Human resources

(a) Competencies for firefighters The Secretaries, in coordination with the Fire Executive Council, shall task the National Wildfire Coordinating Group with the duty to adjust training requirements to obtain a certification to serve in a supervisory role for a prescribed fire and any other positions determined to be necessary by the Secretaries— (1) in order to reduce the time required to obtain such a certification; and (2) such that significant experience, gained exclusively during a prescribed fire, is required to obtain such a certification. (b) Enhancing interoperability between Federal and non-Federal practitioners (1) Qualification databases and dispatch systems The Secretaries shall establish, to the extent practicable, a collaborative process to create mechanisms for non-Federal fire practitioners to be included in prescribed fire and wildfire resource ordering and reimbursement processes. (2) Partnership agreements The Secretaries may— (A) develop partnership agreements for prescribed fire with all relevant State, Federal, Tribal, university, and nongovernmental entities that choose to be included in resource ordering and reimbursement processes under paragraph (1); (B) create agreements and structures necessary to include non-Federal and other nontraditional partners in direct work with Federal agencies to address prescribed fires; and (C) treat any prescribed fire practitioner meeting the National Wildfire Coordinating Group standards as eligible to be included in statewide participating agreements.

(a) Competencies for firefighters The Secretaries, in coordination with the Fire Executive Council, shall task the National Wildfire Coordinating Group with the duty to adjust training requirements to obtain a certification to serve in a supervisory role for a prescribed fire and any other positions determined to be necessary by the Secretaries— (1) in order to reduce the time required to obtain such a certification; and (2) such that significant experience, gained exclusively during a prescribed fire, is required to obtain such a certification. (b) Enhancing interoperability between Federal and non-Federal practitioners (1) Qualification databases and dispatch systems The Secretaries shall establish, to the extent practicable, a collaborative process to create mechanisms for non-Federal fire practitioners to be included in prescribed fire and wildfire resource ordering and reimbursement processes. (2) Partnership agreements The Secretaries may— (A) develop partnership agreements for prescribed fire with all relevant State, Federal, Tribal, university, and nongovernmental entities that choose to be included in resource ordering and reimbursement processes under paragraph (1); (B) create agreements and structures necessary to include non-Federal and other nontraditional partners in direct work with Federal agencies to address prescribed fires; and (C) treat any prescribed fire practitioner meeting the National Wildfire Coordinating Group standards as eligible to be included in statewide participating agreements.