This is being sent out to Regions and Forests to use in response to the growing interest in federal fire fighting positions being directed toward the local units.
- Fire fighters are not hired by the Washington Office or by the Regional Office. Those offices rely on local Forest Service offices to recruit and train fire fighters.
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Fire fighters are normally
hired and trained between December and March prior to the most common fire
season activities.
-
Fire fighters have to pass
training courses as well as a physical proficiency exam.
-
During the fire season,
especially one this extreme, those Forest Service officials who would normally
conduct most fire training are actively involved in the direct fire fighting
efforts.
-
When we face serious
shortage of personnel we rely heavily on our partners in the military for
additional support. Those troops are
well organized, in good physical condition and require very little training to
assist in the fire fighting efforts.
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People interested in helping
with future fire fighting efforts should contact local Forest Service offices
to be placed on a list of people interested in receiving fire training during
the winter/spring of 2001.