The intent of the USFS for acquiring helicopter services for 2022 is as follows: 1. 0000000716 00000 n To meet this commitment, we continue to monitor and update our content to make sure our documents meet these standards. Base model costs 50k where does the rest go??? For the 2018 season, the UFS had at its disposal, in addition to its planes, 105 helicopters under exclusive contracts and about 200 others under CWN agreements. United States Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Aviation Services (OAS) and the . Firewatch Cobra (Bell 209/AH-1) Aerial Supervision Helicopter. 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. Its contracts are often the most profitable, and also have the advantage of being valid for 5 seasons, which gives economic visibility to companies that manage to win this sesame. Aero Flite, Aero Air, and Neptune all swapped out some EU aircraft but each still has the same number of allocated slots. @RtS1yD &LS,60E0U22U0J7gm:b|gY. And the hits just keep on coming. These helicopters are the largest that are used for fighting wildfires and can carry between 700 and 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant. 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. Type 3 engines and tactical water tenders shall be equipped with a foam proportioner system. To meet this commitment, we continue to monitor and update our content to make sure our documents meet these standards. National Helicopters (Large Fire Support, Initial Attack, Call-When-Needed) 2. Less publicized than the Tanker, US Forest Service helicopters are front-line aircraft with an essential and fundamental mission. Faintly, what are the advertisement you see posted on this site? 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. The end result is fewer options for the government, but maybe that is what they want. No wonder there is absolutely no concern about the financial impact of this proposal. 6-month Exclusive Use (EU) contract extensions for 34 - Type 2 helicopters with contracts expiring in 2022, utilizing BOAs for remaining EU line items. And now this year before we head into fall contracting with the MATOC still looming they have changed how they pay us. When the helicopter is in position, the crew releases the water to extinguish hot spots. However cwn have a slower response time because they are not usually fully staffed. Steve Peterson, Contracting Officer Its driving us away from government work and Im truly worried about the availability of rotor assets next year if they end up going through with this wish list RFP. Office: (208) 387-5695 Mobile: (208) 860-7334 Horsepower rating taken at the flywheel with all the engine accessories installed not counting transmission losses or anything after the flywheel. Forest Service Fire and Aviation Qualifications Guide (FSFAQG) Federal Wildland Fire Qualifications Supplement. The EC135/145 have potential, but at what cost? Position Title. Todd more well informed insight here. 0000002454 00000 n Well, maybe in some locations. while simultaneously saying that they fully intend on moving to modern helicopters that are built after the year 2000 and are all twin engine. They requested to remain anonymous in order to avoid retribution from the agency. But they wont tell us when they are doing that, just that as we bid on EU work within the CWN contract eventually they are going to want modern helicopters. 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. Some helitack crews are trained to rappel from helicopters to fires in remote locations. Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Focal Point, Mike McFarlane,Contracting Officer I also assume that the CO just channeled the PM and HSs needs for the program. CO Support on all major contract programs (Mobile Food Services, Mobile Showers, Type 2 & 2-IA Crews, Retardant Chemicals), Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Alternate Focal Point If as you suggest they can choose to not submit a proposal then two things are going to happen: 1) that aircraft will not be part of the AFF fleet next year and 2) you will have less a/c in the future b/c of it. Helicopters conducting mission flights shall check-in prior to and immediately after each takeoff/landing, as soon as communications can be established, per the NWCG Standards for Helicopter Operations (PMS 510) Chapter 04, page 30. There are two kinds of USFS contracts. HUn6S@F$E]7Mb UOm"!'!RKGO%zqRHR.~H"Z~QBEIGjZW_^VJ4)+lMT@I-|7%J81^ For example they get 4 hours of flight pay whether they fly 0 or 3.8. 10 0 obj <> endobj 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 Vendors reserve the right to refuse service to the customer that is rude, arrogant and disrespectful. Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Support Oh, and dont glance over the cockpit camera, which they want even on restricted category bucket ships. 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. 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 Your last sentence in the nail in the coffin.seeing as that this contract will be LPTA and a year to year option, how do you finance a new a/c that will surely be $2-$4M on the low end? It just will. Todd thanks for chiming in. Toggle Dyslexia-friendly black-on-creme color scheme, Aerial wildland fire training taking place this week at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Military aircraft equipped with MAFFS mobilized to assist with wildfire suppression efforts, First Annual National Wildland Firefighter Day Announced, BLM and Maverik Partner to Reduce Human-Caused Wildfires, Aerial wildland fire training taking place in Boise april 25-29, Andrus Center for Public Policy and Partners Seek National Student Congress Address Wildland Fire Management, National Interagency Incident Communications Division, National Incident Management Organization. It is known that the retardant is a product much more effective than water which reinforces the tactical importance of rotating wings. Region 6 Cache Freight Services, Bryce Pitchford,Contracting Officer & Booklets), FS A 407 isnt a twin, even tho a 407hp will outperform all the above as a type III. Smokejumper Aircraft Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Coordinator Well not quite, imho. They are versatile fire management tools. Farm planes that can carry a ton of retardant to the Boeing 747 Supertanker and 75 tons of load, anything that can drop on a fire was mobilized to fight monsters like the fire of the Mendocino Complex that devoured more than 150 000 ha in a month and a half. Helicopters were first used on wildfires in 1947. Aircraft Maintenance Contracts, Regions 1,5,6 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. The Logistics Branch provides support for WO Fire & Aviation Operations customers (located at NIFC) with the procurement of (urgent/immediate)incidentresources, such as retardant chemicals and related services, mobile food services, mobile shower facilities, firefighting crews, Critical Incident Stress Management Services (CISM) and National Videographer/Photographer Services. For example, the 2017 average daily rate for large federal call when needed air tankers was 54 percent higher than aircraft on exclusive . I know we arent alone in how upset we are with the Forest Service right now. But you better pay for it, USFS says! NWCG operations standards are interagency by design; they are developed with the intent of universal adoption by the member agencies. They simply never had to deal with these considerations. That means NO helitack, NO rappelers, ONLY flight crew and bucket work. Have a fire aviation news tip? If a vendor doesnt like the requirements, they can choose not to submit a proposal. We can only hope the upcoming DOI on-call helicopter RFP due out later this year isnt so crazy. . NIFC Operations Support They can typically carry 700 gallons of water or retardant via a bucket or a snorkel that fills an internal tank. 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. 0000006627 00000 n Aircraft types: P2V, HC-130H, BAe-146, MD-87, C-130Q, RJ85, C-130 H & J equipped with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS). At least two CL-415s were removed from USFS contracts and placed on a state contract this year too. Your input allows us to recognize outstanding service and also provides a tool to address areas of industry concern. Most aircraft manufacturers provide a document illustrating the operating costs for each of their models but it's hard to tell how accurate their estimates are (they are trying to sell you a helicopter after all). Office: (208) 387-5835 Mobile: (208) 407-6002 Sucks that theyre limiting their choices on the RFP. A lock ( Its coming, and sooner than you expect. All perpetuated by the Gov. Fire camp infrastructureand Incident Command Post (ICP) is a location at which primary command functions are executed. Potentially an EU ship could sit all season and never turn a rotor and they would only collect the daily rate. In addition the Logistics Branch provides procurement support for eleven National Cachesfor wildland fire suppression and prevention, as well as other emergency incident response activities. To put things in perspective, these aircraft perform interventions against US fires which CL-415 water bombers perform at home. Through the use of Preseason Agreements and by partnering with the U.S. Forest Service Region 6 Fire Aviation Contracting Team (FACT), through VIPR contracts, DNR is able to pull in outside resources quickly if needed. Large, heavy-lift helicopters can fill their water tanks with a snorkel that siphons water from lakes, rivers, or other sources. Aye, Laddie. Incident Contacts . A Department of Defense liaison was added as a permanent partner at NIFC in 2008. Lots more. With the twin engine requirement would a K-Max also be DQd? I may be incorrect in this, but I think the less than excited response from industry is based on them providing questions and input to the PM, HS and CO and getting pretty unsatisfactory responses. 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! Montana / Dakotas Fire and Aviation, NRCC Well, maybe in some locations. Region 6 Cache Freight Services They ensure the impressive attack on flames with water. 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. Maybe they could have figured out a better transition, maybe not. National Geographic Area Coordination Center Website Portal Type 2 helicopters are very effective initial attack resources. Version 10 Page 1 of 13 October 15, 2019 . Call-When-Needed (CWN) Amphibious Water Scooper Aircraft Most exclusive use helicopters have a daily rate and a flight rate, but no guaranteed hours. Calfire is seeing right now how much NOT an upgrade they really are and how they are just too big for some things. "Today is a day of zeros, zero rate of spread, zero flame length, zero probability of ignition and zero fire growth." . Aircraft Engineering Services 0 Little to no way to sock away money for these required upgrades to bid on the contract. Incident Procurement Modernization Team Member. Anyone who served in the military knows that Uncle Sam Air is the most inefficient airline in the world, and having worked there is in no way a guarantee that you are the best subject matter expert on anything. Maybe in talking to a 3rd party lender the FS would learn more about these challenges that industry is facing due to the well intended, but poorly delivered solicitation requirements? Category 2 is that of aircraft with 6,000 to 12,500 pounds at take-off and having a water carrying capacity of more than 300 gallons. 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). Certainly valid concerns regarding the quantity of helicopters to transition and timeline. DAY OFF DAILY AV RATE HRLY FT RATE (DRY) 150Hrs/Over 150 Hrs DAILY OPTIONAL POST AV RATE CONTRACTING OFFICER 1. 0000047400 00000 n The FS would gladly issue multi-year contracts (vs. base year + options). Airbus Helicopters breaks ground on first helicopter as Leonardo: Centaurium Aviation Ltd. takes delivery of it Health Crisis: the French Gendarmerie air support. Office: (208) 387-5252 Mobile: (208) 866-0417 Some Type 1 helicopters can also transport up to 15 personnel to an incident. There is no cost, and in case you change your mind each email has an unsubscribe button. Helicopters are used for firefighter and cargo transport, water or retardant application, fire reconnaissance, aerial ignition operations, search and rescue, law enforcement missions, short-haul, sling loads, and seeding. For aircraft in the first two categories, fire-fighting equipment consists of efficient and versatile ventral kits or a Bambi Bucket. Unmanned Aerial Supervision(UAS) Program, Delphine Arizana, Contract Specialist They are usually contracted for 5 years. 43 aircraft are under exclusive contract with the USFS in 2018. These were but up for bid to have extra fully staffed helicopters ready to respond due to the virus. 34 aircraft in this category operate in the US, mainly Bell 205 and 212. Most smokejumpers work from late spring through early fall. Vendors do not drive the requirements the customer does. Office: (208) 387-5279 Mobile: (208) 608-6763, 0000001234 00000 n Buying a/c is a lot like buying a house. T able 2- LAT and . In reality the CWN is the same, many times EU ships roll into a day by day CWN extension of their EU contract after the mandatory availability period is over if there are still fires. The cheapest camera we could find is $10,000. AMD-23E Instructions for USFS National Type 1 & 2 Call When Needed (CWN) Contract Helicopters hired for DOI Incidents. For operators, the Grail is a contract with the US Forest Service. Aviation Management, USDA The Forest Service was looking for 10 helicopters in each tier, if available, with Mandatory Availability Periods commencing on either June 1stor June 15th. These standards assign typing designations based on measurable capability and performance criteria. 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 . Contact Us: NWCG Comments & Questions | USA.GOV | Notices | Accessibility | Copyrights | Linking Policy | Records Management | FAQs. None of these administrations have their own resources and they must therefore go through contracts, often seasonal, to have means of intervention. Theres the rub! USFS R8 / USFWS R4 Annual Operating Plan for the use of the AS350B2 Helicopter. Click here. You must be USFS this sounds exactly like the Q&A session Language will remain as written. Us | Site Thank you. GPS Visualizer - Convert Coordinates. These may be local governments seeking to preserve a territory, but also counties or even states. But only when they decide, of course! 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? 0000009662 00000 n Others are only used to drop water or fireretardant, ormove firefighting supplies and equipment. What do you do with an expensive asset like a helo when youre only customer suggests to just not submit? 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. One vendor said new requirements could reduce the number of helicopters on contract. Other candidates would be the 412, and the other twin engine mediums on the market from AW and Airbus/Eurocopter. We all understand that. Agency Abbreviation. They are capable of carrying four to five firefighters at a time, and use a 180 gallon water bucket. Office: (208) 387-5231 Mobile: (208) 991-7639, Larry Robillard,Contracting Officer Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Bob. %%EOF Southern Area Regional Coordination Group Operating Plan. Initial attack, fireline construction, firing as directed. One has to write to the audience who butters their bread! Temp Tower Agreement -, Interagency Emergency Helicopter Extraction List, USFS Live Flight Tracking, Rappel Chattanooga Air Tanker Base Agreement. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Guide to customs clearance for a Helvetian aircraft, Bell unveils industrialists on the Invictus program. Courtesy Photo/USFS. AMD-23E v2.0. To request access to this page, submit request to, Forest Service Acquisition Management Incident Procurement, Solicitations on Federal Business Opportunities, Flight Rate Charts Effective February 16, 2021for contracts awarded 2013-2017, Flight Rate Charts Effective February 16, 2021 for contracts awarded 2018-2021, Crews Type 2 IA, Standard Form 1449, 2022 Summary, National Type 2-IA Crew COR Designation Letter, National Type 2-IA Crew Performance Evaluation, Type 2 Crew Generic Agreement 1202SC21Q0001, 2020 COVID-19 Modification for Mobile Shower Facilities, Mobile Shower Performance Evaluation Form, 2020 COVID-19 Modification for Mobile Food Services, Retardant Contractor Performance Evaluation Form, Retardant Contracts COR Designation Letters, National Mobile Shower COR Designation Letter, National Long Term Fire Retardant Contract. Office: (208) 387-5609 Mobile: (208) 616-5550 Aerial Supervision Module (ASM) Lead Planes Type IIs? The Forest Service also has helicopters on Call When Needed contracts, on the hope that they will be available when the phone rings. The ultimate goal is to drive out the independent operator entirely so they can justify owning their own fleet. SD3-60 Sherpas;Avionics; Maintenance The USFS, forestry branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, is in charge of the protection of the largest natural areas, it is also the body that is officially in charge of this function at the national level. Each rate covers all costs eligible under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 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. Aircraft types: P2V, HC-130H, BAe-146, MD-87, C-130Q, RJ85, C-130 H & J equipped with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS). Normally both are higher with a CWN. Initial attack/can be broken up into squads, fireline construction, complex firing operations (backfire). Obviously another FS fella here. Great response, fellas. I would be interested to see more reporting on why the USFS is making this transition now and how they made the decisions. Next Generation Multi-Engine Fixed-Wing Airtankers 3.0 National Interagency Fire Center Working together, these partners provide . Office: (208) 387-5665 Mobile: (208) 616-5549, NIFC Operations Support 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. NEPTUNE AVIATION . I dont know if there is another 1960s Choctaw still flying fire! Call-When-Needed (CWN) Large Jet Transport, Matthew Olson,Contracting Officer 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. Click here. In other locations they would just shrug their shoulders and walk away. This amounts to budget dollars that would have to be tied to each individual contract and could not be utilized anywhere else. The banker looks at your household income and job stability. Type 1 and 2 UAS carry multiple camera types in a gimbaled configuration. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the . Thank you. November 25, 2017 Revision 2.8 . The NWCGcategorizes information on fire apparatus into logical groups and provides common options often requested by fire managers. Center 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. The banker looks at your household income and job stability. Although I dont know if this counts as a legacy platform. The difference is there are very few air tankers compared to helicopters on EU and CWN contracts. NIFC is home to the national fire management programs of each federal fire agency, along with partners including the National Association of State Foresters, the U.S. Fire Administration, and the National Weather Service. Just need to add, Mama told me the customer is always right. There is no cost, and in case you change your mind each email has an unsubscribe button. Why is it presented as CWN when it looks like E.U? 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!) 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. 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. 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. Provides support to both the Aviation and Logistics Branch Chiefs Besides the cost for the new equipment will be passed on the FS through the increase in Daily Availability rates. These CWN have a number of day to end of termination clause. Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. The States contracted for Fed approved airtankers so just like we all share resources like engines and shot crews now we can share airtankers too. hb```, cb YL The "All Other" annual billable rate will be used to obtain reimbursement for services provided to organizations outside the Federal government. The blackhawk will not replace the 212 because it cant, and a regular category S-70 would have to bid three or four times the price of a 212 to make financial sense even if you could get a 4 year EU contract. U.S. Forest Service. They are all tied to contractors in the business. Southern Area Master Interagency Agreement. These changes are going to put operators who have worked hard for generations, who have tirelessly jumped through USFS hoops for years out of businessthat is a crappy government thanks, with costly and unnecessary changes as the final slap in the face! Helicopters also deliver firefighting crews called helitack crews to fires for initial attack. Organizations needing assistance are numerous. Doing business with the feds is not for the faint of heart. We are all for the push for better equipment for our wildland fire efforts but the USFS cant do the change this suddenly and without any industry input. This second list was released by the agency May 13 and is a result of a solicitation requesting bidsfor 30 helicopters that were already on Call When Needed contracts in three tiers capable of lifting up to 1,600, 3,300, or 7,000 pounds.

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