National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)

Standards for Burn Injuries and Interim Minimum Standards for
Incident Emergency Medical Services Standards for Burn Injuries

Over the past few years, there have been documented reports of firefighters with burn injuries not receiving adequate care at medical facilities. Examples include the New York Peak Fire and Mudd Fire in 2006 and the Poe Cabin Fire in 2007. Some of these occurred at small rural medical clinics and others have been at hospitals in larger metropolitan areas. As a result, the NWCG Safety and Health Working Team developed standards for burn injures that could be implemented regardless of agency jurisdiction. These standards were approved by the NWCG Executive Board in a July 10, 2008 memorandum.

The primary intent is to establish minimum criteria for burn injuries where the injured firefighter is referred to an accredited burn center. This referral occurs through direct coordination between the agency administrator, or designee, for the incident and the attending physician. The memo also establishes expectations for the agency administrator, or designee, for the incident to coordinate with the firefighter’s home unit to ensure that Workers Compensation assistance is provided.

For the federal agencies, the NWCG standards have been incorporated into policy via the Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations (for the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NPS & U.S. Forest Service) and the Wildland Fire and Aviation Program Management and Operations Guide. (for the Bureau of Indian Affairs). Employees from other agencies and entities should refer to their applicable policy documents.

As a part of refresher training, we encourage all wildland firefighters, especially crew bosses, engine captains and other supervisors to be knowledgeable of the NWCG standard and applicable agency policy. FMOs are also encouraged to discuss the NWCG standard and relevant agency policy with their agency administrator.

Interim Minimum Standards for Incident Emergency Medical Services

Through a June 30, 2008 memorandum the NWCG Executive Board approved Interim NWCG Minimum Standards for Incident Emergency Medical Services. These standards will assist wildland fire incident commanders with determining the level and number of emergency medical resources and related supplies needed based upon the number of incident personnel. For the federal agencies these standards have been incorporated into policy via the Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations and the Wildland Fire and Aviation Program Management and Operations Guide. It is important for all incident commanders (Type 1 through Type 5) to become familiar with these standards.