Course Description - S-590 Advanced Fire Behavior Interpretation

March 12 - 23, 2012

For the 2012 S-590 course, nominations are being accepted now with a target of no later than November 1, 2011. All Nominees are strongly encouraged to participate in a mentoring program which may include assignment with qualified FBANs and LTANs.

    

Target Group

Individuals to be trained as a Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN) and or Long Term Fire Analyst (LTAN) in wildland fire suppression operations. Nominees must identify which position(s) they are targeting on their nomination form.

 

Prerequisites
The prerequisites listed below are consistent with the direction from the June 2009 Wildland Fire Qualification System Guide, PMS 310-1.

All applicants must have completed S-490 Advanced Wildland Fire Behavior Calculations, and demonstrate proficiency in the use of BehavePlus and Windows operating system.

All nominees will need to successfully complete a pre-course test that will take no more than 4 hours.

Those students seeking qualification as a Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN) must be qualified as Division/ Group Supervisor (DIVS) under the Incident Command System.

Students seeking qualification as a Long Term Fire Analyst (LTAN) must be qualified as a Fire Effects Monitor (FEMO) and a Firing Boss, Single Resource (FIRB), under the Incident Command System.

TIPS for Success
Success in S-590 will depend on the student's communication skills, both written and oral. Additional skills could be obtained by;

• Attending the Facilitative Instructor course, M-410 or other public speaking and technical writing courses.
• Participating in the S-590 Mentoring Program
• Instruct portions of S-490, Advanced Fire Behavior Calculations course
• Attend S-495, Geospatial Fire Analysis, Interpretation and Application course
• Review of the BehavePlus program

 

Those applying for this course will be evaluated in the areas of;

• Fire behavior predictions
• Assessing the likelihood of success for strategies and specific tactical operations
• Identification of fire behavior related firefighter safety concerns
• Understanding of long-term risk assessments
• Fire area growth simulation
• NFDRS.

Course Objectives

• Describe the FBAN/LTAN responsibilities and interactions with managers, management teams, meteorologists, and others.
• Demonstrate skills in analyzing, interpreting, displaying, and communicating fire behavior information and its implications.
• Apply fire behavior predictive information in support of all types of wildland fire planning and operations.
• Demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing appropriate wildland fire behavior predictive information.
• Demonstrate the ability to prepare a complete fire behavior documentation package.

Course Description
Through the use of lecture, demonstrations and exercises the student will learn the job of the FBAN/LTAN. Units covered will include:

S-590 Fire Behavior Interpretation		Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities
Unit	Unit Description	Gained at Course	Brought to Course
Acquisition	Skills learned in prerequisite courses, reinforced with obtaining fire environment and fire behavior information and internet use.	Organizational, Communication, & Computer Skills	Computer Skills
Analysis	Skills learned in prerequisite courses, develop support for decision making, and demonstrate in exercises	Organizational, Communication, & Computer Skills	Analytical Skills & Computer Skills
Application	Safety, Briefings, Forecasts, Decision Support, Advanced Applications, reinforced with exercises	Organizational, Communication, & Computer Skills	Intuitive, Operational Skills, & Computer Skills
Archival	Fire Behavior Documentation Package, Post Fire Applications, Fire Narratives	Organizational, Communication	Computer Skills

Course size limited to 50 students.

Computer Requirements
All participants attending S-590 will need to provide their own laptop, portable printer and data cable with the appropriate printer driver installed.

Students should have the equipment (laptop & printer), and software to function and be self sufficient in the field as a FBAN or LTAN. A detailed listing of hardware and software needs will be included in the course selection letter.

Software used at S-590 are:

• BehavePlus
• FARSITE
• FireFamilyPlus
• FlamMap

Current software and versions are available at: http://www.firemodels.org

Students will also need a current WFDSS User Name and Password.

Important Dates
Nomination Due: No later than November 1, 2011
Pre-course Test Mailed: November 11, 2011
Pre-course Test Due: December 2, 2011
Notification of Selection: December 12, 2011

Nomination Process
Please see the NAFRI nomination process available at http://nafri.gov/pages/nominationprocess.htm.

Course Coordinator: Tim Peterson (520) 799-8757; fax (520) 799-8785

Course Location: NAFRI, Tucson, Arizona
Tuition: None

S-590 is currently offered every other year on even-numbered years.