Wildfire IT Rental Equipment

CIO FIT supports Forest Service and partner agencies in wildland fire and emergency management. Much of the emergency management activity occurs in the field, in close proximity to wildfires or other emergencies, and is comprised of interagency personnel. This interagency effort includes USDA-Forest Service, Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management (DOI - BLM), National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Department of Homeland Security – Federal Emergency Management Administration (DHS-FEMA), State Forestry Agencies from all 50 States and many Municipal Agencies, Tribal, County and Local Governments and Non-Government and public partners.

Rental IT equipment is heavily used across the country in the emergency response effort. Previous contracts with rental vendors have been region specific or nationwide but all such contracts are expired. Information is requested by the USDA Forest Service to determine how to best meet the national interagency need for rental IT equipment contractually.

Equipment that is typically rented includes standard (non-ruggedized) laptop computers with standardized end user specifications and a separate class of laptop computers with specifications for geospatial applications. Additional equipment necessary to support incident management includes networking equipment, printers, associated peripherals, cellular capable tablets, and audio/visual equipment. The duration of use for equipment rented during a specific incident can range from two weeks to several months depending on the requirements of the emergency and the management personnel assigned to it. At the conclusion of the Government’s use of the equipment, it is returned to the contractor and the contractor can prepare the equipment to be reissued as the Government need arises.