Engineering in the Urban Interface

[Sleuth]

I am the newly appointed Training Officer on my dept. Someone told us that you had to have special training to be certified by the Forest Service to engineer our Type II engine on one of their fires. I can't find anything on their web site, and the area FS office is, well, difficult to communicate with. Seems no one is ever in.

So, where can I find the facts about this training?

Thanks in advance.

[RxFire]

Sleuth -

You can try contacting a different forest than the one local to you, ask for the Fire Management Officer. If that doesn't work out, or you want the final word straight from the regional office, try contacting:


Bill Waterbury
USFS Assistant Director., Aviation & Fire Management
USDA Forest Service
Southwestern Region (R03)
333 Broadway SE
Albuquerque, NM 87102-0084
(505) 842-3418
wwaterbury@fs.fed.us

Good luck on getting the truth and keep on foot in the black

[ramseycl]

Actually it isn't just a forest service thing. There is a national training/rating system that requires everyone operating on a wildland fire to be red carded. A red card is a card stating your qualifications, and showing that you have completed the required training. To obtain a red card as a basic firefighter you have to complete the S130/190 class and take the pack test (3 mile walk in 45 minutes with a 45 pound pack). Then every year you take a refresher and take the pack test again to recertify. After you get the basic qualifications you can take other classes to get more advanced assignments. To operate an engine on most fires you have to be qualified as engine boss (ENGB), and some agencies require you to be IC type 5 (ICT5).
Where are you at in Arizona?
Email me if you have more questions.

[Sleuth]

Thanks, I am very familiar with the red card system. I did spend a few nights on the Rodeo-Chedeski Fire, as I am in the mountains of North East Arizona. I have an e-mail in to the SW Region, to try to get the straight scoop.

[ramseycl]

I was asking because I worked on the North Rim at the Grand Canyon last summer.