NCFS FP Emergency Services for Wildland Firefighter Crews

The North Carolina Forest Service (NCFS), a division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is requesting bids for Type 2 Initial Attack wildland firefighter crews to support fire suppression, fuel mitigation, all-hazard incidents, and severity assignments statewide, with bids due August 14, 2026, and mandatory pre-bid conference on July 22, 2026.

Crews must maintain a designated dispatch point within 30 miles of the Asheville regional office and achieve HUB participation goals of 10% diverse subcontractor utilization. Each crew comprises 20 personnel (minimum 18 allowed), including one Crew Boss, three Incident Commander Type 5 personnel, three qualified sawyers, and firefighters meeting prescribed experience and certification requirements. Contractors must furnish all personnel protective equipment, hand tools, chainsaws, programmable radios, and a minimum of four all-wheel-drive or dual-wheel-rear-axle ground-transportation vehicles.

Crews must be available during mandatory availability periods from November 1–30, 2026, and March 1–April 30, 2027, with daily availability from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daylight savings time. Compensation is hourly per crewperson for on-shift time, with a daily eight-hour minimum guarantee multiplied by crew size at the contracted rate. Travel time and mobilization/demobilization costs are calculated using Google Maps with a 1.1 multiplication factor. Meal costs are deducted from invoices; overnight lodging at double occupancy is reimbursable when authorized.

The initial contract term is one year from execution, with the State retaining options to renew for up to two additional one-year terms at its sole discretion, with 60-day renewal notice required. Contractors must comply with E-Verify requirements for employees and provide three customer references demonstrating similar service experience. Written questions are due July 29, 2026, by 10:00 a.m. ET. Bids must be submitted via the Ariba Sourcing Tool by August 14, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. ET. Attendance at the July 22 pre-bid conference in Asheville is required for bid consideration.