Yes, You Can Fight and Prevent Forest Fires!
Wildland Firefighting
Students in the Fire-Rescue-EMR curriculum were exposed to a firefighting career option not many people realize exists in our area: wildland firefighting.
Captain Joshua Strohemeyer, of the U.S. Forest Service gave a comprehensive presentation to our Fire-Rescue-EMS students on what it takes to make wildland firefighting a career. He began by explaining how the science, tactics, and strategies involved in wildland firefighting differ from structural firefighting.
The Captain also stated that unlike structural firefighting, anyone who is 18 is eligible to apply on-line for a full-time job with the U.S. Forest Service. In so doing, he stressed the importance of creating a proper resume. Considering the fact the hiring process for many federal government positions does not involve interviews, a thorough and up-to-date resume is critical to the recruitment and hiring process. In fact, he related how he helped a former graduate of KACC get hired after helping him fine-tune his resume.
Although Captain Strohemeyer is currently assigned to work at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington, he and his fellow wildland firefighters travel to extinguish fires all throughout the United States. So far, he has fought fires in 27 states. Most of the time, these assignments involve working outdoors in all kinds of terrain and weather.
Much of the work is seasonal. This type of firefighter typically works eight hours a day Monday through Friday unless deployed to fight fires. They work these hours six to nine months during fire season (which varies depending upon the region of the country) and then have several months off until the fire season starts again.
Captain Strohemeyer's presentation was both educational and informative. All of the students obtained a new appreciation for wildland firefighting, and many left with the intent of investigating this career further.