Dan O’Connor used to look forward to being laid off from his temporary wildland firefighter position every fall. During the spring and summer, he worked long, hard days for months in a row, all with the anticipation of fall, when he would be laid off and could enjoy life for a few months, recuperate and prepare for the coming fire year.
Historically, the wildland firefighting culture has attracted people who want to work hard for six to nine months, save all their well-earned money, then take a few months off in the fall and winter to pursue hobbies, travel and generally recuperate from months of hard, physically and mentally taxing labor.
“When I was first starting out in fire, I looked for jobs that offered temporary work so that I could spend my winters traveling or surfing,” remembers O’Connor, who is now a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fire Management Officer for the Southern California Fire Zone.
“The world has changed. That sort of lifestyle isn’t achievable anymore due to skyrocketing cost of living across the West.”O’Connor is right: the world has changed. Wildland fire activity starts earlier in the spring and lasts longer into the fall. Wildfires are typically larger, grow more quickly, and are overall more difficult to control. These days, wildland firefighters are needed throughout the year – not only to tackle wildfires, but to conduct wildfire risk reduction projects in the fall, winter and spring.
As the U.S. Department of the Interior adapts to changing environments and more intense fire activity, its wildland fire management bureaus are also investing in the future of wildland fire management through their employees. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Wildland Fire Apprenticeship Program (WFAP) , builds future wildland fire leaders through a mix of classroom education and on-the-job training.
WFAP, an accredited U.S. Department of Labor apprenticeship program, sends entry-level firefighters to an academy where they become well-rounded wildland fire leaders and practitioners. WFAP apprentices attend two to three weeks of classroom learning where they study fire behavior, fuels management, human factors and human performance. Students also experience a diverse learning environment through on-the-job training as they participate in handcrews, engine crews, aviation assets, dispatch, prescribed fire, and other fire program elements. Other U.S. Department of the Interior bureaus have also used, or are currently using, wildland fire apprenticeship programs as they continue to build future leaders.
Students have up to four years to complete the program and upon completion, they are converted to fulltime permanent positions. Although the apprenticeship program started in the 1990s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service couldn’t apply it until 2021, when the U.S. Department of the Interior created a new wildland fire specific position description, which allows entry-level individuals to be hired with the intent of participating in the apprenticeship program.
Saydee-Marie Fujioka, a current Wildland Fire Apprenticeship Program apprentice, came across the program announcement while working as a wildland firefighter for a different bureau.
“My previous work with suppression funded programs didn’t allow me to experience anything other than suppression work. This program has allowed me to experience what it’s like to work with helitack, handcrews, and even dispatch. I already feel like a more well-rounded firefighter.”
Ultimately, Fujioka would like to be a Fire Management Officer and she wholeheartedly believes this program will help her achieve that goal.
Krishna Parthasarathy first heard about the program during his Conservation Corps service at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, where refuge fire personnel encouraged him to apply for the program. Parthasarathy’s first WFAP assignment on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Redding Hotshots based in Redding, California, exposed him to the crew’s developmental leadership lessons and self-confidence building tactics. Parthasarathy’s next assignment is with the Forest Service’s Price Valley Helitack Program in Idaho.
“I’m looking forward to the ‘infamous rappel mountain week’ and meeting the physical challenges of that. This program has taught me to not be intimidated by the task before me and to say ‘yes’ to exploring all opportunities that come my way,” says Parthasarathy.Dan O’Connor, Fire Management Officer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southern California Fire Zone, currently employs six apprentices. When fire activity declines in Southern California, O’Connor offers the apprentices to other regions who need them for fuels work or other projects.
“Our apprentices never sit around, that’s for sure. If there’s no fire on the ground, they support nearby refuges by assisting with restoration projects, trail repairs, or other refuge needs,” says O’Connor. “In this way, apprentices not only build relationships with non-fire refuge staff, but they better understand the refuge system and why protecting these places is crucial to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mission.”
Overall, WFAP allows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to foster a workforce with extensive wildland fire management knowledge and skills, including leaders who understand wildland fire management from the ground up. This investment allows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to foster meaningful wildland fire careers and retain employees who enjoy their jobs and passionately support the wildland fire management mission. Through WFAP, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has hired 28 wildland fire positions in one year, with plans to continue the program as part of its ongoing efforts to build future wildland fire management leaders and a diverse, well-rounded workforce.
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