SAFENET


SAFENET

Wildland Fire Safety & Health Reporting Network

SAFENET Event Information
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SAFENET ID:
20180508-0002        [Corrective Actions]
Event Start Date:
05/07/2018 0800
Event Stop Date:
 
Incident Name:
Area 74 Prescribed Burn
Fire Number:
NM-GNF-0000012 
State:
New Mexico
Jurisdiction:
USFS
Local Unit:
Gila National Forest
Incident Type:
Prescribed/Fuels Treatment
Incident Activity:
Support
Stage of Incident:
Other
Position Title:
Center Manager 
Task:
Communication with incident 
Management Level:
1
Resources Involved:
Crews, Overhead, Equipment 
Contributing Factors
Contributing Factors:
Communications
Human Factors:
 
Other Factors:
Communications equipment / Network equipment not working properly.  
Narrative
Describe in detail what happened including the concern or potential issue, the environment (weather, terrain, fire behavior, etc), and the resulting health issue.
The following information was from ticket REQ000000819375 filed with the CIO and best describes the concern and potential problem(s) associated:

Dispatchers are having to click/activate the repeater Black Mtn several times before the repeater will transmit message. Black Mtn repeater is a linked with Copperas Base Station. Please reference ticket REQ000000809342. This is the same problem but now on a different repeater.

This is now a repeating problem on the Gila NF radio network at a different locations. Because this issue has been on-going, Safenet to be filed.

We are now supporting the Area 74 Prescribed fire (NM-GNF-0000012) off the black mountain repeater. This fire is located on the Black Range Ranger district.

This is affecting regular radio traffic in support of the burn and resources in the field. In the event of an emergency (Medical emergency, injury, etc) this would cause serious issues with the potential loss of information. Currently 50+ personnel on the burn and in the field in this area covered by this repeater.



Further:
WAVE and Raven software and equipment are not available in the dispatch center although this has been requested. Although there have been attempts to have dispatch personnel install this software on dispatch computers, it is not the responsibility for dispatchers or dispatch personnel to ensure it is and working properly. These would be temporary solutions to the problem if they were available.

Confident in the radio system on the Gila NF is very low. There is not a radio technician on site, there has not been on site for more than a year on the Gila NF, a forest that requires two technicians. Radio concerns and problems on the Gila NF have been long going and outstanding, known on the CIO and Regional USFS Fronts.
Immediate Action Taken
Reporting Individual : please describe actions you took to correct or mitigate the unsafe/unhealthful event.
Dispatchers are having to repeatedly click and re-click the transmit buttons on the dispatch consoles to communicate with resources on the line / in the field. There is not a mitigating effort to be done other than re-clicking the console button again to try and reestablish radio communications.

WAVE and Raven software and equipment are not available in the dispatch center although this has been requested. These would be temporary solutions to the problem if they were available.

Confident in the radio system on the Gila NF is low. There are not radio technicians on site, and have not been on site for more than a year on the Gila NF, a forest that requires two technicians.


Agency Response

20180508-0002-CA001

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