Federal Employee Defense Services (FEDS) is proud to be a supporter and sponsor of Wildlandfire.com. As a provider of premier professional liability benefits to federal employees, we at FEDS understand the importance of having a place where those in the wildland firefighting community can share their experiences, obtain information and have a dialogue about matters of common interest, and we are happy to be a supporter of these efforts.

Allow us to give you some more information about FEDS and our experience with the federal wildland firefighting community. Back in 2005, the founder of FEDS, Anthony Vergnetti, then a partner with the law firm of Shaw, Bransford, Veilleux & Roth, P.C.co-authored an article about his experience in representing and defending several of the managers involved in the Thirtymile and Cramer fires who carried professional liability benefits. Since then, Mr. Vergnetti has founded a new company to provide federal employees with premier professional liability benefits. As a former federal employee and attorney who defended federal employees, Mr. Vergnetti designed FEDS to offer benefits and claims administration specifically tailored to the needs of federal employees. This is one of the many reasons why FEDS is endorsed by the Federal Wildland Fire Service Association.

The FEDS liability coverage entitles a federal employee who is accused of some kind of wrongdoing or misconduct in the course of rendering a professional service to have his/her legal fees paid up to $200,000 in an administrative investigation (including an accident investigation, OIG investigation, OSHA investigation or an EEO investigation where you are named as the responsible management official), disciplinary action or judicial sanction proceeding; and up to $100,000 for criminal legal defense. It will also pay a personal judgment up to $1,000,000 in a civil suit.

Now, more than ever, the need for liability protection is necessary for all federal employees—especially those engaged in wildland firefighting. In light of the dangers associated with wildland firefighting, and the scope of the criminal and administrative investigative inquires into firefighting fatalities due to entrapments or burnovers, professional liability protection is an absolute must for all line officers, fire management officers, incident commanders and any employee involved in firefighting or fire management.

Both FEDS and its claims administrator have a demonstrated commitment to and understanding of the federal and wildland firefighting community. FEDS has also assembled a nationally recognized panel of attorneys to provide the legal defense under the benefit plan who have a vast amount of experience in representing federal employees and who have had specific experience in defending federal employees involved in the recent Thirty Mile, Cramer and Esperanza fire tragedies. We believe that it is this commitment and understanding of the federal community, along with the quality of the legal defense provided under the plan that sets FEDS apart from other professional liability programs.

The FEDS liability protection offers its liability protection for $270 a year. And if you are a supervisor or in law enforcement, your agency will reimburse you up to ½ of the cost. Your net cost would be approximately $135 per year. For more information about the benefits of professional liability protection visit our web site at www.fedsprotection.com, and read endorsements and testimonials from nationally recognized attorneys and former federal employees who have experienced the benefits of liability protection. If you are interested in speaking with someone at FEDS, our telephone number is 866-955-FEDS.