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Making the jump from volunteer upon completion of my emt. Going from being business student who had no idea what to do with his life to finding firefighting has been one of the best things that's happened to me, really stoked for what's ahead.
Also this shots look crazy haha, op are you currently in MT? I know Oregon has been keeping people busy rn, even cal fire got contracted to go up there.
Thats kinda cool you get to come out to N Idaho and MT from Minnesota..
I'm slowly finishing up my rookie year. Fought fire all over the southern half of Idaho. Also made it to Nevada and Wyoming for a few weeks as well.
How do you like Helitack? Im on a type 4 engine right now, and I am thinking I might want to stay on the engine and climb the ranks or even jump over to helitack. I got to call in some bucket drops this year as a rookie so that was pretty cool. Helitack has interested me since I got the job.
50KalYeah I'm currently in MT. East of Hamilton. Sapphire complex is still going but on its way out.
If you get your emt that is a really great way to get on a crew. You would get picked in any state.
That's sick man!
Ya that's the plan, kinda stuck in school for this next school year, not necessarily how I want to be spending my time but I figured I'd get my emt done alongside doing my thing at unr and see what I can do in the spring with my local department outfit before the summer starts, we'll be having an engine go out on wildland next summer and our captain is wanting to get me in on it for next summer so it's looking like I'll be in California but we'll see what happens.
.lenconThats kinda cool you get to come out to N Idaho and MT from Minnesota..
I'm slowly finishing up my rookie year. Fought fire all over the southern half of Idaho. Also made it to Nevada and Wyoming for a few weeks as well.
How do you like Helitack? Im on a type 4 engine right now, and I am thinking I might want to stay on the engine and climb the ranks or even jump over to helitack. I got to call in some bucket drops this year as a rookie so that was pretty cool. Helitack has interested me since I got the job.
Helitack is cool in its own way. But in its own way its hard to deal with. When you do fight fire you get to ride into the fire via helicopter, but we spend a bunch of time at helibases when the helicopter is out dropping buckets. I spend way more time at helibase then actually fighting fire. Like any job theres pros and cons.
Engines are cool cause you get put on the night shift and you stay with the engines most the time. No unplanned 10 mile hikes unless your really careless and forget to put oil in your engines.
rsvpWhat exactly do you guys do on a day to day basis? what's the work schedule like? how much do you get paid?
Depends, depends, and depends.
Haha if you do end up doing wild land fire, that is the answer to most of your questions.
I'm on an engine crew for the BLM in southeast Idaho. If were not on a fire, we do engine checks to make sure everything is running smooth. We PT, take care of business around our station, and train (especially if there are new people on the crew). Depending on who you work for and where you're at you also do projects such as set up fencing or thinning. My crew did thinning projects which was pretty fun cause you get to run the saw.
Work schedule for me was work pretty much every day. Some weeks we get 2 days off, some weeks we get 1 day off, and other weeks we get no days off.
How much you get paid also depends on where you are, what pay grade you are, etc etc. I can tell you that for a kid paying his own way through school and buying all of his own toys like skis and bikes, theres probably not a better summer job. And if you want, you can stick with it and make a career out of it.
50KalHelitack is cool in its own way. But in its own way its hard to deal with. When you do fight fire you get to ride into the fire via helicopter, but we spend a bunch of time at helibases when the helicopter is out dropping buckets. I spend way more time at helibase then actually fighting fire. Like any job theres pros and cons.
Engines are cool cause you get put on the night shift and you stay with the engines most the time. No unplanned 10 mile hikes unless your really careless and forget to put oil in your engines.
Lol. That is funny cause I was on about 15 fires so far this year and I was only with my engine for maybe a 3rd of those, if that. Most of the time it was a long hike in cause of access. And some of the helitack I have worked with had to do some hiking in as well instead of flying in.
I did nightshift like 3 times this year? And I talked to quite a few people who have been doing this for at least 7+ years who said they've never done night shift or they've only done it once. haha
rsvpWhat exactly do you guys do on a day to day basis? what's the work schedule like? how much do you get paid?
Its all about what kind of crew you work on. All primary fire fighter crews (hand crews, engines, helitack, hotshots, jumpers, dozers, ect) fight the fire some way or support the operation fighting the fire. Then you have secondary crews (finance, planning, logisicts, operations, ect.) that support everything so people can fight the fire. No one would even show up to a major fire it wasn't for finance making sure people get paid.
Work schedule varies depending position. If you fight wildfire seriously for the season your pretty much sacrificing your summer for work. But I can justify taking the whole winter off. Which means ski as much as I want.
Pay is all dependent on your ability and what you do. Entry level is like $11-13 hr. But if your working on a active fire you get hazard pay which I believe is quarter hourly pay more an hour and overtime on top of that. If your on a crew that's kicking ass out there it adds up fast, even for entry level guys.
.lenconLol. That is funny cause I was on about 15 fires so far this year and I was only with my engine for maybe a 3rd of those, if that. Most of the time it was a long hike in cause of access. And some of the helitack I have worked with had to do some hiking in as well instead of flying in.
I did nightshift like 3 times this year? And I talked to quite a few people who have been doing this for at least 7+ years who said they've never done night shift or they've only done it once. haha
That's killer you got a bunch of fires in. Most the people I know on engines stay with there engine and do night shift. But that's in Minnesota. Every region makes their own people operate different ways.
And your in Idaho where they like to do a lot of direct attack right? Thats got to be fun.
50KalThat's killer you got a bunch of fires in. Most the people I know on engines stay with there engine and do night shift. But that's in Minnesota. Every region makes their own people operate different ways.
And your in Idaho where they like to do a lot of direct attack right? Thats got to be fun.
Yeah lots of direct attack.. Im in a more mountainous area tho. So its mostly piss pumps and tools... and a long hike in. Still haven't really done much mobile attack out on a dessert fire. But yeah 15 fires for a first year is good. Im super pumped and fortunate to get all that experience.
Any advice for someone who's trying to get into the wildland game? I've had the same summer gig for three years now and I hate it more than anything. I'm in CA and I plan on applying to CalFire but I really don't know shit about the federal side. What agencies should I apply to? Where's hiring? Other than CalFire is there other good gigs in the state? Any advice would be appreciated because as I've said and I cannot stress this enough, I hate my summer job.
If you have never done fire before just apply every where and prepare to move for the summer. It's hard to get a fire job if you have no connections or experience in the field. If you apply more places you have a better chance of getting a fire job federally.
If your looking to get into federal side get a profile setup on usajobs.gov. It's the federal job website where all jobs fed live. Once you create a profile you can make a resume and apply to jobs.
If you have a friend who has worked fed before ask them to show you the application system. It would be beneficial to have someone experienced show you little parts.
For fed jobs they have a pay scale known as GS. It starts at 2 and goes to something high like 16. 16 is like the secretary of the interior or politicians.
GS 2 is like "you have a high school degree but never used a shovel before entry level". The higher you go the more experienced you need to be and the better your paid.
If you have worked landscaping or labor intensive job before you could get a GS 3 job. Still entry level but you have worked labor jobs before. When you start getting to GS4 or higher you are expected to have fire experience or have a natural resources/outdoors degree of some sort.
GS5 fire jobs you start getting fire requirements which can take a while to build up.
And the list gets longer for qualifying for higher levels.
For when should applying to jobs, you should be looking at December January. Some regions might even post earlier.
The jobs you should be looking for are GS 2-3 level jobs (unless you have experience in fire or a natural resource degree). Apply everywhere and see where you get offers.
Things you could do to up chances of getting on you could take wildland fire classes. If your entry level they will give you these classes for free but you would rank higher if you had already taken these entry level classes. I took my classes in my college long ago. One place that is just wildfire classes I have heard of was in Colorado. I have not gone there but I've heard of good things. https://www.cwfima.com.
Also if you have wilderness first responder or emt put that on the resume. Wilderness first responder is easy to get or gives you a lot information.
50KalWildland fire thread. All things wildfire discussed. If you have questions, comments, photos, stories, just give a shout.
Here's some pics from my season so far.
Powerline fire Craigmount, ID
Lolo peak fire Missoula, MT
Sapphire complex. Philipsberg,MT
Sapphire complex. Philipsberg,MT
I'm currently on the Superior N.F. Helitack crew out of Ely, MN.
I know there are some people on Newschoolers here who fight wildfires. Post up.
Hey there, I googled superior helitack and somehow found this. I'm looking at trying to get back to MN and helitack. Heard through some peeps y'all do pretty well on hours. If there's a chance you could answer just a few questions I would greatly appreciate it.
MLB hasn't been on NS much for year but I think he's still fighting fires. Used to build parks, but now fight fires for the summers or maybe something relating year round.
Def seems interesting. I think I'd like to do it for a summer just to check it out. Not sure if I ever would though instead of doing southern hem winter gigs.
I just got back to Murica yesterday, but I saw that the west is burning everywhere. Stay safe out there y'all.
Went to hike a peak in Idaho a few days ago and there was a big random sagebrush fire right at the base of it that looked like it had been put out that day or the day before, it's been a crazy fire season. Rain finally came though.
RaarlWent to hike a peak in Idaho a few days ago and there was a big random sagebrush fire right at the base of it that looked like it had been put out that day or the day before, it's been a crazy fire season. Rain finally came though.
Had friends and relatives displaced by a couple of these fires, Shits crazy to think how much has been destroyed so fast. Also just heard we’re getting mutual from all across the country and even some help from Australia.
are these people burning in their homes because they didn't know their neighbourhood is on fire, or because they are like people in florida thinking that since their house hasn't burned down before then it probably won't burn down now?
are these people burning in their homes because they didn't know their neighbourhood is on fire, or because they are like people in florida thinking that since their house hasn't burned down before then it probably won't burn down now?
From my understanding it was some freaky weather that threw down a bunch dry lightning with strong winds pushing behind it. It was already taking homes people in the middle of the night. Seems like the majority of the deceased with mobility challenged or elderly.
are these people burning in their homes because they didn't know their neighbourhood is on fire, or because they are like people in florida thinking that since their house hasn't burned down before then it probably won't burn down now?
Dude, some of those areas in Northern Cal burned fast. Like, they just started issuing evacuation notices right before shit swept through their neighborhoods. I haven't been following the news that much though. I know a few were pretty old.
It wasn't like they had been told for weeks there was a fire coming and said "I AINT LEAVIN MY HOUSE!" Some of the neighborhoods got hit out of nowhere in the middle of the night. People were just grabbing whatever they could chuck in the car quick and get the fuck out, smoke and fire right behind them.
Noticing new wildfire jobs for spring/summer 2018 being posted on https://www.usajobs.gov . Anyone looking to get into federal wildland fire fighting, only more jobs will be posted from now on.
There is also state fire agencies and those jobs are posted depending on when the state post them.
50KalNoticing new wildfire jobs for spring/summer 2018 being posted on https://www.usajobs.gov . Anyone looking to get into federal wildland fire fighting, only more jobs will be posted from now on.
There is also state fire agencies and those jobs are posted depending on when the state post them.
Most rookie/first year jobs get posted up around January right??
50KalFor when should applying to jobs, you should be looking at December January. Some regions might even post earlier.
.lenconMost rookie/first year jobs get posted up around January right??
Like I said above some positions will get posted earlier for certain regions.
I'm noticing some gs-3 positions opening earlier than usual. It might be a good year to keep and an eye on it.
With all the fire this past summer and stuff still going on I would imagine they increase the budget federally as a knee jerk response in government for the next season.
50KalLike I said above some positions will get posted earlier for certain regions.
I'm noticing some gs-3 positions opening earlier than usual. It might be a good year to keep and an eye on it.
With all the fire this past summer and stuff still going on I would imagine they increase the budget federally as a knee jerk response in government for the next season.
Looking into applying for this summer. Should I just focus on the USAjobs site or should I also be applying on the state sites?
Still unsure about applying also. Definitely interested in the job and need some money, but also wanna have time to bike and relax over the summer with a chiller job before going back to busting ass at school in the fall.
Im a helitack leader out of northern Alberta. I've been doing for about 4 seasons, and one season in Ontario. I also ran an engine crew last year, and that was interesting.
We had a pretty quiet season up until augest, then everything blew up and I was busy until November. Spent Halloween on fires. I'm looking to move down south or to the mountains for this upcoming season. See what fire season is like in the mountains. If you guys have questions about fire in Canada let me know.
DFJStill unsure about applying also. Definitely interested in the job and need some money, but also wanna have time to bike and relax over the summer with a chiller job before going back to busting ass at school in the fall.
Find a different job then. It’s not a occupation you can “chill “ at. Maybe look for cashier at McDonald’s.
50KalFind a different job then. It’s not a occupation you can “chill “ at. Maybe look for cashier at McDonald’s.
Yeah I definitely understood that. I meant I was decideding between applying for chiller jobs or applying for a fire job. Gotta figure out what I want more.
Would people recommend applying for any certain types of crews (engine, hotshot, etc) for a first time or should you just apply to as many as possible since it's hard to get one in the first place?
DFJYeah I definitely understood that. I meant I was decideding between applying for chiller jobs or applying for a fire job. Gotta figure out what I want more.
Would people recommend applying for any certain types of crews (engine, hotshot, etc) for a first time or should you just apply to as many as possible since it's hard to get one in the first place?
Apply to as many as possible, in as many locations, with a bunch of people (BLM, FS, etc). Handcrew, fuels crew, engine crew, etc. I doubt any shotcrew, helitack crew, etc would pick up a first year.
call your local BLM/FS/whatever you’re interested in. They’ll answer a lot of questions you have and calling them shows interest which is something they love. They get hundreds of applications but have never heard of or from the majority of the applicants.
DFJWould people recommend applying for any certain types of crews (engine, hotshot, etc) for a first time or should you just apply to as many as possible since it's hard to get one in the first place?
You could get entry level spot on hand crew. That what a lot of hand crews are made of. College kids.
Apply to all the entry level spots you can find where ever they are and see if you get any offers.
Unless you have a background in manual labor/outdoor jobs that’s most likely only offers you’ll get.
MLBIm a helitack leader out of northern Alberta. I've been doing for about 4 seasons, and one season in Ontario. I also ran an engine crew last year, and that was interesting.
We had a pretty quiet season up until augest, then everything blew up and I was busy until November. Spent Halloween on fires. I'm looking to move down south or to the mountains for this upcoming season. See what fire season is like in the mountains. If you guys have questions about fire in Canada let me know.
