S491 - Intermediate National Fire Danger Rating System

Reviewed: 2010     Hours: 36

Course Description:

The course develops the knowledge and skill to operate, maintain and manage the NFDRS at the local unit. Course lecture and exercises support practical and technical application of the intellectually complex subject matter. The course requires a computer classroom with Internet access to present.

Objectives:

• Upon completion of this course the student will demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to operate, apply, and manage the National Fire Danger Rating System.

Target Group:

The course lessons and exercises support training for dispatchers and others charged with editing and inputting weather information into WIMS used for NFDRS calculations, fire management staff who apply NFDRS outputs to decision making, and fire behavior specialists who incorporate NFDRS products into assessments and projections.

Minimum Instructor Qualifications:

It is required that course coordinators consult with the S-491 Course Unit of the NWCG Equipment and Technology Branch, Fire Environment Committee, Fire Danger Subcommittee in selecting the lead instructor to present the S-491 course to maintain consistency and oversight of courses taught nationally. At a minimum, the lead instructor has general knowledge of the entire S-491 course material; has previous experience as a Lead Instructor or Unit leader for S-491; has broad experience applying NFDRS outputs; has the ability to relate each unit and lesson to the next and to the entire course; and is competent to teach any lesson in the course. The lead instructor shall be responsible for selecting the remainder of the cadre for the course. The subject matter of this course is highly technical and complex. The lead instructor shall make every effort to select the most qualified individuals to teach individual lessons and lead units, paying special attention to matching the instructor to the content and complexity of those units.

Unit and Lesson Instructors: At a minimum, has completed S-491, preferably has attended the Advanced NFDRS course. The unit leader must be competent in all the areas of emphasis within the unit, be able to teach any of the lessons or provide answers to detailed questions about the lesson's content, and provide leadership to coaches.

The lesson instructors should be competent and comfortable in presenting the content of the lesson, answering technical questions on the lesson subject matter, and have expertise with the course software sufficient to coach students through course exercises.

The ratio of instructors and coaches to students must be no less than 1:5 to insure availability of adequate coaching during exercises.

Computer Specialist
It is essential that a computer specialist either be one of the cadre members or be immediately available to the course presentation to resolve any computer, network or printing problems encountered. Persons selected to fill this capacity must be thoroughly familiar with the hardware (personal computers, network, Internet connection, printers, projector) used in presenting the course, with directory structures used, and to a lesser extent the software and its installation.

Course Materials

Course materials are housed at the Instructors Corner at the Lessons Learned Center. Course coordinators or Lead Instructors must contact the Chair of the NWCG Equipment and Technology Branch, Fire Environment Committee, Fire Danger Sub-Committee at http://www.nwcg.gov/branches/et/fenc/subcommittees/fds/contacts.htm to obtain a password to download course materials.

Prerequisites:

• Demonstrate at least intermediate skills with the current Windows^TM operating system.
• Successful completion of Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior (S-290).
• Possess a valid Weather Information Management System (WIMS) and Wildland Fire Management Information system (WFMI) logon identification.
• Current and comprehensive working knowledge of WIMS (the WIMS course is strongly recommended to attain this prerequisite knowledge)
• Successfully complete the pre-selection assessment with a minimum passing score of 70% or higher.

Offer Level:
Regional, state, or area

This Course Description is verbatim from the NWCG Field Manager's Course Guide (156 page PDF: Adobe Acrobat Reader required) and accurate as of 10-31-2011.

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