Wildfire and Incident Management Academy To offer Free Class for Military Veterans

The Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission’s Wildfire Task Force will offer a class in wildfire training free to military veterans from Nassau and Suffolk counties at the 19th Annual New York Wildfire and Incident Management Academy this October.

Expanding a long tradition of offering Basic Firefighting and Wildfire Behavior free to local volunteer firefighters, the Academy will now offer the class to local veterans as well. According to the United States Forest Service, generally considered to be the nation’s largest wildland firefighting agency, military veterans account for 12 percent of the agency’s employees.

“Like all Americans we all owe our veterans a great deal of thanks for their service and for what they do to protect us,” Central Pine Barrens Commission Executive Director John Pavacic said. “The logistical and team building skills that military veterans learn during their enlistment easily transfers to occupations such as wildland firefighting, which frequently requires intense physical effort, the ability to work as a team member and the ability to make tactical decisions under stressful conditions.”

The course, which can be taken as either over the course of five days at the Academy or as an online course with a two-day field class, is required by federal and state wildland firefighting agencies for anyone planning on beginning a wildland firefighting career.

“Besides being a requirement for individuals interested in pursuing a wildland firefighting career, this course provides a strong foundation for local volunteers who heroically wage battles against Long Island’s fast moving forest fires,” said Pavacic. “A number of studies of the wildland fire risk in New York State have found that the Pine Barrens region of Long Island is the area most at risk area for fires that have the potential to impact communities. Knowing the basics of fire behavior and factors impacting fire intensity can only make our volunteer firefighters safer, which is the Academy’s ultimate goal.”

The Academy, which will be held at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton and the Suffolk County Fire Academy in Yaphank from October 20 to October 30, will offer 25 courses this year. More than 7,100 individuals have taken classes in wildland firefighting and incident management since the Academy was formed in 1998.

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.

Class registrations must be received by the close of business on Monday, September 26, 2016.

Academy attendees are encouraged to register online for the Academy at www.nywima.com.

Additional information about the Academy is available at the Academy’s website: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/73.html or on the Academy’s Facebook page.

For additional information, call 631-769-1556 or email nywima@pb.state.ny.us.

The Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission was established by the New York State Legislature to protect and preserve drinking water and other natural resources in the Central Pine Barrens region. In addition to its regional land use planning, land preservation and regulatory functions, the Commission supports relevant scientific research and oversees the work of three committees which aid the Commission, the Protected Lands Council, Law Enforcement Council and Wildfire Task Force, and also manages a Compliance and Enforcement Division, an Education and Outreach Division, and the Pine Barrens Credit Transfer of Development Rights Program.

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