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The purpose of this course is to provide students with the skills and knowledge needed to serve as public information officers (PIOF). The course covers establishing and maintaining an incident information operation, communicating with internal and external audiences, working with the news media, handling special situations, and long term planning and strategy.
Format
Format
This course will use a combination of live screen casts, group exercises, self-study assignments, and quizzes to meet the course objectives followed by a final exam and simulation.
The instructor will lead you through the 32 hours of coursework, assigning exercises that will be accomplished through self-study or group screencasts. Quizzes and group presentations will be used to assess learning.
You must achieve a score of at least 70% on the exam and successfully participate in the final simulation to pass the course.
Students are expected to attend all screencast sessions, whether instructor-led or in groups, and to participate in group presentations.
Materials
Materials
There are quite a lot of course materials that you will need to access. There will be a 'MATERIALS' section at the bottom of each unit with materials that you will use in that unit. Some of these documents you may want to print, like the student workbook. It may be a little challenging to access digital materials while you are participating in a screen conference, a common challenge during an active incident. This class gives us an opportunity to develop best practices for how we deal with a distributed, remote workforce as this is becoming more of the norm rather than exception.
The student workbook and the course prework can be found at the bottom of this page. Please complete the prework and submit it before class begins.
The Zoom conferencing app will be used for the live screencast portions of the class. The link above will get you to all class activities throughout the course. You will need to set up your system to use Zoom. It is important that you test Zoom on your system before the morning of the class so we can minimize troubleshooting time. If you have any issues with Zoom, please contact one of the instructors so we can help walk you through the process.
group exercises:
group exercises:
The instructors will assign you to groups that you will likely be with throughout the course, with the exception of the Final Simulation. During group exercises you will be sent to 'Group Rooms' where your group will be alone to work on the exercise. The instructors will occasionally pop in to check on you, and you can call them into the room anytime you need assistance.
Each group member will be given access to a Google Drive folder with subfolders for each unit. This is where you will complete and submit your work. It is important that you are able to access Google drive.
Please complete the Pre-work Questionnaire and the Additional Required Pre-work listed below prior to the first day of class!
Please complete the Pre-work Questionnaire and the Additional Required Pre-work listed below prior to the first day of class!
Additional REQUIRED Pre-work:
Additional REQUIRED Pre-work:
1) Confirm you are able to access the ZOOM account. Good speakers or headphones and a quiet workspace will be a must to get the most out of this course.
2) Complete the FEMA independent study online course, ICS-100 Introduction to Incident Command System @ https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-100.c, if you are not familiar with the Incident Command System. This will require a FEMA SID#. If you do not have one, the class registration will direct you on how to obtain your number. *As of 3/3/26, the FEMA sponsored course is not available due to shutdown/funding issues. Please contact an instructor if you need ICS-100 and the shutdown continues.
ICS-100 describes the history, features, principles, purpose and organizational structure of the Incident Command System (ICS) and provides the foundation for ICS training.
3) If you do not have any wildland incident experience you must complete S-110, Basic Wildland Fire Orientation @ https://www.wildlandfirelearningportal.net/course/view.php?id=4508.
This class video provides essential information for individuals interested in wildland fire management and contains particularly useful information for non-fire management employees who are new to the world of wildland fire.
The video includes information on personal preparedness and responsibility, mobilization, incident procedures, proper clothing and equipment, and living conditions in wildland fire camps.
*Submit both certificates in the Certificate Drop Box Below*
4) All students must have a FaceBook page. The page does not have to be personal, feel free to create a work related account. Become familiar with the basic functions prior to the start of the course.
5) a. All students need a FAMAuth Account through the Wildland Fire Application Portal. https://famauth.wildfire.gov/index.html. If you are a Government employee, please use the "eAuth" login. If you are a partner or AD, please use the "Login.Gov" option.
b. Once authenticated in the system, navigate to the InciWeb App. Once in the InciWeb App, you will need to link your FAMAuth Account to InciWeb. Instructions to do this are on the login page.
6) Familiarize yourself with the public side of Inciweb, found @ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/. Explore the site and all its options. We will learn how to create and update incidents on this site.
7) Be sure to review your work regulations regarding personal Social Media accounts.
8) Download TEAMS @ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/download-app. Become familiar with the program and its functions. We will briefly cover TEAMS during the course.
Additional Recommendations for Wildland Fire Information Officers:
If you plan to work on wildland fire incidents, it is highly recommended that you have a FIRENET account prior to accepting an assignment. We will go over FIRENET during the class. A security test and a government employee sponsor are required to request an account. To learn more and start the process, visit https://www.firenet.gov/.
Student Workbook
Student Workbook
S-203_Student Workbook.pdfPage updated
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