125 additional Oregon National Guard members, activated by Oregon Governor Kate Brown to assist with ongoing firefighting efforts in southern Oregon, have completed their wildland firefighter “red card” training at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST), in Salem, Oregon and departed the Oregon Public Safety Academy at 1100 am for the Chetco Fire near Brookings, Oregon. This group, known as NG-2, is the second team activated this year by Governor Kate Brown at the request of the Oregon Department of Forestry to help support fire fighting efforts around the state. The first group of more than 100 citizen-soldiers and citizen-airmen (NG-1), deployed and trained last week, was initially at the High Cascades Complex fire but was reassigned to the Horse Prairie Fire today. Governor Brown approved a third request from the Oregon Department of Forestry for activation of an additional 125 citizen-soldiers from the Oregon National Guard yesterday afternoon. This group will be known as NG-3 and will arrive at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem, Oregon on Thursday afternoon. Wildland firefighting equipment will be sized and issued to these personnel upon their arrival. This group will receive the same training class that all public and private wildland firefighters receive but over four long days of training, instead of the traditional five 8-hour day format. Training will include both classroom, hands-on, and live-fire training classes. The fire that NG-3 will be dispatched to on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 is still to be determined. The Oregon National Guard has an ongoing agreement with the Oregon Department of Forestry known as Operation Plan Smokey, which stipulates the details of how Oregon National Guard members will be utilized to assist in annual firefighting efforts. This agreement is reviewed annually by leadership of both agencies. The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) operates the Oregon Public Safety Academy, which spans more than 235 acres in Salem, Oregon. The academy is nationally recognized for its innovative training programs and active stakeholder involvement. DPSST implements minimum standards established by the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training for recruitment and training of city, county and state police, corrections officers, parole and probation officers, fire service personnel, emergency telecommunicators and private security providers. DPSST conducts public safety training throughout Oregon and at the central academy in Salem; certifies qualified officers at various levels from basic through executive; certifies qualified instructors; and inspects and accredits training programs throughout the state based on standards established by the board.
