In partnership with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and San Diego Gas & Electric Utility, MCS has initiated development of L-580: Leadership is Action, a new training program for senior leaders in incident response. Designed as an interactive case study of San Diego County’s catastrophic fires, the program takes participants through the challenges of managing very large and complex emergencies.
Currently the highest level leader-development program within the National Wildfire Coordination Group (NWCG) leadership curriculum, L-580 targets people in both emergency response and public administration: incident leaders and team members of complex incidents; senior leaders of emergency response agencies, public utilities and other critical infrastructure organizations; leaders in the agency administrator role; elected officials and appointees.
The program aims to create a rich learning experience that enables participants to return to their organizations with new experiences, knowledge, and tools that better equip them for the complex incidents of the future.
Participants strengthen proficiency in advanced competencies:
- Developing and maintaining the big-picture perspective that incorporates high-level political considerations
- Conducting strategic planning beyond what ICS processes offer now
- Establishing decentralized mission command models and intent-based operations to optimize incident response structures
The program encompasses a variety of learning events:
- Discussions on topics vital to future large-scale incident management
- Facilitated site visits of extreme fires
- Personal accounts of experiences in devastating fires from highly-respected senior leaders
- A hands-on scenario to apply concepts and tools
In December 2013, MCS briefed the program design to the NWCG L-580 Committee and Leadership Sub Committee in San Diego. The briefing included facilitated site visits and leaders’ personal accounts of the 2003 Cedar Fire.
This project represents a new paradigm of private-public partnership for emergency management professional development. A generous donation from San Diego Gas & Electric funded the launch of the project development phase. The vision is to fund the entire program, including tuition, through private donations so that participants cover only travel costs to San Diego.
