Well, here’s a unique version of the typical “what’s in my bag” posts that were popular circa 2014.
I’ve shared quite a bit of info about my day job, and even more info about the wildfires I work on as part of that job.
One of the tools I really rely on to do my job is what I call my PIO kit.
A PIO kit is something that’s drilled into the head of every incident PIO starting in S-203: Introduction to Incident Information.
Our workbook even came with a suggested start list for building a PIO kit, which was cool… if not a liiiittle dated.
If you’re not familiar with the concept, a PIO kit can be best-described as a mobile office. Often times, PIOs will be ordered out to incidents with zero idea of what to expect. Usually, that means you have to arrive prepared to face any working condition:
Maybe you have fantastic high speed internet… or maybe you’re lucky enough to find a slow-but-thankfully-working ethernet outlet at an old ranger station located in a phone service dead zone.
Maybe you get a folding chair and folding table… or maybe you don’t get an office space at all, and you end up seated on the dirt floor in the corner of a collapsible yurt.
Maybe you get an air conditioned conference room full of outlets… or maybe you get the cargo space of a government-plated Ford Expedition pulled over on the side of a dirt road.
Truly… anything goes.
If you’re a PIO, the needs of your kit will depend on several factors.
If I’m getting “assigned” to a fire on my forest where the ICP is based out of one of my forest office buildings… that’s great! It means I can use one of our pool cars, pack it with as much (or as little) stuff as I need, and I can drive over to whichever office we’re working out of — all of which I’m pretty familiar with and, therefore, know which amenities I’ll be greeted with.
If I’m getting assigned to an off-forest fire — or an on-forest fire where ICP is stationed at a building I’m not quite so familiar with, then it’s more of a gamble. If it’s driving distance, I can pack everything including the kitchen sink (or at least a water jug) since I’ll have a lot of vehicle cargo space to work with. If I’m flying? …I really have to pick and choose, because I get a carry-on, a personal item and two checked bags. (Keeping in mind that in addition to my PIO kit, I also have to pack things like my PPE, camera gear, laptop bag, personal bag, camping gear, food, etc.)
I’ve never flown to an incident, but I’ve heard tales of logistical nightmares from PIOs who have.
Some PIOs arrive with the bare minimum, and some load full Rigid cases stuffed with supplies.
So, with all that said, here’s what’s currently* in my PIO kit!
*I go through a lot of stuff — like painters tape and laminator sheets — really quickly, so sometimes a good amount of this stuff is out of stock and needs to be refilled. However, this is ideally what is in my kit at all times.
This isn’t everything I take on a fire — in addition to the things listed below, I also bring some of the stuff pictured above: My PPE, my personal duffel bag, my computer bag, my camera bag, snacks and food, etc.
This is just the “kit” portion of what I bring.
Note: I’ll be infrequently updating this post to reflect changes to my kit as they happen!
(Some affiliate links below.)
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WHAT’S IN MY PIO KIT:
So, “kit” is kind of a loose term. Not everything fits neatly into a box. Many of my items fit into my Pelican 1510 case, pictured above, which I outfitted with the matching lid organizer. The rest get piled up in a Rubbermaid bin, or carried in a bag, or just haphazardly tossed into an agency vehicle or a rental car.
Pencil case: Filled with black pens, red pens, blue pens, dry erase markers, permanent markers, mechanical pencils and highlighters. If you don’t use Pilot G-2 0.38 pens, you’re a monster.
Misc. office supplies: Index cards, a clip board, sheet protectors, laminating pouches, printer paper, manila envelopes, pocket reporter’s notebooks, file folders, rubber bands, thumbtacks, paper clips, 3.4-inch and 1-inch binder clips, sticky notes, a stapler (along with staples and a staple remover), a 6-inch X-Acto knife, small magnets, an 8-inch pair of scissors and a hole punch.
Tape: Masking tape, Scotch tape, Duct tape, fiber tape and painters tape. I use so much tape.
Mobile (battery-powered and Bluetooth-enabled) printer. I have an HP OfficeJet 250. I ordered this after I arrived at an early season Type 1 wildfire and was frantically scrambling to prepare for a media briefing by handwriting talking points for our fire management officers.
Scotch Thermal Laminator. A lot of what PIOs do is hanging physical copies of information up at trail heads, heavily-populated areas, etc. (we call these “trap lines”) where there often isn’t cellphone service, and it helps to have laminated info in instances of inclement weather.
Trap line materials: An Arrow T50 staple gun, an extendable magnet, a magnetic parts holder. In addition to the laminator, these (along with all the tape), help me with my trap line tasks.
Goal Zero Yeti 200X battery-powered generator. I added this to my kit after I arrived at a wildfire’s Incident Command Post (ICP) during Initial Attack (IA) only to discover it was a decommissioned fire station without heat, electricity or WiFi. This is really useful if I’m working in the field or even if I end up with a rental car that has broken USB chargers.
Cords, cables and chargers: I have spare iPhone cords (and blocks) as well as chargers for my printer and generator. I also carry a power strip, an extra computer charger (I forget mine often) and a MagSafe phone battery pack.
- I love these cable labels and these stretchy magnetic cable ties for keeping everything organized.
FORMS: Because I work for the government! I carry physical copies of several of my forms and manuals: a PIO incident organizer, a contact log, a CTR book, ICS-213s, ICS-214s, an IRPG and an Incident Within an Incident (IWI) action checklist. I also bring physical maps of incident locations if I’m able to get them in advance.
Misc. stuff: Name tags, flash drives, a headset (this is great if you end up working phone lines in a busy room. My headset is USB-C compatible so it works with phones or Google Voice) and extra pre-printed equipment labels with my name and phone number.
Extras of: T50 staples, printer ink cartridges, AA batteries, AAA batteries — a lot of the previously-mentioned office supplies.
Misc. personal stuff: Instant coffee, hair ties, individually-packaged Lysol wipes and extra dry shampoo.
SHOP MY PIO KIT:
Listed products may include affiliate links
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HOW TO BUILD A PIO KIT:
Working to assemble your own PIO kit? Here are a few tips:
Start small, and then allow your kit to slowly grow to meet your needs. If I followed that guide I screenshotted above, I’d have a TON of useless shit. Think about what supplies you use for your day-to-day job, and start with those. Then, expand as you see fit.
Seek out opportunities to restock your kit on fires. If you’re running low on staples, printer ink, laminator sheets, sticky notes, whatever — fires are a great time to think ahead and restock supplies you know you burn through frequently, like tape and batteries.
Make sure you can carry your kit. I’ve already outgrown my Pelican case, but I have no desire to upgrade to a larger case because it’ll likely be too heavy for me to lift in and out of agency vehicles. Instead, I’ll just add a second, separate case.
Label everything. EVERYTHING. Use a label maker to print your name and phone number on a ton of stickers, and then label every single thing inside your kit. It seems like overkill, but when you’re working with half a dozen other PIOs in an office meant for one, you’re going to be grateful to know which phone cord (and the accompanying charging block) are yours. Also — label both ends of your cords. When you’re borrowing power strips and plugging/ unplugging devices, it’s nice to look at a power strip and know exactly which cord is which.
Keep everything organized. I linked my favorite cable labels and cable ties above – find a similar method of keeping your case clean and accessible.
Prep your kit before the fire season starts. Make sure everything is functioning, prepped and ready. Put fresh ink cartridges in your printer, load up your stapler, swap out an expired IRPG for the new version, make sure your printer is charged, etc. When a fire happens, it happens. (Just ask me about the Tunnel Fire.) IA happens quickly, so every second you can save by not frantically scrambling to find a spare iPhone cord counts.
Talk to other PIOs to find out what works for them. The aforementioned trapline-obsessed PIO suggested an extendable magnet and a magnetic bowl for traplines — he uses both to collect and dispose of errant staples. Brilliant! I never would have thought of those tools if he hadn’t mentioned them to me. There are a ton of great resources for connecting PIOs, ranging from informal Facebook groups to the more official Incident Management Response Roundtable discussions that happen monthly.
Try to avoid spending your own money on kit supplies. I know it’s super tempting to just pick up a box of staples here and a spare flash drive there — but these are work tools for work. Have work pay for them if it’s at all possible. Outside of restocking during a fire assignment: If you’re working for or sponsored by an agency, ask about opportunities to pick through agency supply closets or caches. Ask if there’s a budget code you can use to order supplies for your kit. If you’re a part of the PIO Facebook groups, keep an eye out for retirees, who often give away or sell their old kit supplies at low costs. If you absolutely have to order supplies with your own personal money, Harbor Freight is a great place to order things at a low cost.
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And that’s it! Hopefully this helps you if you’re working to build out your own PIO kit. And, if you’re not? Hopefully you at least found this interesting?
This post was originally published July 22, 2023. It was last updated July 26, 2024.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my disclosure policy.
