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Becoming a Wildland Firefighter

One day I shyly asked my captain why he had hired me with no experience. He said that I had written about a two-week backpacking trip I had done and that I enjoyed long distance running. He figured that he could teach me about fire as long as I enjoyed being outside and pushing myself physically.

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Becoming a Wildland Firefighter

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  1. Becoming a Wildland Firefighter Becoming a Wildland Firefighter Wildland firefighting is inherently dangerous work. However, the rewards outweigh the risk in my experience. Here’s answers to the most commonly asked questions I get as a mentor for you to get an idea of my day-to-day life as a Wildland fire fighter and what you’re getting yourself into.

  2. It can be daunting. I know. When I first applied to wildland fire jobs in 2012, I had no idea what I was doing. I even had help. A close friend and my boyfriend at the time were both hotshots and helped me through the USAJobs online application process. I remember it not being very intuitive and having no clue what to write on my resume or what all the jargon meant. I literally applied to every single entry-level position I could find. It didn’t matter which town or part of the country it was in. I thought there was probably no way in hell I would be hired as a rookie firefighter with zero fire experience.

  3. I didn’t even have the basic wildland fire classes. All I knew was that I was intrigued by the job, as seen through my friend’s eyes, and I wanted to go for it, no matter the odds.

  4. Out of probably 50 applications I submitted, I got two interest calls. One promptly wrote me off and the other hired me. I had no idea how lucky I was. Even after seven years as a wildland firefighter, that summer was the busiest fire season I’ve ever had. In four and a half months our fuels/Type-2 IA crew racked up around 800 hours of overtime, including 46 straight paid days.

  5. shower, do laundry and calorie binge. There wasn’t time for anything else, but I loved it. I loved the work and I loved my crew. It was one of the best summers of my life. I saw so much fire and I was getting stronger every day. I knew I had found a job I wanted to keep doing season after season. I was only home to sleep,

  6. he had hired me with no experience. He said that I had written about a two-week backpacking trip I had done and that I enjoyed long distance running. He figured that he could teach me about fire as long as I enjoyed being outside and pushing myself physically. One day I shyly asked my captain why

  7. Contact Us Contact Us PO Box 95, Fraser, CO 80442 1.303.5796925 www.the5ftfirefighter.com

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