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SAFENET

Wildland Fire Safety & Health Reporting Network

SAFENET Event Information

Create Agency Response

SAFENET ID:

20190530-0001        [Corrective Actions]

Event Start Date:

05/30/2019 1650

Event Stop Date:

05/30/2019 1705 

Incident Name:

Next Gen Wildfire -Loss of Flight Following

Fire Number:

P4EKW8 

State:

Idaho

Jurisdiction:

USFS

Local Unit:

Salmon-Challis

Incident Type:

Wildland

Incident Activity:

Transport to/from

Stage of Incident:

Demobe

Position Title:

Aircraft Dispatcher 

Task:

Demob from Fire 

Management Level:

5

Resources Involved:

Helicopter 3CH and personnel  

Contributing Factors

Contributing Factors:

Communications

Human Factors:

 

Other Factors:

Loss of network during Flight Follow for Demob from Fire.  

Narrative

Describe in detail what happened including the concern or potential issue, the environment (weather, terrain, fire behavior, etc), and the resulting health issue.

We have been experiencing evening losses of network, usually occurring around 1630 each night. The majority of our evening check-ins occur around this time. On 5/30/2019 at 1650, we lost the network again while flight following a helicopter 3CH for demob from the Next Gen Fire. Network took approximately 15 minutes to reboot the internet, reset AFF and allow us back in to WildCad. We were using Radar to monitor the approach of an incoming storm to make sure the aircraft was in a safe location. Without the network, we lost this capability to advise 3CH of any changes in the WX and approach of lightning. Along with our concern for the aircraft and individuals on board, this is happening multiple times a week and at a very inconvenient time when dispatch is busy with evening check-ins and, in this case, flight following during demob of an incident. If we miss an individuals evening check-in, after 5 minutes, we being to look for them and call their supervisors. This may eventually lead to initialing a Search and Rescue that may potentially NOT have been needed.

Immediate Action Taken

Reporting Individual : please describe actions you took to correct or mitigate the unsafe/unhealthful event.

Advised 3CH of network loss and that we would revert to 15 minute check-ins with current location and lat/long, until it was up again. Took notes until we were able to use WildCad again. Logged all events after the network rebooted.

Agency Response

20190530-0001-CA001

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