Forest Fire Fighters

Control and suppress fires in forests or vacant public land.

Job Task

• Maintain fire equipment and firehouse living quarters.
• Maintain knowledge of current firefighting practices by participating in drills and by attending seminars, conventions, and conferences.
• Serve as fully trained lead helicopter crewmember and as helispot manager.
• Collaborate with other firefighters as a member of a firefighting crew.
• Establish water supplies, connect hoses, and direct water onto fires.
• Extinguish flames and embers to suppress fires, using shovels, or engine- or hand-driven water or chemical pumps.
• Fell trees, cut and clear brush, and dig trenches in order to create firelines, using axes, chainsaws or shovels.
• Maintain contact with fire dispatchers at all times in order to notify them of the need for additional firefighters and supplies, or to detail any difficulties encountered.
• Operate pumps connected to high-pressure hoses.
• Orient self in relation to fire, using compass and map, and collect supplies and equipment dropped by parachute.
• Participate in physical training in order to maintain high levels of physical fitness.
• Patrol burned areas after fires to locate and eliminate hot spots that may restart fires.
• Test and maintain tools, equipment, jump gear and parachutes in order to ensure readiness for fire suppression activities.
• Observe forest areas from fire lookout towers in order to spot potential problems.
• Organize fire caches, positioning equipment for the most effective response.
• Parachute from aircraft into remote areas for initial attack on wildland fires.
• Participate in fire prevention and inspection programs.
• Perform forest maintenance and improvement tasks such as cutting brush, planting trees, building trails and marking timber.
• Rescue fire victims, and administer emergency medical aid.
• Take action to contain any hazardous chemicals that could catch fire, leak, or spill.
• Transport personnel and cargo to and from fire areas.
• Drop weighted paper streamers from aircraft to determine the speed and direction of the wind at fire sites.
• Inform and educate the public about fire prevention.

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