Contract Fire Protection Information

[Zig123]

Hi all,

Yes, Yes, Yes, I have been away for awhile. I have been in the process of buying my own company and getting into contract fire protection as well as risk management. Yes, it is my fault. I have been tracking the forum but just have not had time to respond as apparently my previous user name and password did not work.

As far as the last forum post, you are correct, there is a drawdown coming to Iraq. I mentioned this previously in a thread. You may see some build up in Afghanistan for firefighters, but it will be minimal.

As stated previously, look at the shift to LOGCAP IV. This is where everyone needs to be looking. Again though, keep in mind that the contract size will be smaller than what you are used to. Meaning, that most contracts will only look for senior fire officers and hire locally for the lower positions. This is not uncommon in foreign countries. Sooooooo, this means that if you are in the position to upgrade your certs, do not hesitate. Take the effort to get your certs.

The other problems that you will face with the drawdown will be employment in the U.S.. With the economy the way it is right now, everyone is cutting cost. This means fewer jobs. For those of you that are lucky enough to be on departmental leave, all the more to you, but start contacting your department to see if the position is being cut or placed on hold.

For those planning on going to Iraq for the money, you may want to sit back and look at things. Keep in mind, if you are at an FOB, they are the first to close. If you think that you will be moved to a major base, think again. Major bases/locations are most likely full and cannot accept additional personnel. If you think company honor is going retain your job as well as position, you are on the cutting block like everyone else. This is not to sound negative, it is just a fact of life. Start planning now. Do not wait. If you are not saving money, START. Try to make sure that you have enough money in your bank account to get you through for a couple of months if by chance you have to go back home. There are so many times that I hear about people making big dollars and spending it. Once they leave the contract, there is nothing left. Now it is more critical as the big paying contracts are about over.

Lastly, get used to this fact. Just because you have worked in Iraq/Afghanistan and was making the big dollars, that will come to an end. The contract world will go back to as it was where you make about 1/3 less, even in senior positions. The pay is comparable to the U.S. since you are not paying taxes in most situations. If you are offered a contract that pays $50K a year, do not turn your nose at it "Because I worked in Iraq"..... Life is now about who cares????? No one, you need a job and career growth. Sacrifice on your part must come into play as this is how it is going to be until the next big conflict. Which if you follow history, it is about every 35 years.

On the next post, I will provide some contract opportunities and points of contacts. Give me about a week as I am really swamped with business issues. I never knew buying a company would take up so much time. I really just wanted to play golf.

Chief Gale

Chief,
you mentioned that you were planning to post some oppurtunities within a week...
Has the business dried out since than?

As I am currently in a permanent federal job I am especially looking for rather a long term assignedment in the middle East rather than a twelve month tour.

Is there also a significant business in the risk assemsement, planning/program management sector?

Regards

Zig

[DuPontChief]

Chief,
Do youhave any information on Qatar and Camp As Sayliyah? I am looking at the possiblitity of accepting the fire chief's job there and the information on the department is , to be honest, non-existent. Can you help?

[badhobbit]

Hello all, and thank you all SO much for all of the info that you have posted over the last couple of years about contract firefighting (especially in the middle east).

This thread has quieted down a LOT in the last couple of years especially, and I'm wondering if there is really much left in the way of contract FF positions, specifically in Iraq and Afghanistan. From what I've been reading it sounds like Iraq has been scaling back for the last 6-8 mos or so now, but I'm not finding much info about Afghanistan slots either, (I should be looking through kbr for Afghanistan, and WSI for Iraq, correct?). Between there not being much (or any) info on their sites, and things quieting down on the 'net in general (here and other forums), I'm starting to wonder if they are even still sending people over there.

If anyone has any current-ish information they wouldn't mind passing my way, I'd greatly appreciate it! I don't really have a preference between Iraq or Afghanistan, just sounds like as of last year at least, Iraq was about done, and then everything just kinda dropped off.

Thank you very much for your time!

[FireDude87]

still sending people over to iraq. there is a group leaving on the 17th of may and june 7th.

[Bent101]

WSLLC (WSI) is still in Iraq and most likely will be until the end. It is true, they are shutting down quite a few sites as the military draws down. ITT and Dynacorp has Afghanistan. KBR has a very small footprint in Iraq! To my knowledge the only site they have left is the Greenzone. There are also a few other companies in Iraq. I think Sally Port and Fluor(sp) which also have very small footprints. With all the companies, if you don't have ARFF, I would think about getting it if you want to ensure yourself a job. I know for a fact that ITT requires it! Good luck to all, if you have any other questions, let me know, I'll do my best to answer them. I know it gets frustrating looking through all the old posts from 2-3 years ago trying to find current info!