The Situation

The Department of the Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire (OWF) and the FireNet program are leading a transformative initiative to modernize interagency collaboration across the wildland fire community. Historically, fire support operations have struggled with fragmented communication systems, limited interoperability between federal and non-federal partners, and inconsistent technology standards. FireNet was created to address these issues by offering a secure, cloud-based platform for messaging, scheduling, document sharing, and operational coordination.

However, the program faces several persistent challenges:

• Complex user base: FireNet must support both federal and non-federal partners (tribal, state, local, territorial, volunteer teams, safety organizations), each with unique access and compliance requirements.
• Interagency standardization: OWF has experienced challenges in implementing its long-standing goal of achieving consistent technology and operational standards across diverse agencies and external partners.
• Operational efficiency: FireNet requires critical automation, streamlined processes, and real-time data sharing to support incident management, dispatch centers, and fire operations.

Chevo's  Solution

Chevo delivers a comprehensive suite of business services and IT professional support to the FireNet program.

Our solution addresses FireNet’s challenges through:

• Strategic Program Management: Chevo provides the FireNet program direction and oversight for planning, daily operations, administration, and change management control, ensuring alignment with their mission and stakeholder needs. Our 92.75% employee retention rate ensures continuity and deep institutional knowledge across all program areas.
• Technical Modernization: Leveraging our five-year history supporting DOI and FireNet, Chevo drives consistency and standardization from the national level. We successfully migrated the solution from commercial Google space to a federally secure Microsoft 365 environment, supporting 4,500 users in the transition and maintaining support for a unique and diverse user base including federal and non-federal stakeholders.
• Automation and Efficiency: Chevo enhanced business-to-business functionality to reduce account overlap by deploying Microsoft (MS) automation tools (PowerAutomate, PowerApps, MS Forms, SharePoint) to streamline fire processes and improve operational efficiency. We automated MS Teams setup and shared inbox delegation, cutting Incident Helpdesk workload by 50%. Our PowerApps solution now automatically triggers complete incident team environments (e.g., MS Team channels, standardized folders, check-in forms, and shared inbox delegation) based on initial requests. For account management, we integrated MS Forms, MS Outlook, and mail merge processes with Power Automate to efficiently manage non-federal user accounts. These automation improvements enable our streamlined helpdesk to efficiently handle 80% of incoming requests, allowing specialized resources to focus on complex technical challenges.
• Communications and Helpdesk Support: Our team drives strategic communications, oversees helpdesk operations, and actively monitors user feedback to enhance the FireNet experience. Through our commitment to excellence, we’ve consistently earned satisfaction ratings of 4.14 out of 5 representing the highest quality, with the majority expressing deep satisfaction. We deliver approximately 15 live training sessions each year, empowering users to stay proficient and confident in leveraging FireNet’s full capabilities.
• Collaboration Enablement: FireNet now serves as a central hub for interagency coordination, enabling seamless collaboration among federal, tribal, state, and local entities during fire support operations. The team supports collaboration for over 300 fire incidents per year. 
  

Impact

Chevo's tailored approach has helped FireNet evolve into a widely accepted, essential platform for the wildland fire community, now handling over 90% of intake and coordination for fire-related deployments across more than 500 million acres of public and tribal lands. 

Through our three years of operational management and successful migration of 4,500 users, we have transformed FireNet from a fragmented system into a unified collaboration hub that bridges federal, tribal, state, and local entities.

By streamlining helpdesk operations, delivering consistent training, and implementing automation that reduces manual workload, Chevo ensures FireNet continues to enhance National fire management capabilities during a time of increasing wildfire severity and extended fire seasons.

Chevo Services Provided:

Mission Acceleration

• Implementation Intelligence
• IT Governance
• Performance Measurement
• Communications
• Training
• Compliance

Integrated Program Support

• Communications
• Training
• Performance Measurement