, and a stack of Incident Action Plan packets. National Interagency Aviation Committee (, Incident and Position Standards Committee (. Exactly. FEDERAL WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT POLICY & DOCTRINE OVERVIEW CHAPTER 1 Release Date: January 2020 1 1 Chapter 1 2 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Doctrine 3 Overview 4 Scope 5 The Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations states, 6 references, or supplements policy for Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest 7 Service, U.S. Initial attack/can be broken up into squads, fireline construction, complex firing operations (backfire). I would be interested to see more reporting on why the USFS is making this transition now and how they made the decisions. The Call When Needed contracts, which are also valid for 5 years, are intended to provide additional equipment when the situation requires it. Modular AirborneFirefighting System (MAFFS) Mechanics I am concerned that it will reduce resources in a way that will harm the communitys we generally get to help. Who will buy a 206, 407, etc besides AG guys? Your input allows us to recognize outstanding service and also provides a tool to address areas of industry concern. When the SMEs include pilots who had a previous career in the military, also Aviation Maintenance Inspectors who previously worked as mechanics in industry and the military, I do not think the label of career beaurocrart quite fits. . 0000000016 00000 n The ultimate goal is to drive out the independent operator entirely so they can justify owning their own fleet. So, because the Forest Service wants to push all but the top tier of their options out, they are essentially putting every government agencys resources at risk. (Y/N) NFPA = National Fire Protection Association & Booklets), FS The following links are provided for Interagency Fire Professionals who are tasked with administering contracts issued by our Unit and is provided solely for that purpose and intent. Other candidates would be the 412, and the other twin engine mediums on the market from AW and Airbus/Eurocopter. The Forest Service was looking for 10 helicopters in each tier, if available, with Mandatory Availability Periods commencing on either June 1stor June 15th. Office: (208) 387-5665 Mobile: (208) 616-5549, NIFC Operations Support These helicopters can support firefighters on the ground by delivering up to 300 gallons of water to thefirelinein a bucket or tank. All types shall meet federal, state and agency requirements for motor vehicle safety standards, including all gross vehicle weight ratings when fully loaded. 2. For several years now, the AirCrane are clearly competing with the massive arrival of CH-47D obtained by some companies on top of the US forces. United States Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Aviation Services (OAS) and the . Each year, DNR works ahead of the fire season to improve its access to professional equipment and services for fire suppression. None of these administrations have their own resources and they must therefore go through contracts, often seasonal, to have means of intervention. trailer United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) The Cal Fire owns a fleet of UH-1 Huey, rigged with Bambis or HBE Simplex Kits, depending on the geographic areas they must cover. Forest Service Fire and Aviation Qualifications Guide (FSFAQG) Federal Wildland Fire Qualifications Supplement. Faintly, what are the advertisement you see posted on this site? Companies like Columbia and Erickson are considered too big now. With the twin engine requirement would a K-Max also be DQd? 3833 S. Development Avenue The difference is there are very few air tankers compared to helicopters on EU and CWN contracts.

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