The International Association of Fire Chiefs signed a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior on Sept. 25, providing a framework for the organizations to work together to address issues related to wildland-urban interface fires and $130,000 for new IAFC workshops and training.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton and IAFC President Ernest Mitchell signed the agreement at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C.

“Our agreement will enhance the ability of local fire departments to operate safely and in concert with state and federal agencies to combat forest and rangeland fires across the country,” said Norton. “We must strive to create a seamless operation, so when the bell rings and the engines roll, the color of the fire engine will not matter.

“It's imperative that the federal government work closely with local and volunteer fire departments to protect our forests and rangeland areas from the ravages of wildland fire,” she added. “Our partners in rural fire departments are our first responders — they are closest to the incident and our first line of defense.”

Mitchell, chief of the Pasadena (Calif.) Fire Department, said the wildland-interface problem is an issue that is facing many fire chiefs around the country. “This agreement is a key element of expanding our partnerships with federal agencies and developing a more coordinated and integrated response to fires in the wildland-urban interface zone,” Mitchell said.

According to Chief Thomas Kuntz of Red Lodge, Mo., chairman of the IAFC's Wildland Fire Program, the agreement promotes greater information sharing, cooperation and coordination between the federal agency and the fire chiefs' organization.

Details for implementing the agreement are still being worked out, but Kuntz said the IAFC plans to send representatives to meetings of the Interagency Wildland Fire Leadership Council, a new Cabinet-level council created last April to implement the National Fire Plan by coordinating firefighting activities under the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior. “We won't have a seat at the table yet,” Kuntz said, “but we will be there to be a reference source for them, should they need it.”

The IAFC also will send representatives to meetings of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, “to be a resource and to keep up on the issues,” Kuntz said.

The agreement also will enable the IAFC to stay current on what's going on at the national level and to have input in meetings where national policy is made, said Kuntz. By the same token, fire chiefs at the local level can participate in this initiative by keeping their lines of communication open to the IAFC's Wildland Fire Committee. “If they have issues or they have challenges (in working at wildland and wildland-urban interface fires), they need to communicate that to us so that we can address those issues,” said Kuntz.

The IAFC will receive nearly $130,000 in DOI funding, spread over the remainder of fiscal years 2003 and 2004, to sponsor workshops and training opportunities for fire departments and other personnel who operate in the wildland-urban interface.

To alleviate organizational differences at joint operations, the IAFC and DOI also agreed to support broad adoption of the National Incident Management System standard being developed by the Department of Homeland Security.

The IAFC's Wildland Fire Program was created in 2001 and has been named as a key collaborator in the implementation of the National Fire Plan. The group is also involved in planning the upcoming Wildland Fire 2004 conference, which takes place in March in Reno, Nev. The International Association of Wildland Fire, the IAFC, the Department of Interior and the USDA Forest Service will jointly sponsor the conference.

For more information about the IAFC's Wildland Fire Program, visit www.iafc.org or send an e-mail to Kuntz at firechief@montana.net. Details about Wildland Fire 2004 are available online at the IAWF Web site at www.iawfonline.org and under the Conference link at www.iafc.org.