In December we told you that the Resource Ordering and Status System (ROSS) is being replaced by the Interagency Resource Ordering Capability (IROC). At the time, we had a lot of questions about the new system, the transition and how it would impact our clients.
Well, we now know a little more about the transition: ROSS will be turned off at 10 p.m. (MT) on Friday, March 6. IROC will be brought online in a phased approach by geographic area. The “go live” date for the Northern Rockies is March 12.
Agency representatives at the Northern Rockies Coordinating Group pre-proposal meetings this week didn’t have any more information about IROC than what we’ve already told you, but they did tell contractors that they will have to call their dispatch center to update their status during what they are calling “the dark period” (after ROSS is turned off and before IROC is turned on). Thankfully, wildfire activity in the Northern Rockies is usually pretty light in early March.
We told you in December that fire contractors will be able to “self-status” in IROC like they did in ROSS, but we still don’t know what that will look like. The IROC Integrated Project Team is calling this functionality “IROC Web Status” and they are developing a “how to” video for the user community that will focus on how users and vendors can access and utilize this functionality. The video will be posted to the National Interagency Fire Center You Tube Channel. We’ll try to let you know when it becomes available.
Posted 2/14/2020