Any Wildland Firefighers here in the B.F world?

G

Glock26

Joined
Nov 3, 2009
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Hi all, it's something that we all go through in life. The question, "what am I going to do with the rest of my life (profession wise)?" A little about me I earned my B.S degree last year, and I knew I wanted to have a profession in public service and public safety. Now, I think I've finally narrowed and zeroed it down to pursuing a career as a Wildland Firefighter. That being said is anyone here a wildland firefighter? Does anyone know a wildland firefighter? Basically I'm looking for any insight on this profession, for what I know and what I plan to do. There is a wildland fire academy that is a 16 week academy that will start next Jan2013, and I plan on attending that. Even more since most or all the past alumnis have earned positions as wildland firefighters across the U.S! Above all, I'm looking for insight as a wildland firefighter profession and thanks for reading!
 
Yes I used to be one back home in Wyoming with my old department, and they used tocontract us out to the blm and we would go anywhere in the us to fight fire.
 
i am Wildland FFII certified, and will hopefully get on a hand crew this upcoming season for the first time. first things first just know the job is VERY physically demanding. the entry level position is being a member of a hand crew, and a lot of your job is making scratch lines, and working to contain the fire in such a manner. so be prepared to get very familiar with full size hand tools. there is a great deal of room for moving up the ranks and such.

also... that sounds off to me. a 4 month academy for wildland training? check into what certifications you will be getting from that because i got certed in wildland ffII in about a week. and i believe most higher ranks require putting in time on the fire ground.

overall the job of a wildland firefighter is very rewarding! the dynamic conditions of the outdoors make it much more unpredictable and it is impressive to watch the pro's break down all the variables and predict how fire reacts.
 
xtramile,

How do you suggest I start my career in Wildland Firefighting? I would love to travel different states to work! Do you suggest to find a certified training centers and get specific certifications? Similar to American Red Cross training? Let me know brother. The 16 week academy I'll call them, and I understand that academy gives on the field experience and they work with the US Forest Service.
 
XTRAMILE, hey I don't know where you're from but have you heard of http://www.nwsa.us/ training facility, they have FF-II certification which course runs for four days and you earn FF-II credentials. S130, S190, LI80 and I100. You have insight on those classes is the academics straight forward? After completion of those courses did you get a wildland firefighting easier with the credentials?
 
I have been Been a structural firefighter for 12 years but last year in Texas turned us all into wildland firefighters.. It's about a noble calling as they come but I do know a lot of ppl who got into it for the glamour of it without realizing that 90 percent of it is the most excruciatingly hot backbreaking labor known to man. If you can deal with that it's pretty darn fun.
 
personally myself i am going through a technical college 2 year program that will leave me with a whole bunch of firefighting certs. i do not know all to much about becoming just a dedicated wildland guy.

the nwsa training might be what they put us through. we did a 5 day course, 8 hours a day, and the final day was a hands on day. very easy but you can learn a lot. we went over exactly those materials (S130, S190, LI80 and I100) and essentially they cover terminology, wildland fire behavior, tools use, emergency procedures, incident management systems, techniques for fighting various types of wildland fires, and some other things. if you have a pen, paper, and half a brain you will pass the course.

without knowing all to much i would suggest getting the highest level of training, and then there should be some kind of list for your state somewhere that you sign up on and they contact you when the season is about to begin with your crew info and such.
 
oh and also if you fallow this through, stay safe out there. i do not have any qualms about walking into a burning building, but to tell you the truth i am scared to death of the things that happen in the wildland arena. fire is a whole other beast when you take it out of a compartment and let it grow to be several thousand acres. . .
 
I do agree much more dificult to judge fire response due to wind and fuel load,terrain and other factors but structural firefighting is far from safe
 
oh for sure. but again it is just the amount of variables. i can get a pretty good idea of fuel loads, type of construction, location of fire,as well as control air movement and such in structural. it makes me very uneasy knowing that at any given moment a wildland fire could do a complete 180 and chase me down, or catch my in a green pocket, and such.
 
Ultimately, what are are guys thoughts on this 4-5 day certified classes being offered by N.S.W.A? Is it totally legitimate? According to my phone conversation the instructor said once you take these 5 classes and pass the field test, carrying 45lbs and covering 3 miles under 45 mins. You will meet the minimum requirements to be a Wildland Firefighter, and you may apply for a Wildland Firefighter job. Is this true guys? I really want to be in the efforts for future wild fires. Hear from you guys soon. last, he said the certifications will last 5 years, but if you work every fire season the certifications will re-new itself.. Let me hear what you guys think.
 
Glock26 said:
Ultimately, what are are guys thoughts on this 4-5 day certified classes being offered by N.S.W.A? Is it totally legitimate? According to my phone conversation the instructor said once you take these 5 classes and pass the field test, carrying 45lbs and covering 3 miles under 45 mins. You will meet the minimum requirements to be a Wildland Firefighter, and you may apply for a Wildland Firefighter job. Is this true guys? I really want to be in the efforts for future wild fires. Hear from you guys soon. last, he said the certifications will last 5 years, but if you work every fire season the certifications will re-new itself.. Let me hear what you guys think.
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I took the wildland firefighter class as a 1 credit elective in college and worked for the BLM the following summer about a decade ago. A 4-5 day class with the physical test sounds pretty reasonable especially if you are getting pump or chainsaw certs. I think a lot of places do the basic in a weekend. It's not a particularly difficult cert to obtain, at least for the WF1. I believe you need a season of experience to certify for 2 and a quick google confirmed that - http://www.uvu.edu/ufra/docs/cert-wildland_firefighter_ii.pdf.

There are very few full-time wildland firefighter jobs. I worked with a couple of full-timers on an engine but the vast majority of crews are seasonal handcrews. They range anywhere from schoolteachers doing a summer job to convicts. It's a fun job but not a lot of people are able to make it a career thanks to the limited number of openings. If you've got some kind of preferred class (e.g., you are a veteran) you have a big leg up for any government job.

I also don't mean to be a downer but consider the long-term health consequences of choosing a career like this. Wildland firefighters breathe a ton of smoke (and at least when I was doing it, we had no protective gear like respirators) and spend all day in the sun. Great combo for emphysema and skin cancer. Not sure what your BS is in but if you can swing a government job, you can also get the fire cert and spend a couple weeks a year doing it. Great way to make a real living with real benefits and still do something awesome.
 
not sure of the class brother, in texas they offer red card certs which sounds kind of like that class, before last year the only real dedicated wildland guys were the texas forest service after the fire season last year that has changed. My best advice for you would be before you pay for the class call the agency that you are wanting to work for and ask them what the requirements are..it's easier that way, straight from the horses mouth
 
Glock 26 depending on where you wanna work, e-mail me...texaspridejb@gmail.com I have a buddy on a heli shot crew in oregon I may be able to provide a little more insight or answer questions.
 
it sounds like the nswa course you are talking about is exactly what i went through. my understanding is that it is the very beginning in your training, and what all your training will be based on afterward.

i second the idea of calling places you are interested in and asking what they suggest you get as far as training.
 
I worked as a firefighter for one summer for the Forest Service. Back then we just applied for the position using a standard form I think it was SF-171. We went through a 1 week training course plus periodic training over the summer. If there were no fires we did trail and road maintenence, ground maintenence, bucked brush and did slash burns. There was a definite progression for someone wanting to be a firefighter. They would start out in a position similar to mine. Then get on a hotshot crew or maybe a helitac crew and if they were good enough, after a few years ended up as smoke jumpers. All of the training was on the job. I don't know if positions like that still exist. You might check with the USDA. It is hot, tough, somewhat dangerous work. But it is also thrilling, standing on a ridge with trees topping out in front of you is not something you will soon forget. I had a friend who was a Hot Shot out of Missoula. He would always laugh talking about walking up a trail to a fire while the locals were running down it screaming, "They're topping out." Or hugging a tree for dear life when a load of slurry was dumped on you. Good Luck.
 
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