Seasonal fire job?

I was on a hotshot crew here for the last 5 yrs. I recently quit the Forest Service to pursue other avenues.

 

pretty sweet man...i want to get some experience this summer and then go for the hotshot next year and go on to jumping. do the people you worked for need some good help since they lost you? im interested!

 

They got all their hiring done. Good luck on getting where you need to get. If you have any more questions let me know.

 

If your interested in becoming a smoke jumper, you'll need to get a few years experience on a type 1 crew, Hotshot, rapeller, etc... and start getting some skydiving in so you can log as many jumps as possible before you apply. Each region is a little different but here in region 6, WA And OR, you can apply with all the fed and state agencies and they will provide training. Since it's a little late to get hired on for an agency this season, you might try the private sector such as a private engine crew. It's not to late for that and they'll usually train you too. Engine work can be kind of lame but at least you get your foot in the door as some work for this season. There are a lot of private engines out there and I'm not sure how to find them but you can try asking the local USFS if they know any.
If I was younger I would get on a hotshot crew for a season or two and then apply at rapell bases because some of those bases also do search and rescue when not on fires which I think would be fun and then maybe move to jumping. I've got several friends that jump and I live next to a jump base, it's definately a kick ass job. I'm a faller on fires so that's pretty fun too. Good luck!

 

All the guys at my Dept that have gone out west said it fuckin blows.

First you have you to use your own annual leave (vacation time) to go out there.
And unless you've been out there before, you won't ever see an engine, you'll be doing bitch work with a tool in your hand everyday.
They make you walk 3 miles to get to the fire line when there are plenty of apparatuses to transport you.
You're lucky if you get a shower and a hot meal at the end of the day. There is a weight and size limit to your bag and how much personal stuff you can bring out there, you will not have clean socks the entire trip.

We fight brush fires daily in my county, we have mutual aid strike teams in place on a brush fire as I'm typing this. Down here, they only thing that doesn't burn is black (already burnt)
A few years back we needed mutual aid from all over the country and everyone was amazed at how fast a green wooded area will burn down here.

My point is that my Dept fights brush fires regularly. About 90% of our stations have at least 1 brush truck, some have 2 plus a tanker. For the guys here to complain about it, it must be bad...
I've never done it, I never will from the stories I've heard.

 

Hardcorehehaw,

Unless you can get your ass out of you engine and hike the meagor 3 miles to go do "Bith work" You might want to watch your p's and q's. First off where I come from, out west. The bitch work is done by engine guys who support the ground crews. You see, you can't always drive your engine to where the fire is so you auctually have to do some hiking. Your true about not getting a shower everyday, but if your sleeping on the ground why do you want to be clean. As for the clean socks, I fought fire for 12 yrs. in every western state including Alaska, florida and Australia. I traveled to all these places with under 25lbs of clothing in my red bag and I did have clean socks every day. The hot meals may not be served by a caterer every night, most nights you will have a caterer when your on an engine, but your MRE has a heater in it and it does get hot.

In all seriousness, its just a different world out west. You auctually have to get out of your engine and do back breaking labor to get the job done. We don't save babies and we aren't americas bravest. We are just a bunch of guys who aren't affraid to work hard and get dirty. No offense to your department but some people are affraid of hard work. It really is a good time to fight fire out west. Until you light up an entire mtn. side of 90 ft. tall trees and watch a crown fire run up to the ridge line, it's hard to imagine the power of it all. It's too bad your boys hated their tours out West. My advice, dont' knock it till you try it.

 

... and your in the middle of a fucking FORREST FIRE!!! go roast a wienie or something.

 

That's a whole can of worms you just opened right there..
Big difference between what you do and what I do.
I'm shocked that you are implying that modern day fire fighters are afraid of hard work.
I'd do a packtest every year. It's me, a 45lb vest and 3 miles. You know what my time was? 22 mins. When you can do the combat challenge in less than 4 minutes, then you can talk about work.

Trees grow back, people and homes do not.

 

I dont think magnew was implying anything negative about structure firefighters, I'm sure he has the upmost respect for you guys as I do but you are trivalizing what we do with your coments. When we refer to engine work in widfire setting, it is considered the easier job and attracts alot of the lazier people that dont appreciate hard work. And speaking of hard work, I've seen lots of guys half my age(I'm in my 40's) that could beat me in any phisical agility test but when it came to hard work they could'nt even compare. There is a big difference. I'm not saying this applies to you because I dont know you, but your comment does'nt hold a lot of sand in my experience when it comes to real hard phisical labor. I've worked in the woods most of my life logging, fighting fire, etc... I know what hard work is and I also know engine work too because I'm also an engine captain/boss... so I know it's easy compared to the other wildland positions. Wildland firefightingt out west is a lifestyle you have to appreciate and it's obviously not for everyone but dont trivialize it, we deserve respect also.

 

Hardcorehehaw
Justsomeguy hit it on the nose. It's comparing apples to oranges. I just wanted to point out that as you put it, "bitch work" my career, is very diffucult. There is no comparing human life to trees. Working 16 hr. shifts 14-21 days in a row, weather you are on a wildland engine or a hotshot or a type 2 crew, can not compare to the emotional stress put on EMS providers working 24 hr. shifts 11 days a month. Just as with wildland, the pack test is in no way a test of ones ability to sling a chainsaw all day long cutting brush in 100 degree heat, or drag a hose lay up 1200 vertical ft. to get water to initial attact a fire. Just as I'm sure the combat challenge is in no way a test of performing you day to day job duties. I have no beef with you or your career, infact I am trying to switch over to the structure side. My only point is and justsomeguy pointed it out, please don't trivialize our work as bitch work.

I also give the boys in FL who fight the fire down there props, I did it for two weeks a few yrs back and it was miserable for us western boys. Its just a different world.

 

Oh, you guys... I did both structure and wildland. Firefighting didn't really do anything for me. I don't really care for the egos which the majority of guy have. I'm just hoping my ambulance company can get together a rescue so we can do our own extrication and such. Firefighters can stick to the fires and we'll take everything else. I still respect the job tho, to each their own. I actually enjoy being on the "box".