Wildfirefighter?
January 19, 2012 7:37 AM   Subscribe

How do you go about getting a job fighting wildfires and what does it entail?

I hate my desk job, and my girlfriend mentioned this as a possible alternative. I don't even know where to begin looking. I have vague notions of people who clear brush and dig ditches. What do you actually do? How do you go about getting a job like this? I understand there is seasonal work; how much does it pay? Are there more permanent positions?

That's a lot of questions. At the heart, I guess what I want to know is: How do people get these jobs and what are they like?
posted by anonymous to Work & Money (16 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Are you talking about smokejumping?

California Smokejumpers website with handy application.

Alaska Smokejumpers
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:44 AM on January 19, 2012


Someone who actually does this will probably have better answers than I, but an old officemate of mine quit his job to do exactly this. From my recollections, it involved knowing-someone-who-knows-someone to put his name in with a specific crew, and a lot of waiting (I worked with him for about six months and he was waiting for the call the entire time) to be called to try out for the job.
posted by griphus at 7:45 AM on January 19, 2012


MiFi's own RachelSmith is a fire ecologist and sounds very cool; perhaps drop her a line? She seems like someone who would know.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:46 AM on January 19, 2012


This Missoula smokejumper recruitment link has some basic information for you (including the fact that this isn't really an entry-level position). They recommend getting experience on a Hotshot crew. Some of the links there are busted, but it should give you a place to start your research. This link looks promising.
posted by BlooPen at 7:54 AM on January 19, 2012


The BLM has info on training and links to more training and apprenticeships.
posted by BlooPen at 7:59 AM on January 19, 2012


I fought forest fires for two seasons in the mid 90s.

The way I got on was to talk to a forestry service office of a local National Forest. I had to take a fitness test and a training course and then I was on a call list.

The course was a week long and I had earned the basic hand crew certification for completing it. The fitness test was a 1 mile run in 13 minutes.

It was fun, and I saw some amazing stuff. I would do it again, but the pay is not steady.

You work when get called for a fire. You'll work for up to 3 weeks with a week off. Sometimes, there are camps that are like tent cities with hot showers and cots and a chuck wagon. Sometimes, you're sleeping in the dirt under the stars eating MREs.

The work is dirty. Unimaginably dirty. You will blow black boogers for weeks. Everything will be coated in a thick layer of dust and ash. If you get to be a hose tender, you will be wet, cold and covered in a layer of mud and ash. Spray the hose into a burning stump hole, the geyser is pretty fun. Don't stand too close though, scalding hot mud is what is coming out of it.

You may have to work nights, or odd hours. You'll probably sleep on the ground. Much of the work is hiking to get to the place where you won't be needed because the wind changed while you were walking there. You may get sent to a hilltop to pick your nose while the guy who has your tools gets lost, then breaks down, then gets pinned down by a mountain lion. There isn't much actual excitement - hand crews work alongside heavy equipment in cutting fireline across the terrain. Usually the more experienced crews get the better more exciting assignments actually fighting fires. They work pretty had to keep the green crews far away from anything dangerous.

I had a blast. It was an all expense paid camping trip to some of the best country America has to offer. I taught Navajo indians how to paddle and portage a canoe. I saw bombers dropping retardant and got doused when a chopper missed the hotspot we were working.

I worked once for 32 hours straight, but our crew saved that cabin. When that was over, and we'd gotten back to camp, I had a telegram - I was going to be a father.

I'd do it again - but as I say, you work when there is work and if nothing is burning or they don't get to you on the list... well, you don't work.

Start by calling your local national park or state forest. They'll point you to who to talk to. the Forests are run by the USDA - the BLM and BIA and other agencies have their own crews, so calling those offices might be fruitful. They'll get you started if you're serious.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:19 AM on January 19, 2012 [19 favorites]


how much does it pay?

For the Feds, it looks like it doesn't pay great:

Individual [Interagency Hotshot] crew structure is, to some extent, based on local needs using the following standard positions. A typical crew would include one Superintendent (GS-9), two Assistant Superintendents (GS-8), two Squad or Module Leaders (GS-6), and 15 Skilled Firefighters (GS-5) and Crew Members (GS-4).

If you're based in, say, MT, you'd be on the "REST OF U.S." locality table and the GS-5 salary is 31k. However, you may get a lot of overtime and you may not be able to spend your money if you're off in the backcountry fighting fires. At least some fire jobs seem to include room and board.

As a comparison, a firefighter trainee for the Missoula fire department makes 40k.
posted by Jahaza at 8:28 AM on January 19, 2012


how much does it pay? Are there more permanent positions?

I missed this part in my sermon above. The pay was... well, at the basic hand crew level, you get paid an hourly wage dependent on where you are working and for whom. When I was in it was between 7.48 and 7.87 per hour. No overtime. No hazard pay. You're paid from the time you are ready for duty (on the bus) to the time you are released (off the bus). I usually clocked between 12 and 15 hours per day.

There are more steady positions - but they require experience and familiarity with the location. For example, after my first year, I worked in the Superior NF and BWCA and regular crew for 3 months; repairing outhouses and clearing trails with a primary duty to respond to fires as they were spotted. Some of those were small grass fires, others were pretty sizable forest fires. That was more regular work, but even then there could be weeks where I had no hours. The pay for that was closer to 9 dollars per hour; again this was in 1995.

There are positions that pay better and are more steady - those positions require experience and some sort of expertise to obtain - but they do exist. Many of the people I fought fires with were teachers or writers or college kids, and the leaders were usually regular park rangers or game wardens in real life. There are crews that do wild fires all season, but they tend to be pretty selective.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:45 AM on January 19, 2012


I spent a summer working for the USFS in Southern New Mexico.
Called them, volunteered my body, they had a slot in that district.
I got room and board and a pittance.
Training was a week long.
Our fitness test was stepping on-to and off-of a large wooden box in time to a metronome for 5 (I think) minutes without your heart rate rising above a certain point.
There was also a requirement to run uphill a certain distance and deploying an emergency shelter all within a specified time period.

I never fought fires because we were one of the first forests to be hit that fire season, during our training. As soon as training ended, red cards were given and everyone was sent to the line . . . except me. The clerk refused to accept my Social Security Card and demanded my birth certificate. My parents were away at a funeral and couldn't get me a copy until the brunt of it was over. After that, our hotshots did the mop up.
During the fires I spent my time cleaning and doing light maintenance on trucks, sharpening and maintaining tools and gear and wishing I were dirty.
After the fires I spent my time time hiking. The Republican Congress has mandated an accounting of all human improvements on Federal land from the Executive Branch. It was cheaper to pay me the pittance to hike every day than to pay me fire duty pay to put out lightning strikes. The hotshots got a higher daily pay and thus were used for that, controlled burns and, oddly, building range fences.
I hiked every trail in our range and documented every rock wall, switchback, french drain, sign, blazed tree (even the ones obviously decades old) or other human improvement to the land. Occasionally, I would drop in on the other non-hotshots who were building trail ()after our fire season ended) and help them out. I would do that shit again in a second but I am sad that I never saw the line.

Anyway, there are many different levels to fire-fighting and many entry points. Check out your state forest service. If you live in Texas, they always need people. Call the local Forests. If you get to know a ranger in a district, especially one that is more remote and less visited, they will probably be able to direct you to a job.
Rarely does it pay well, basically only when you are on the line. So down-time is a killer. Though I know people who cleared tens of thousands of dollars in a summer.
posted by Seamus at 8:48 AM on January 19, 2012


I have vague notions of people who clear brush and dig ditches. What do you actually do?

Sebastian Junger wrote a book a while ago that was all about dangerous jobs. The book, called Fire, included a section on this type of work and was very interesting reading.
posted by Hypnotic Chick at 8:52 AM on January 19, 2012


I had my red card (that's what the cert is called) for a while. I took a week-long course, a supplementary course, and then the Pack Test, which is walking 3 miles in sub-45 minutes carrying a 45 lb pack. The coursework is good ad infinitum but I'd have to re-up my pack test to be on another crew.

Pogo_fuzzybutt's account, although he says it's from the 90's, is still about what it's like.
posted by thewestinggame at 9:16 AM on January 19, 2012


I am not a wildland firefighter, but one of my roommates is. I have also considered it as a future job so I've done some research and even applied for a few jobs. Here is what I know:

-Because of budget cuts, it can be difficult to get on a crew these days without some kind of related previous experience. Construction helps, trail work helps, basically anything that involves some kind of physical labor. You may have more luck trying to get some other kind of Forest Service seasonal job first (like doing weeds work) and then using the connections you make to get a fire job next season.

-Getting a job in the FS is a lot about connections. You need to make phone calls to specific regional managers and talk to them about what they're looking for and if they have any slots. If you can find someone who knows someone, go that route.

-You want to start on a hand crew, not as a hotshot or a smokejumper (you won't really be able to get these jobs without prior experience). You will most likely be entering at the GS-3 level, which for most people doesn't pay well, but for me is an astonishing amount of income.

-Here is the link to the Forest Service's web site specfically focused on fire.

-While you can find fire jobs on USAJobs, mainly through agencies like the BLM or the Department of the Interior, all Forest Service fire jobs must be applied to through a website called AVUE

-This may vary depending a bit on the agency and the job, but the standard physical test for wildland firefighters is called the arduous pack test [PDF] which is a three mile hike with a forty-five pound pack that must be completed in forty-five minutes or less.

Good luck! Maybe I'll see you on a crew some time in the future!
posted by Polyhymnia at 9:50 AM on January 19, 2012


I did this through the National Forest Service for a summer. When not on duty, we were titled "forest rangers" but we had a variety of jobs and our pay was based primarily on our grade for the "day job" for which I was paid pretty well due to factors like education and experience at my "day job." When on duty we got hazard pay. As I understood it, we were more like reserves - I have no idea if there's a permanent group or not.

I got my position through an internship at my college, although it was advertised on the USDA website I had a jump on it, and while completing that internship I was asked if I wanted to fight fires and that was pretty much it.
posted by sm1tten at 10:24 AM on January 19, 2012


Forgot to mention, the Student Conservation Association sometimes has fire jobs as internships. You won't make much money at all, but your room and board will mostly be provided and the barrier to entry is somewhat lower. It would be a good way to make some connections and get the training you need in order to get your foot in the door.

Examples
posted by Polyhymnia at 10:44 AM on January 19, 2012


Hi folks; I'm in wildland fire management for the Forest Service. I'm currently a full-time employee, though I started as a seasonal wildland firefighter (hotshot/smokejumper). I'm currently in the Forest Service's Southern Region (R-8), based out of Atlanta, Georgia, where I work in Fire & Aviation Management.

Navigating the federal system to get a job can be a confusing process. The best place to start, of course, is USA Jobs. One good keyword would be "forestry technician". Some agencies and operational units have their own websites that augment USA Jobs for fire outreaches, though this is unfortunately rare. The Pacific Southwest Region (California) has a great website with wildland fire opportunities. But don't stop there! I strongly encourage folks to reach out to current employees and ask for introductions and assistance. I'm happy to do this. Feel free to get in touch. If you're interested in a seasonal position this year, get cracking! Though many regions are still hiring, the fire season is already ramping up in some areas of the country and vacancies for R-8 crews often close in October or November. For balance, I should mention that in the NW crews come on much later in the spring, starting training as late as May and June.

How do people get these jobs?


There are exceptions, of course, but people do it because they love it. I certainly do. I had no intention of having a career in wildland fire when I got my first seasonal job as a hotshot; I was looking for a fun way to spend the summer and earn money for college. I really enjoyed the work. The work combines a lot of things I like: challenging (both mentally and physically), requires focus and attention to detail, and gets me outdoors!

It is pretty unusual for people to start out as a hotshot. I had a few things working in my favor - I had been volunteering as a member of Search & Rescue and a rural firefighter for some time, and I was a certified EMT. If you don't have any fire (or forestry) experience or medical qualifications, and you're interested in a job with the Forest Service the best place to start may be an engine crew or another contract or seasonal crew. The Nature Conservancy has seasonal crews that do prescribed burning and other projects. Here's their jobs website, when I quickly glanced at it I saw positions in CO and GA. There are plenty of other organizations out there as well. This site may be a good source for you-they tend to have a lot of suggestions and ideas.

what are they like?

Individuals in wildland fire management are as diverse as our mission. I work with a wide range of folks, from grandmothers to college freshmen from all over the country to achieve mission objectives. The jobs are demanding. The fireline positions require you to be in good shape - and to be willing to work hard. Good team-work, and attention to detail is a must. Experience with forestry, aviation, fire, or medical training will help you but is by no means a necessity.

I'm currently at lunch, so I had to keep this initial response short, but I'll try to come back tonight and provide some more comments. I'm happy to respond to questions, though I don't check my messages on metafilter too frequently. Feel free to contact me directly via my website.

One other thing I wanted to mention: Upthread people mention that relative pay tends to be better with structure fire departments. Even if you determine your goal is to get a structure fire job with a municipal fire department rather than stay in wildland fire management, I strongly encourage you to consider spending a season or two as a wildland firefighter. It is experience that will bolster your resume when you're applying for the structure job (which tend to be extremely competitive), but also provide you important skills for tackling fires in wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas.
posted by RachelSmith at 12:36 PM on January 19, 2012 [3 favorites]


I worked once for 32 hours straight, but our crew saved that cabin. When that was over, and we'd gotten back to camp, I had a telegram - I was going to be a father.

Ok, this is sort of lame, but I wrote this up for one of my classes in college. The teacher wanted us to write about the most interesting or important day we had experienced. Well.... That day blew them all away.

I want to share it, because... I dunno why. It just feels right, and there isn't much harm in it. So, her goes :

There happen, during your life, certain days that you will never forget. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes it’s bad. I had one of those days while I was in a forest in Idaho. I couldn’t tell you much of anything about the forest, except that it was on fire. It was my first time going out west to fight forest fires, and I had been there like, maybe a week, but that one day marked the beginning of a great many firsts.

The plan, as laid out in the morning briefing, was simple. Our crew was to secure this area, including the structures. The fire we had been fighting up until that point hadn’t threatened anything important, but was still large and mobile, and now my crew was between this person’s home and livelihood and 200 foot wall of flame. We were told that the fire had a less than 10% probability of coming our direction, so all we really had ahead of us was a day of clearing underbrush and watering lawns. That was the plan, anyway.

I had spent most of the morning working alongside a sawyer felling small trees and larger brush. The work was hard, but it made the time go faster, and I didn’t mind the exercise. It was already 90 degrees at 8am and would probably top at about 105. The air was dry – the relative humidity hovered at about 3%, which proved to be a boon. 5-inch trees could be felled with one or two good strokes with an axe, although they would ignite explosively in the right conditions.

About 10:30 that morning, our crew boss, Steve, came by to round a few of us up for a "scouting mission". Mostly, we were gonna go see something interesting and have lunch and play cards. We quickly climbed a nearby hill to survey the activity and watch the fire bombers drop retardant and water on the fire just a few ridges away. The wind at this point was keeping the fire at bay, and the bombers were taking every advantage of the opportunity. It made for good lunchtime entertainment. Steve lay down to take a nap - he worked much longer hours than we did, we didn't begrudge him - while the rest of us played hearts.

All of a sudden, with no warning, Steve woke with a start. “Grab the stuff, we gotta go” was all he said. He took off down the hill talking into his radio at nearly a run. We struggled to keep up with him during our descent. When we got to the bottom, he called the whole crew together.

“This is going to be hairy. Heads up, and don’t be stupid. The safety zone is the down slope on the far side of the house. If it gets hot, go there, and run to the stream in the valley. If you can’t make it, get to the ditch and use your shake and bake,” he said, referring to the folded silver shelter that would be our only hope if the fire overtook us.

After the briefing, Steve walked with me over to my position. “It’ll hit here hard, and you have a lot of ground to cover.” He said. He went on, “If... When I yell to pull back, just drop the hose and run. The fire won’t be able to overtake you in the clearing, but falling debris might and it’s about a quarter mile to safety. Don’t stop for breath.” He looked at me hard - “Don’t go until I tell you, though, OK?” and he smiled as he patted me on the shoulder, then he left.

After a short time, the fire could be seen coming over the last ridge toward us. Like an evanescent juggernaut, the blaze progressed towards us. Every pine it approached going off like another match in a book - an entire tree would be engulfed in nanoseconds with flames twice as high as the trees themselves. Its progress was steady – it was almost as if it was alive. It steadily rolled down the hill towards us, consuming everything in its path.

Presently, The fire was upon me. No more trees lay between the structure and me but waist high grass and brush - and what shrubs remained were still tantalizing fuel for the blaze. The heat was intense, and my eyes watered and my lungs burned. The wind at my back was a forceful and constant gale. The flames seemed to reach up forever, a veritable waterfall of flame that flowed all the way to heaven. I have rarely felt so small.

Ever I moved the hose, back and forth, up and down. Flame would lick forward, only to be swatted away by my finger of water. Flaming flotsam and jetsam was raining down around me. My arms burned with the effort and it was hard to maintain my footing amidst the undergrowth. I had the worst of it, and if I gave now, the ranch would surely be lost.

After some time, days by my reckoning - but likely only minutes - all became quiet. Finally, the fire had died down, it’s fuel spent, and we had won the day. There were many pockets of flame to put down, but unlike the monolithic walls I just faced, these were almost laughable. The work proceeded until well into the evening, when we were relieved by a another crew and sent back to camp.

Back at the camp, even before I got to get dinner, I had gotten a telegraph from home.

It said "Youre gonna be a daddy stop call when you can stop stay safe work hard stop love julie".

I can't explain the rush of feelings - I can still feel them, somtimes, when I think about that day.

She and I split up not long after that. She slept with my best friend and things sort of really fell apart for me and got really hard. But that one day....

Best day of my life. This was the close second.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:30 PM on January 20, 2012 [7 favorites]


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