Training for Managing Cultural Resources

Although there are no official training programs that certify people specifically to protect cultural resources during fires, resource advisors who have fire training can provide that service. The rule for federal agencies is that, in order to work on the fire site, a Resource Advisor is required to have completed the following training courses: S-130, Basic Firefighting; S-190, Basic Fire Behavior; eight hours of Standards for Survival, and a red card (NWCG 1996). The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (1996) also recommends that Resource Advisors on fire events complete the following courses: Incident Command System Course (I-300), Fire Operations in the Urban Interface (S-205), Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior (S-290), Field Observer (S-244), Introduction to Fire Effects (RX-340), Fire in Ecosystem Management, and National Park and Wilderness Fire Management. Cultural resource protection is discussed as part of numerous firefighter training courses (Knudsen 1996; NIFC 1995; Pilles 1982). In addition, several courses have been developed specifically to train resource advisors in the protection of cultural resources from fire (NPS 2000; NWCG 1996; Ryan 2001). Thus, most fire workers also learn about cultural resource issues which increases the likelihood that they will be protected during fire incidents (Powell 1987).

Weaver Listening to the Burn Plan at the
Texas Wildfire Academy, October 2003

Texas Wildland Fire Academy October 2003