http://www.firestormfire.com / firestorm@firestormfire.com

Your question was vague and I don’t know if you are already a wildland firefighter or not. I am under the assumption you’re not because if you we’re a firefighter you would already know the answer to your question. Thus i will take you as far as i can.
I am a FFT1 in New Mexico and spent time with smoke jumpers last year just to get to know them and possibly ask for a chance. I am 51 years old and i don’t have what it takes to be a jumper. Smoke jumpers are at the top of the wildfire food chain. I was told the requirements for the opportunity to even try out. As far as i know you have to be nominated from a hot shot position. The requirements are in league with military personnel. I was fairly shocked to hear the requirements to pass the tests into the brother hood of this prestigious position.

1. At least 3 years of wildland firefighting.
2. 2 years of hot shot firefighting.
3. Intense training on the fire line with out sleep for days.
4. You are pushed to your mental and physical breaking points, once you are assessed of how long it takes before you break down and cry like a baby, and freak out then you are judged by how you handled your breakdown. This process is valid because it determines how you would react in the most extreme situations and how you react with out any time to think about your next move. Your next move could be your last, new firefighters die every year because they did not listen to other experienced personnel. That is why we have rules to follow, like stay with your crew! Some don’t like that order but I have seen people die because a tree fell on their stubborn ass.

This evaluation will make you or break you. You either are in or you are out. Some who do not make it ultimately leave the wildland firefighting arena for good? It takes a very strong willed person to bounce back after all of the extreme conditions you are subject to.
Call the Gila Smoke jumpers if you think I am pulling your leg.

Hope this helps. Good luck in your future professions.

Going to usajobs.com and searching for Forestry Aid (fire) can help you find the job you want. Inexperience firefighters can try for Type II Handcrews, Initial Attack is the better option if possible but Hotshot Crews are going to pick firefighters with a couple years experience.

Be Safe!

Another good option for the aviation minded is a heli-tack crew. You are attached to a ship for the season doing everything involved in the water drops and support functions helicopters provide in wildland fire. Smoke jumping positions are highly sought after and the competition is fierce within both the Forest Service and BLM. Very few get a jumper slot right out of the gate. Don’t forget state forestry agencies; the California Division of Forestry hires fire crews each summer as do most other western states. If you are in forestry/resource school you can also get on pick-up crews as part of your curriculum, if your college/university offers the option.

Eric points out some important realities of pursuing this line of work. When the season isn’t jumping you’ll be doing other kinds of work. As an ecologist for the Forest Service, I enlisted hot shot crews and helitack to complete fencing projects, fisheries habitat restoration and other non-fire orientied jobs. Once the call goes out though, you’ll be on the line. Remember you’ll be gone for extended periods of time….sometimes months. Significant others need to know this (this includes your four pawed family).

One other perk of seasonal firefighting work is the schedule. Unless you are “full time” with an appointment, you’ll be working just a portion of the year. If the hazard pay and overtime are good, that gives you a block of time and a pretty fat bankroll for traveling. Fire fighter friends in California go to Baja for a few months every year once they hang up their Whites and put the red pack away for the season.

An interesting international note: Russia hires 10 times the smoke jumpoers as the U.S….somewhere in the number of 5000 . A close friend of mine was the first ever female smokejumper in the US Forest Service. She rose in the agency to become an international liason, working overseas and bringing firefighters from their country over here. Good luck to anyone trying to break into the fray. I still have lots of contacts in the agencies, so if you need some assistance send me a message through the Matador network.

Cheers,
Chrysser

Ethan and Herbert,
Ethan, you are on the right track. Most smoke-jumpers start on regular fire crews getting valuable experience before trying to go for the type 1 fire card. Learn everything you can, then try out for smoke jumper. The competition is fierce, but well worth it in the end. If being 43 is a concern for you Herbert, don’t worry. I didn’t run into any age restrictions in researching this story. If you’re in good physical shape and have a flexible enough schedule, get on a regular fire crew. After that, sky’s the limit.

Good luck,
Eric