Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Incident Setup

If you have questions or need assistance during an incident please email our Incident Help Desk: incident.helpdesk@firenet.gov

 


Incident Email & MS Team Request Process

Designate one person on your Incident Management Team to fill out the INCIDENT Account Firenet Request Form. The ITSS, PSC or PIO will start this process. This person requesting the account should be identified by each team at the beginning of the season. 

The naming convention that will be used is as follows:

  • MS Team: 2023_XXXXX_Incident Name
  • Shared inbox: 2023.firename@firenet.gov

Please visit the NMAC Memo to learn more about the correspondence regarding the use of FireNet for official electronic messaging.

 


Incident Account Request Process

MS TEAM AND SHARED INBOX DELEGATION

After an incident request comes in, the MS Team and Shared Inbox are created.The Shared Inbox is delegated to the PIO noted on the request form. The Team will be setup with the following owners: PIO, PSC, ITSS and the local Dispatch Center.

Data should NOT be removed from this shared space. It will flow between incident teams. MS Team Owners can add Guests to the shared space to collaborate.

The Incident MS Team will have the following information:

Please make a copy of the FireNet Incident Account Tracker Template in advance to track the FireNet accounts on your team and then cut and paste into the FireNet Incident Roster once the Incident MS Team is created by FireNet Help Desk.

HOW TO ACCCESS A SHARED INBOX

You will receive an email notification that your delegation has been completed. Please copy and paste the email address named in the messaage when opening the shared inbox. To access that shared Inbox please follow these steps:

  • Open your unique FireNet Chrome Browser
  • Go to www.office.com and sign into your FireNet account
  • Open the ‘Outlook’ application 
  • In the upper right corner click on your initials and select 'Open another mailbox' 
  • Search for your section shared inbox. The naming convention for these additional shared inboxes is as follows: 2023.firename.section@firenet.gov 
  • You are now in the shared inbox!  

 

REQUEST A NAMED FIRENET ACCOUNT TO ACCESS SHARED INBOXES

Follow directions on the Requesting an Account Page to obtain a named Firenet account, which is necessary to access a shared inbox. When noting your IMT and section in the request form, please also add that you are on an active incident in your response to expedite the process. 

The following roles will need access to a shared inboxes/need a named account:

  • Main inbox: PIO
  • Plans: PSC
  • Logistics: LSC
  • Demobilization: DMOB
  • Resources: RESL
  • Finance: FSC
  • Ordering: ORDM
  • Situation: SITL
  • Check-In: SCKN
  • Documentation: DOCL
  • Air Operations: 

All Affiliates (AD/other non-federal team members) requesting a FireNet account are required to complete the online security training course. Please find more information on our Affiliate Account Request Page. All steps must be completed to receive an account. Your federal ITSS or PSC on your team can act as a sponsor. Please visit our Affiliate Sponsor Page for additional details and cc: incident.helpdesk@firenet.gov on your request. 

TRANSISTIONING TO A NEW TEAM

Both the main incident shared inbox and any additional shared inboxes that were created will need to be transitioned when a new team is taking over an incident. The change in delegation must be updated on the Incident Account Tracker in the second tab and emailed to the incident.helpdesk@firenet.gov 

We recommend copying the first tab in the tracker that you'll find in the spreadsheet and then updating your own information/delegates in the second tab. Once that's updated please email the Incident Help Desk to note changes in shared inbox delegation are needed. 

CLOSING OUT INCIDENTS

When the shared inboxes are no longer being monitored, please setup an out of office reply so no emails are missed.This allows time for admins to archive the inbox. The following out of office messages can be used: 

  • Due to the decrease in fire activity, this email account has been deactivated. Please contact your local land management agency with any questions.
  • Due to the decrease in fire activity, this email account is no longer being monitored.  If you need further assistance, please contact <<<insert name and phone number and/or email address>>>.  Please visit <<<InciWeb/local dispatch center/other information website>>> for more information on the <<<Name of incident? Or leave out>>> fire.

Post Incident Procedures

User no longer needs access to the MS Incident Team once DMOBing: The PSC/ITSS should remove the user.

Access to the delegated inbox is no longer needed: The FireNet Incident Account Tracker can be updated by striking out the user and reaching out to the Incident Help Desk with the request to remove the dmobed user. 

Access to an MS Incident Team is needed after a user has been removed: They would need to reach out to the current IMT managing the incident to be added back if the incident is still active or the local dispatching unit once the incident is no longer active. 


Helpful Tech Tools for Incident Use 


Finance Flow

This document can be used to walk you through setting up a Flow to copy data from a shared inbox into SharePoint. This allows users to access without needed to be in the inbox and moves images/attachments to SharePoint automatically, skipping the download step. 
 
If you have time to prepare in advance to being on an incident please watch our training workshop walking you through the steps in the document above.
 
 

Importing Large Contact Lists

Users can import large contact lists into the Shared Inbox Contact area. This is a csv file that can be updated and imported. Directions on how to create the contact lists can be found here.
 

How To Guides

QR Code Tech Tips
MS Meeting Tech Tips 
File Sharing Permissions in SharePoint