- Position Paper - To the Montana Legislative Fire Suppression Interim Committee March 4, 2008

1. NRWCA - Position Paper - To the Montana Legislative Fire Suppression Interim Committee March 4, 2008

2. Executive Summary • Private Contracting, within the Northern Rockies, has changed from Emergency Equipment Rental Agreements ( EERA ) to a Best Value contracting process. • Local, State, Federal, and privates contractor resources, work with private landowners on prevention, pre-suppression and suppression of wildfire incidents. . • Private contracting sector has made significant monetary investments, to stay in compliance, as state and federal agencies have changed the training and equipment standards.

3. As the number of ranchers, farmers, mining and forestry jobs and businesses have declined over the past 20 years, the availability and use of resources, in the local communities, has also changed. • We have gone from the days of conscripting people right off the street, to a professional, well trained and equipped private sector resource pool.The Incident Business Management practices, required by State and Federal policy, demand this level of expertise. • We have progressed from paying .25 cents an hour, plus a bedroll, sourdough pancakes, coffee and canned tomatoes to daily rates for equipment, catered meals, showers, laundries and wireless internet.

4. To improve the safety and effectiveness,of the private wildfire contracting sector and increase the level of trust, afforded them by the other Federal, State and local fire professionals, several policies and regulations were put in place or fine tuned. • Labor Laws • Workers Compensation • Insurance • Equipment and training Standards

5. The Resources We Have Been Called To Protect Have Also Changed…

6. Private Sector Resources • Water Handling Equipment including: wildland engines, water tenders, skidgines, superskidgines, soft tracks, pumper cats

7. Heavy equipment including dozers, graders, transports, excavators, feller bunchers

8. Rental Vehicles, potable water trucks, gray water trucks, road watering trucks, caterers, sack lunches, hand washing stations, port- a- potties and showers. • Faller Modules with experienced industry timber fallers. • Support items like tents, canopies, yurts, communication trailers, service shop truck, fuel trucks, refrigeration trailer, mobile laundry, GIS unit, Type 3 Caterer, Mobile Clerical Support Office’s and helicopter mods.

9. We have come a long way, in the private sector, over the past 8-10 years, as the following photos show. From This…

10. To This!

11. Well Trained And Equipped, Professional Wild-land Firefighters!

12. Agency Opinion Of Best Value Contracting Equipment is better than ever. Personnel are very capable Contract firefighters are the “workforce” Priority list may slow down response times Equipment is normally ready for work Personnel and equipment have been pre-inspected Known quantity of resources.

13. Private ContractorEconomic Investment in Region 1Under Best Value

14. 2007 Best Value Savingsthrough competitive bidding From Agency Reports

15. 2007 Dispatching FactsCompiled From Agency Dispatch Records. • Dispatches are for wildland engines, water tenders, skidgines, superskidgines, pumper cats and soft tracks. • Dispatches within Montana – 1,191 • Total Days out – 16,246 • Average Length of Incident Assignment – 14 days • Average total number of days out in 2007 - 40

16. These Dispatches Brought $24 Million Dollars Back Into The Local Communities Economies!

17. Recommendations to the Fire Suppression Interim Committee • Provide economic data to the Headwaters Economics Research group, with regards to the monetary investment of private sector resources • Workers Compensation rates to reflect the industry • Support the efforts of the Northern Rockies Strategic Action Committee, on Best Value contracting • Support the need of Incident Business Management Advisors, by the agencies, for contract administration on incidents. • Support the NRCG workshops on equipment inspection training, with input from the private sector.

18. Modify the current inspection process, to stream line incident mobilization, thus making resources available to incident operations, in a more timely manner. • Assure that the use of EERA’s, not under Best Value contracting, are incident specific and that equipment inspections and training requirements are consistent with best Value standards.

19. Support the NRCC dispatch system, that utilizes the closest forces concept including local governments, state, federal and private contract resources, that are the most cost effective and efficient, for the taxpayers and local communities in Montana. • Recognize the cost savings of using local contract resources for severity • Support the collaboration and working relationships between local governments, state, federal, and private contractor resources through cross training at wildfire training sessions and at state wide engine academies. • Private sector resources should once again be a part of the mobilization process.