Nobody has reached out to me as an EQPM which is supposed to be a position that can be hard to fill…
That begs the question… Is there a market for LG single resource assignments on state fires? Does the state use LG resources on a regular basis? Maybe depends on the type of position???
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“Maybe depends on the type of position???” - Yes and VoB.
Probably not too much of a demand. Most likely random requests or networking with contacts.
Usually knowing someone on the Calfire IMT is the way to get request.
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So with this crazy fire season, have local government agencies under CFAA filled federal resource orders? If so, under who’s pay scale?
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It’s super frustrating because our agency has decided to not go at all to anything Fed… so we feel like we’ve been benched when we’re needed the most.
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My agency has sent resources (myself included) to numerous Federal fires. All under CFAA. The invoices will be processed and paid like they always are. Maybe ABQ raises a stink, maybe not. Bottom line, they will pay. The federal government needs local agency fire staff more than we need them. Supply and demand.
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Our local government mixed agency strike team has struggled to fill strike team requests to Fed fires because we have several tribal departments that will not go because they will not be paid under the CFAA.
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I have many friends who are retired federal, state and local government who were members of federal teams who have been sidelined because of the new CFAA agreement. Many of the teams are struggling filling positions with the loss of these people. It is hard to replace the experience these people brought to the teams.
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I am going to preface this with a disclaimer on the front end so there is no mis-understanding. I have no issue and am delighted that we are getting assistance from the Canadians and other States. What I find completely incongruent is that there is no issues with getting those personnel paid, while the CFAA Agreement precludes, for many differing reasons, local in-State resources from participating.
I would really hope the OES Region personnel will provide a lot of much needed clarity to the LG community once this season begins to abate some. Having very little time between the Agreement release and fire season roaring along did not provide enough time for everyone to get their concerns and questions addressed properly. Now that people and agencies are sidelined, albeit some by their agency choice is creating a real issue with adequate answers.
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I believe there is a whole staff at OES To answer questions for any Fire Chief if they call. I never had trouble getting answers when needed.
Well there is “new” management at CAL OES Fire & Rescue.this year. And with Fire & Rescue split North and South now there is no longer that strong 1 2 punch sitting in the same room and could just walk around and down the hall to Mark Ghilarducci’s office to work things out. Kim didn’t take *#@& from any outside agencie trying to out one over on local government agencies.
Hope new management is just as tough.
That is true, except in the case of Tribal agencies (Hi srffsc). Hopefully that can be rectified in the future, but who knows?
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Ghirlarducci is the one that signed the CFAA
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Just wondering if there’s anything new to come out of the 2020 fire season concerning the CFAA. Can it be revisited or revised yearly? How the changes effected how things got done.
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I received a “pink slip” so to speak from my department saying that were NOT paying for supplemental employees this year. Tribal Department. Have fun COMM folks!
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My understanding was this is in the CFAA Agreement effective 01/01/2021. If you still want to go out to help on fires you need to become a Federal AD. Of course the pay is not as good but at least you can get out to help. This has been coming for quite some time and should not be a surprise for any department.
Agreed, no department should be surprised, including the Forest Service, that because of their refusal to reimburse for “Supplemental” employees, now can not find personnel to staff their IMTs. Hence the reopening of ICAP because of the lac of people available to commit to Fed IMTs.
The result of their actions will be reimbursing LG departments the cost of their full time portal to portal employees to fill a position that previously was filled by a “Supplemental” employee earning an hourly rate capped at 16 hrs/day.
They’ve been fighting for it for several years, and now they’ve got it.
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It’s unfortunate this energy has been focused on paying cooperators less when they could be focusing on retention issues and paying their own employees what they’re worth. It’s not just IMTs that are having staffing issues.
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Is Big Bear still involved and if so how do they do it?