F -- National Type 2 IA Firefighting Crews

The USDA Forest Service, Fire and Aviation Support Branch at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, is soliciting the services of up to 39 Type 2 IA (initial attack qualified) 20-person firefighting crews for use in wildland fire suppression and all risk incidents. Other optional work includes severity/preparedness assignments and project work related to fuels management. Prospective contractors will be required to supply fully trained, qualified, and equipped firefighters as per contract requirements. The resultant multiple award, fixed price, requirements contracts will be effective for a base period and, at the option of the Government, for two additional periods. The base contract period will be effective from date of award through April 30, 2006. The Government, at its option, may extend the base period contracts for a one-year period, not to exceed two one-year periods. Mandatory Availability Periods (MAPs) are established for each crew at each location within the various host units in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The scheduled MAPs are approximately 10 to 14 weeks in duration, depending on location, during which time the contract crew is required to be physically located within a defined radius of the host unit coordination center. Offerors are advised that date of award will determine the length of the MAPs for the base contract period, and for most locations MAPs will be of shorter duration than indicated on the Schedule of Services that will be published in the solicitation. Vendors are hereby advised that hard-copy notices, solicitations, or mailing lists are not issued or maintained by the National Interagency Fire Center. Therefore, it is imperative that prospective Offerors monitor the FedBizOpps website periodically in order to view and download the solicitation and participate timely. The solicitation or Request for Proposals (RFP) has not been published for this requirement at this time, and this notice is NOT a Request for Proposals. The anticipated issue date for the publication of the RFP in FedBizOpps is within 35 days of the publication of this notice. Offerors shall have 30 days to submit an offer from the date of publication of the RFP. All responsible Offerors may submit a proposal, which shall be considered by the Forest Service. A pre-proposal conference for interested vendors will be held in Boise, Idaho, within 7 to 15 days after the RFP has been issued. The date, time, and specific location of the pre-proposal conference will be announced in the RFP. 2.