January 2023: Become a Wildland Firefighting Vendor: Forest Service and CAL FIRE

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Interested in becoming a wildland firefighting vendor? Now is the time to get set up with the Forest Service’s vendor portal (VIPR), and the CAL FIRE Hired Equipment application. We will be joined by a special guest presenter from CAL FIRE to discuss their Hired Equipment program as well as a contracting officer from the US Forest Service to discuss their procurement systems, specifically VIPR.

The Virtual Incident Procurement (VIPR) is an electronic bidding and award system used by the Forest Service for wildland firefighting solicitations. VIPR allows the Forest Service to solicit bids for what are known as “blanket purchase agreements” during the off-season so that they have a ready list of vendors they can call when a wildfire breaks out later in the year. These solicitations typically open up in the middle of January or February and close in March, so now is the time to get prepared. 

The equipment needs opening up in the 2023 season for the Forest Service include: 

• Bus, Crew Carrier
• Faller, Single, and Module
• Fuel Tender
• Heavy Equipment (Dozer, Excavator, Tractor Plow, Transport)
• Mechanic w/ Service Truck
• Mobile Laundry
• Vehicle w/ Driver

The state of California also solicits firefighting equipment and services from private vendors with their CAL FIRE Hired Equipment Program in the form of Emergency Equipment Rental Agreements (EERAs). Similar to the VIPR, there is a process to sign up for open-ended agreements if you have the right equipment so that you may get calls during fire season if the need arises in your region. But there are key differences, which we’ll go over.

Webinar Topics Include:

• Prerequisites for registering in VIPR
• How to register and add resources in VIPR and submit quotes 
• Prerequisites for CAL FIRE’s Hired Equipment Program
• How to sign up for the Hired Equipment Program
• Differences between the Forest Service and the CAL FIRE processes