CA-RX State-Certified Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss

Funding for this project provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Business and Workforce Development Grants as part of the California Climate Investments Program

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S-112 INTRODUCTION TO CHAIN SAWS
01-08-2027 8:00 am - 01-10-2027 6:00 pm
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Price: Free
Good Fire Training Network · California State Fire Training

CA-RX

State-Certified Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss

California State Fire Training’s 40-hour instructor-led certification course in prescribed-fire planning, permitting, fire behavior, smoke management, burn plan development and operational leadership.

Plan the burn. Lead the operation. Manage the risk.
COURSESFT CA-RX (2020)
DURATION40 Hours / 5 Days
DELIVERYInstructor-Led + Simulations
CLASS SIZEMaximum 30

Course Information

This State Fire Training course develops the skills needed to plan and manage prescribed fire on California state and private lands. It incorporates curriculum elements from NWCG RX-301, RX-341 and RX-410.

Students practice prescribed-fire burn plan development, fire behavior modeling, smoke management reporting, incident action planning, operational briefings and simulated prescribed-fire implementation.

Course completion is not the same as state certification. Students must complete the separate State Fire Training certification application and task book process.

Required Learning Areas

  • Certification and task book process
  • California fire history and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
  • Prescribed-fire laws and liability
  • Fire behavior and weather
  • Burn plan development and fire modeling
  • Permitting, PFIRS and smoke management
  • Incident action plans and operational briefings
  • Simulated burn operations and after-action review

Official SFT Prerequisites

All required prerequisite coursework, firing requirements and leadership requirements must be satisfied before admission to the instructor-led course.

Required Coursework — All Four

  • IS-100 — Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • S-190 — Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior
  • S-130 — Firefighter Training
  • S-290 — Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior: four-day instructor-led classroom course or the current NWCG S-290 blended course (online preparation plus required instructor-led component). Online-only S-290 is not accepted.

Firing Requirement — One Pathway

Option A: Qualified NWCG/CICCS Firing Boss (FIRB).

OR Option B: Equivalent firing experience and one of S-219, CA-219, C-234 or S-234.

Leadership Requirement — One Pathway

  • S-131 Advanced Firefighter
  • OR L-280 Followership to Leadership
  • OR qualified NWCG/CICCS FFT1
  • OR equivalent leadership experience

Student Preparation

Bring training documentation for verification. Students need a laptop with internet access and power supply, hard hat, boots, and assigned course reference materials. PFIRS training-platform access is provided or arranged by instructors.

Prerequisite notice: For this CA-RX offering, the four-day instructor-led S-290 or the current NWCG blended S-290 with its required instructor-led component is accepted as prerequisite training. Online-only S-290 is not accepted. The published March 2023 SFT course plan specifies classroom S-290; acceptance of the newer blended format should be verified with SFT before enrollment is finalized. Equivalency and experience determinations must follow SFT requirements; the training provider cannot waive them independently.

Five-Day Course Itinerary

Proposed instructional sequence aligned to SFT course topics and required activities. Each day includes eight instructional hours, 8:00 AM–12:00 PM and 1:00–5:00 PM; lunch 12:00–1:00 PM is excluded. The registered instructor must finalize the lesson plan and validate required lecture, activity and testing allocations.

Day 1 — Foundations, Certification & California Law
8:00–9:00
Orientation, course expectations, SFT certification and task book process (Unit 1).
9:00–10:30
California fire history, ecology, Indigenous cultural burning and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (Topic 2-1).
10:30–12:00
Applicable state, federal and local laws, authorities, liability and due diligence (Topic 2-2).
1:00–2:00
Permits, AHJs, air districts, CEQA/NEPA applicability, implementation options and stakeholder relationships.
2:00–4:00
Fire behavior case studies: fuels, weather, topography, diurnal winds, inversions and fuel moisture (Topic 3-1).
4:00–5:00
Fire behavior case studies, group application and review.
Day 2 — Fire Behavior, Modeling & Burn Plan Development
8:00–9:00
Fire behavior, weather and fuels applications; spot forecast interpretation.
9:00–10:00
Burn plan components, objectives, project description, maps and prescription parameters.
10:00–12:00
Activity 3-2b: model prescription parameters using BehavePlus or Fireline Handbook Appendix B.
1:00–3:00
Activity 3-2b continued: fire modeling, assumptions, analysis and outputs.
3:00–5:00
Activity 3-2a: develop burn plan—objectives, prescription, risk analysis and resources.
Day 3 — Burn Plans, Approvals & Smoke Management
8:00–10:00
Activity 3-2a: ignition, holding, contingency, go/no-go, wildfire conversion and postburn criteria.
10:00–12:00
Activity 3-2a: burn plan development and review with maps and resource requirements.
1:00–3:00
Activity 3-2a: burn plan presentations, feedback and revision.
3:00–3:30
Permitting and approval processes; AHJ, air district, notification and smoke requirements.
3:30–5:00
Activity 3-3: PFIRS training-platform smoke-management plan and local reporting requirements.
Day 4 — Incident Action Plans & Operational Briefings
8:00–9:00
Burn implementation: staffing, organization, communications, logistics and notifications.
9:00–11:00
Activity 3-4a: develop IAP with objectives, organization, medical, weather, maps and communications.
11:00–12:00
Activity 3-4a: incident action plan refinement and logistical coordination.
1:00–2:00
Activity 3-4a: present operational briefings, leader’s intent and risk controls.
2:00–4:00
Activity 3-4b: simulated student-led prescribed-fire operation; test fire, go/no-go and resource coordination.
4:00–5:00
Activity 3-4b: changing conditions, contingency actions, notifications and fireline communications.
Day 5 — Operational Simulation, Assessment & Certification Pathway
8:00–9:00
Activity 3-4b: complete prescribed-fire operations simulation and documentation.
9:00–10:00
Activity 3-4b: postburn procedures, mop-up, patrol, transfer and after-action review.
10:00–12:00
Integrated case study: apply prescribed-fire planning, legal, weather and operational concepts.
1:00–2:00
Burn plan and operational decision-making review; instructor-led formative assessment.
2:00–4:00
Summative testing (2 hours allocated by SFT course plan; minimum 80% score).
4:00–5:00
Final course activities, remediation guidance, task book application and certification next steps.
Schedule notice: This is a proposed daily teaching order, not a reproduction of an SFT-issued day-by-day agenda. SFT requires all listed activities, formative assessments, summative tests and instructional objectives. Instructor lesson plans must confirm the official contact-hour allocations.

Mandatory Student Activities

Burn Plan Development

Develop and present a burn plan including project objectives, prescriptions, ignition, holding, contingency, go/no-go, conversion, maps and postburn criteria.

Fire Modeling

Use BehavePlus or Fireline Handbook Appendix B to develop and justify prescription parameters.

PFIRS Smoke Plan

Use the PFIRS training platform to create a smoke-management plan; cover local reporting systems where applicable.

IAP & Briefing

Develop an Incident Action Plan with logistical support needs and present an operational briefing.

Burn Simulation

Participate in a student-led prescribed-fire simulation including communication, changing conditions and an after-action review.

Course Assessment

Complete all activities and formative tests; pass summative tests with a minimum score of 80%.

Required Materials & Equipment

Student Equipment

  • Laptop with internet access, charger and power supply
  • Hard hat and boots
  • Incident Response Pocket Guide (provided by instructor)
  • PFIRS training login arranged by instructor
  • Assigned burn plan, ICS, regulatory and fire behavior reference materials

Training Resources

  • Classroom with internet, projector and screen
  • Burn plan examples and ICS 201 templates
  • PFIRS training platform
  • Fire modeling tools / Fireline Handbook Appendix B
  • Incident within an Incident and medical reporting forms
  • Simulated incident scenarios and operational maps

Certification & Task Book

Successful course completion supports the State-Certified Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss certification pathway but does not itself award certification. Candidates must apply through State Fire Training, obtain the required certification task book, complete its job performance requirements with evaluator verification, and meet all current SFT certification and recertification rules.

Official source: California State Fire Training — State-Certified Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss. Based on the SFT 2020 Course Plan, revised March 2023.

Important: The official PDF’s course details specify 40 total hours, while its final timetable contains inconsistent totals (including a 38-hour figure). This page uses the 40-hour course requirement. The registered instructor should resolve the timetable discrepancy with SFT before approving the final lesson plan.

Plan Carefully. Lead Confidently. Burn Responsibly.

Good Fire Training Network · California Prescribed Fire Training

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