2024 NY WILDFIRE AND INCIDENT MANAGEMENT ACADEMY OFFERS FREE CLASSES TO LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS
Winding up!
Digging line in S130/190 Basic Wildland Firefighting Training /Wildfire Behavior
Geared up for field exercises!
Fire behavior field exercise
New York Wildfire & Incident Management Academy
c/o Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy Commission
624 Old Riverhead Road
Westhampton Beach, New York 11978
Web Address: www.nywima.com
For: Immediate Release
Monday, August 12, 2024
Contact: Judy Jakobsen, Executive Director
Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy Commission
Phone: Office: (631) 288-1079
Judy.Jakobsen@scwa.com
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2024 NEW YORK WILDFIRE AND INCIDENT MANAGEMENT ACADEMY
Twenty-sixth Annual Academy to be held from October 19 – October 25, 2024
The Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission’s Wildfire Task Force will hold the twenty seventh annual New York Wildfire and Incident Management Academy (Academy) from October 19 through October 25, 2024, at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY.
Among the courses offered at the Academy this year are: Basic Firefighting and Wildfire Behavior, Wildland Training (FFT1) for Structural Firefighters and five free courses offered (e.g., ICS-300 and refresher, ICS-400) from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES). In total, nineteen courses will be offered at this year’s Academy.
The Academy offers Basic Firefighting and Wildfire Behavior along with Fire Operations in the Urban Interface free of charge to Nassau and Suffolk County volunteer firefighters. Basic Firefighting and Wildfire Behavior is offered as a five day classroom session or as a two-day field day session. Both options are fully recognized by the National Wildfire and Coordinating Group (NWCG), which governs wildland firefighting standards across the country.
The five-day session and the two-day field day session allow volunteer firefighters to participate in future Long Island-based wildland prescribed fire operations and allows them to be eligible for out- of-state nationwide wildland suppression mobilizations with various federal and state agencies.
“Studies of wildland fire risk in New York State have found the Pine Barrens region of Long Island as the area most at risk area for significant loss and damage from wildfires due to the large amount of communities living adjacent to woodlands” Central Pine Barrens Executive Director Judy Jakobsen said. “Because of this risk, the Academy in coordination with it partners at the Suffolk County Fire Academy and Suffolk County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services have focused on course offerings related to wildfire behavior and fire operations in the Wildland Urban Interface that directly relate to the risks Long Island volunteer firefighters face.”
A two-day basic leadership course Followship to Leadership, which is appropriate for all levels of supervisors especially new supervisors in any field, is also being offered.
In total, the Academy will offer 14 courses. Since the Academy was formed in 1998 it has trained over 7,300 local and emergency response personnel in incident management and wildland firefighting courses.
The Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission’s Wildfire Task Force will conduct the Academy along with a consortium of federal, state and county agencies including:
Colorado Wildland Fire and Incident Management Academy ? U.S. Department of Energy - Brookhaven National Laboratory ? Federal Emergency Management Agency ? Fire Department New York (FDNY- IMT) ? Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation ? Nassau County Office of Emergency Management ? National Park Service ? New Jersey Forest Fire Service ? NYS Department of Environmental Conservation ? NYS Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services Office of Emergency Management - Office of Fire Prevention & Control - Office of Interoperable Emergency Communications ? NYS Incident Management Team (NYS-IMT) ? NYS DEC Forest Rangers ? Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact ? Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue &Emergency Services ? Suffolk County Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation ? U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Class registrations must be received by the close of business on Monday, September 30, 2024. Students whose registrations are postmarked after this date will be assessed an additional $10 per day for each day of class enrollment.
Classes that do not meet minimum enrollment standards by October 1, 2024 will be cancelled.
Academy attendees must register online for the Academy courses at www.nywima.com.
Additional information about the Academy is on the Academy’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NYWIMA/
If you have any questions about the 2024 New York Wildfire and Incident Management Academy, you may E-Mail the Academy at nywima@pb.state.ny.us or call directly at 631-218-1195.
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The New York Wildfire & Incident Management Academy was created after the severe 1995 wildfires that occurred in Rocky Point, Ridge, Northampton and Westhampton on Long Island. These events represented the first time in recent history in which local firefighters faced wildfires of the scale and magnitude of those more commonly associated with the western United States. NYWIMA's goal is to provide all-hazards, wildfire and incident management training in a safe learning environment for first responders, public safety personnel, emergency services workers, firefighters and incident managers and to foster greater networking opportunities and partnerships among participants from federal, state and local agencies. The Academy is under the umbrella of the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy Commission, a NYS entity. NYWIMA conducts its training mission in conjunction with a vast number of cooperating, sponsoring and supporting agencies.