Office of Operations
21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies

5.11.1 Interagency Training

  1. Cooperate on Training – “Intensify interagency training efforts, including the use of large-scale interface wildfire simulations to improve communications.”
    Firestorm 2003: Provincial Review

  2. Develop and Provide Interagency Cooperation and Training – “Pre-fire interagency cooperation set the stage and had a direct positive impact on the ability to manage the fire, the Incident Command System (ICS) worked as it was designed to function, and proved to be a valuable tool in facilitating interagency cooperation and establishing an effective unified command, agencies that had trained together functioned more effectively as a unified command team, at the tactical level, and pre-incident planning and tabletop and simulation exercises proved to be a cost-effective way for incident preplanning and to build good working relationships.”
    San Bernardino County Fire Chiefs’ Association: Lessons Learned Report: Fire Storm 2003: “Old Fire”

    “Interagency training with cooperators provided valuable pre-incident planning as well. Tabletop and walk-through exercises were cost-effective ways to plan for incidents and build relationships.”
    Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

    “Agencies that trained together were able to function more effectively as a unified command team. This was true at the tactical level as well.”
    Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

  3. Incorporate Specific Training – “Structural units and leaders who had received wildland training were more effective and safer as single resources or part of a strike team operating in the wildland-urban interface. Those without the training were not proficient in wildland tactics.”
    Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center


February 7, 2006
Publication #FHWA–HOP-08-015