Mission
Provides all-risk incident communications support to wildland fire, law enforcement, and natural or man-made disasters.
Operations Plan
The scope of operations is national and international in nature. The Branch will maintain the capability to respond with qualified personnel to any type of incident, regardless of the agency involved. Branch personnel will coordinate and remain active with other response agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), United States Coast Guard (USCG), Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), and the Office of Disaster Assistance (OFDA) through the USDA-Forest Service International Forestry program. Priorities for response will be established by the Division Chief based on direction from the NIFC Governing Board and in coordination with the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC). Non-emergency support includes the direct involvement with the NIICD Engineering and Development Branch for researching and testing new technologies to incorporate into the NIICD or to assist with the development of national communications operations policies or procedures.
Operations Branch Projects
The Operations Branch is involved in many projects, from helping to arrange secure communications during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, to military aviation communications support for counter-drug operations and wildfire support, to geographic area communications coordination during large fire operations. The Operations Branch is constantly assisting agencies to meet their communications needs.
Contact the Operations Branch
