Some big day job-related news!
I recently opened my Complex-level Public Information Officer (PIO / PIOC) task book, which brings me one step closer to working as a lead PIO role on big, complex wildfires (and other incidents) across the country.
Will I make more money for doing this? Absolutely the hell not. Am I going to pursue it anyway due to a deep love of my job and a deep sense of civic responsibility? Of course.
I’ve talked a bit about my job around here before, but if you’re new here, to recap — I’m a Public Affairs Specialist formally (Deputy Public Affairs Officer, casually) employed (for now, fingers crossed it stays that way) by a federal agency focused on forestry and wildfire.
As a cool part of my job, I get to work as a PIO on wildfires.
Working on wildfires is, by and far, my favorite part of my job. Since I started my job in late 2020, I’ve worked pretty diligently to take all the classes and requisite training needed to pursue higher and higher qualifications so I can work on more complex wildfires during the spring, summer and fall months.
I’m finally at the last step — pursuing my PIOC qualifications!
Head’s up, this is a text-heavy, niche-focused post… so you can stop reading now if you’re not truly interested in Incident Command System structure.
Before you get much further, here’s a little recap of wildfire lingo/ terminology and a bit of an explainer post as to what I do, if you need it.
The PIO qualifications system was revamped within the past few years from the old ladder (PIOF to PIO2 to PIO1) to the existing ladder (PIOT to PIO3 to PIOC).
So, I figured I’d take a second to explain not only where I’m at in my PIO journey, but also what, exactly, that journey entails if you’re following the new pathway.
Because the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)’s flowchart is a little confusing if you’re new here.
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PIOT – PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER TECHNICIAN
Contrary to popular belief, the “T” in “PIOT” does not stand for trainee. It actually stands for technician.
This is the first step for a lot of PIOs. It’s a great stand-alone qualification and a great way to get entry-level PIO experience. A lot of agency employees (whether firefighters looking for a light-duty assignment, or customer service representatives looking for some extra overtime) can obtain PIOT qualifications fairly easily.
If you’re just looking to take some summer fire assignments answering hotline calls, or stapling things to boards… PIOT is your best bet! Don’t worry, you won’t be organizing public meetings or anything super intense with this qualification.
A lot of the requirements listed below are already mandatory for most other Incident Command System positions, so if you’ve been working in incident response for a while, it’s pretty likely that you’ve actually already taken most (if not all) of the following classes.
If not, most of them are available online, for free! So they’re totally accessible, which makes this an easy PIO qualification to obtain.
Class requirements:
- S-110: Basic Wildland Fire Orientation.
- ICS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command System.
- ICS-200: ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents.
- IS-700 (Also known as I-700, or ICS-700): National Incident Management System, An Introduction
- RT-130*: Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) (also known as “the refresher,” or just “refresher”). This has to be taken every year to maintain qualifications.
Other requirements:
- Nothing! Just talk to your unit’s training officer to see if you can get PIO Technician qualifications added to your red card if you’ve taken all the classes.
- A quick note: While many roles require “work capacity tests,” (aka: fitness tests, commonly known as “pack tests,”) the PIO roles do not. The only exception? If you’re planning on going out to a fire line unescorted, you have to fitness test at a light capacity. This applies to all PIO roles.
After the PIOT role, you have the PIO3 role.
PIO3 – TYPE 3 PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
This is the qualification I held for a while, up until this summer, as the lead PIO on the Northern Arizona Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT).
The PIO3 role is designed with a bit more of a leadership role. While a lot of PIO3s don’t pursue IMT leadership and instead, prefer to simply work on an IMT (either Type 3 or Complex), the PIO3 task book is set up in a way that trains a PIO to be a Type 3 PIO lead if necessary.
Once you open up a task book, you officially become a PIO3 Trainee, and once you complete all of the following and get approved by a committee, you’ll become a qualified PIO3.
Class requirements:
- All of the PIO Technician classes, plus
- L-180: Human Factors in the Wildland Fire Service, S-130: Firefighter Training, S-190: Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior. (These are offered as a single class, usually about a week long, and often referred to as “130/190.”)
- S-203: Introduction to Incident Information
- L-180: Human Factors in the Wildland Fire Service
- ICS-300 (Also known as I-300, or ICS-300): Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents
- ICS-400 (Also known as I-400, or ICS-400): Advanced ICS for Command and General Staff
- IS-800 (Also known as I-800, or ICS-800: National Response Framework, an Introduction
- RT-130*: Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR)
*This has to be taken every year to maintain qualifications.
Other requirements:
- Experience as a PIOT.
- A task book. A task book is what I have a photo of above. It’s basically a list of tasks, such as “conduct a media interview,” “host a fire line visit for VIPs,” “assemble a PIO kit,” “write a news release,” etc. The PIO3 task book is 20 pages long. Once you start it, you have three years to complete it by performing all the tasks under the supervision of a qualified PIO3 (or higher) and having that supervisory PIO sign off on an evaluation. This task book will go before a committee for approval.
- Reiterating from above: While many roles require “work capacity tests,” (aka: fitness tests, commonly known as “pack tests,”) the PIO roles do not. The only exception? If you’re planning on going out to a fire line unescorted, you have to fitness test at a light capacity. This applies to all PIO roles.
PIOC – COMPLEX PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
Once you get qualified as a PIO3, you can open your PIOC task book to become a PIOC trainee… which is where I’m at right now.
Once I finish the following list of classes, complete my task book and its evaluation, and get signed-off by the “red card committee,” I’ll be qualified to work as a lead PIO on a Complex Incident Management Team (CIMT, also called “CIM teams,” pronounced “sim team.”)
Class requirements:
- All of the PIO3 requirements, plus
- S-420: Command and General Staff or L-481: Advanced Leadership for Command and General Staff or 0305/ O-305: Type 3 All-Hazard Incident Management Team* (One of these classes must be taken before opening up a PIOC task book – I took O-305 to open my task book.)
- S-520: Advanced Incident Management or Complex Incident Management Course (CIMC)
- RT-130: The refresher listed above again and again!
Other requirements:
- Experience as a PIO3 (or experience as another complex-level safety, operations, logistics or planning position*).
*This pathway comes with a secondary class that needs to be taken. - A (new and second) PIO task book. The 16-page PIOC task book is a bit different than the PIO3 task book, but it’s the same concept. A trainee has three years to complete it under supervision, and needs to have evaluations conducted along the way.
- Reiterating from above: While many roles require “work capacity tests,” (aka: fitness tests, commonly known as “pack tests,”) the PIO roles do not. The only exception? If you’re planning on going out to a fire line unescorted, you have to fitness test at a light capacity. This applies to all PIO roles.
This is a bit wonky, because there are still a few PIO2s floating around that were qualified under the old system. Those PIO2s have an expedited path to PIOC qualification (highlighted on NWCG’s website), but if you’re like me and were resting at a PIOF/PIO3, you’ll have to follow the above steps.
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And that’s about it! I just wanted to share a bit of good work-related news given *gestures wildly* everything.
And, if you’re pursuing a career as a PIO, hopefully this helped you out a bit. If you have any questions, feel free to use the contact form on my site here, or — if you know my federal email address and I’m still employed — reach out with questions!
My views are mine alone and don’t represent those of my employer, agency or the United States government. All photos were taken by me and/or credited photographer unless otherwise noted. You can read more on my disclosure and privacy policy page.
