B-296533, Jess Bruner Fire Suppression, August 19, 2005

B-296533 Aug 19, 2005 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Jess Bruner Fire Suppression protests the award of a contract to any other vendor under request for quotations (RFQ) No. R5SC0605049, issued by the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, for regional fire engine support. Bruner argues that the agency did not properly post the pre-solicitation notice and solicitation to the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) Internet site or specifically solicit Bruner, even though it had previously provided this type of services, thus denying Bruner an opportunity to compete for a contract. We deny the protest. View Decision B-296533, Jess Bruner Fire Suppression, August 19, 2005 Decision Matter of: Jess Bruner Fire Suppression File: B-296533 Date: August 19, 2005 Todd A. Plimpton, Esq., Belanger & Plimpton, for the protester. Byron W. Waters, Esq., Department of Agriculture, for the agency. John L. Formica, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Agency's posting of a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation conducted under simplified acquisition procedures on the Federal Business Opportunities Internet site did not deprive the protester of an opportunity to compete for a contract for fire engine services to be provided in a particular national forest where the pre'solicitation notice and solicitation were accessible on the Internet site by searching by geographic location. DECISION Jess Bruner Fire Suppression protests the award of a contract to any other vendor under request for quotations (RFQ) No. R5SC0605049, issued by the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, for regional fire engine support. Bruner argues that the agency did not properly post the pre-solicitation notice and solicitation to the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) Internet site or specifically solicit Bruner, even though it had previously provided this type of services, thus denying Bruner an opportunity to compete for a contract. We deny the protest. The Forest Service has long fought wildland fires using in-house resources as well as those from other federal and state entities. The work required is performed in –forest and rangeland environments with steep terrain where surfaces may be extremely uneven, rocky, covered with thick tangled vegetation,— and under extreme temperatures accompanied by smoke and dust. The Forest Service uses wildland fire engines in fighting these fires, which it has obtained in part through private contractors. RFP at 58. The acquisition here concerns services for the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest region, also referred to by the Forest Service as Region Five or –R-5—. Contracting Officer's Statement at 1. Region Five is comprised of five –provinces,— with each province consisting of a –group of forests within a geographic area.— Id.Specifically, Region Five is comprised of the SierraCascadeProvince, the IBETProvince, the Northern Province, the PacificSouthwestProvince, and the Southern California Province. The Forest Service –determined that it would competitively procure— the wildland fire engine services needed by Region Five for the 2005 fire season, and that –[n]eeds for fifteen fire engines in four locations were identified.—[1] Id. at 2. The contracting officer for the SierraCascadeProvince was tasked to procure the wildland fire engine services needed for Region Five.[2] Id. at 4. On March 23, 2005, a pre-solicitation notice for RFQ No. R5SC0605049 was posted to the FedBizOpps Internet site on the Forest Service's SierraCascadeProvince website within FedBizOpps.[3] The notice provided the contracting office address as the –Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, R-5 Sierra Cascade Province (Lassen Plumas and Modoc [National Forests]).— The notice stated that the purpose of the acquisition was to obtain the services of two fire engines for the Shasta-TrinityNational Forest, three fire engines for the TahoeNational Forest, eight fire engines for the PlumasNational Forest, and two fire engines for the SixRiversNational Forest (only the PlumasNational Forest is in the SierraCascadeProvince).[4] The notice continued by stating that the solicitation would only be available electronically, and provided the names and contact information for the designated contracting officer and procurement assistant. The contracting officer also –contacted at meetings and by telephone— all contractors who had active agreements with any contracting office within Region Five to provide wildland fire engine services.[5] Contracting Officer's Statement at 4. The RFQ for the wildland fire engine services was posted to FedBizOpps on the Forest Service's SierraCascadeProvince website on April 21.