FIRE PROGRAM OCCUPATIONS

The Bureau of Land Management employs over 1,500 people in the fire program. These employees are hired both as permanent and temporary employees. In fact, many of the temporary employees return year after year and consider working in the Bureau's fire program as a second career. Many have progressed from entry-level fire crew positions to leadership positions on engine crews or as elite firefighters on Hotshot Crews or as Smokejumpers. Permanent employees in the Bureau's fire program have opportunities to progress even further as Fire Management Officers and Fuels Program Managers.

All positions, except Dispatcher and Fire Prevention, require that you successfully pass a pre-employment physical examination. All positions require pre-employment drug testing. Most permanent positions require that you be no older than 35 years old upon appointment.

Fire Lookout/Fire Crew
If you are interested in being a firefighter and have little or no wildland firefighting experience, this where you begin.

As a Fire Lookout, you will serve as a lookout at remote tower stations. You will observe, plot, and report fire starts, report locations, estimate size, and fire behavior. You will interact with fire suppression crews and dispatch them through radio communications.

On Fire Crew, you will serve as a crewmember or leader of a fire suppression crew, building fire lines using pulaskis, shovels and chainsaws to control spreading wildland fire. You will also patrol areas of controlled fires and search out and extinguish any remaining burning material. Finally, you will observe, collect, and preserve evidence of the cause of fires.

Fire Lookout positions are filled at the GS-2 and 3 levels. Apply for these positions on the Federal government's on-line job service.

Temporary seasonal fire crew positions range from GS-2 through GS-5. Permanent fire crew positions require wildland land firefighting experience or directly related college education, and are advertised on the Federal government's on-line job service: (Link directly to BLM's page on usajobs)

After a few seasons of wildland firefighting, you can progress to a number of other occupations.

Hotshot Crew
As a Hotshot, you will serve as a crew member or leader of a 20-person organized interagency (BLM and other Federal organizations such as the Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs) fire suppression crew building firelines, conducting burn out operations, and mopping up after the fire using chainsaws and hand tools such as pulaskis and shovels. Your crew will be made up of temporary and permanent personnel. Hotshot crews draw specialized assignments that reflect their higher levels of experience and training, and they're often dispatched nationwide to larger fires.

Temporary seasonal Hotshot crew positions are filled at the GS-2, GS-3, GS-4 and GS-5 levels from the Fire Crew announcements described above. Permanent fire crew positions require wildland land firefighting experience or directly related college education.

Fuels Module Crew
Fuels Module Crewmember positions are filled at the GS-4 and GS-5 levels and require wildland firefighting experience. Apply for these positions on the Federal government's on-line job service.

Dispatcher
As a Fire Dispatcher, you will operate two-way radios, telephones, telecopiers, and computer terminals to order and dispatch resources for fire suppression purposes. You will be responsible for processing information for fire weather conditions, forecasts and other factors affecting fire management.

Temporary dispatcher positions are filled at the GS-5 and the GS-6 levels and require wildland fire experience in order to qualify. Permanent dispatcher positions (both non-supervisors and supervisors) range from GS-5 through GS-9 and also require wildland land firefighting experience. They are advertised on the Federal government's on-line job service.

Engine Operator
As a fire engine driver/operator, you will drive fire engines to fire locations, frequently over unimproved roads. You will be responsible for placing the engine for safety and optimum utilization of water, foam, and water handling equipment. You will work with specialized firefighting equipment and perform many strenuous activities, including construction of fireline with hand tools or hose lays, burnout operations, and mopping up hotspots near the fire's edge.

Temporary Engine Operator and supervisor position are filled from the GS-5 through the GS-7 levels. Permanent Engine Operator and supervisors positions require wildland land firefighting experience and are advertised on the Federal government's on-line job service.

Helitack Crew
As a Helitack crewmember, you will serve as member or leader of a wildland fire suppression crew, which specializes in helicopter operations. Helicopter operations may include loading helicopter cargo and completing manifests of crews and equipment being transported. You may land at/or near a fire or rappel from a hovering helicopter in remote area to construct helispots or to initial attack fire. You will build firelines using hand tools, chainsaws and support equipments.

Temporary Helitack Crew positions are filled from Fire Suppression announcements at the GS-5 and GS-6 level. Permanent Helitack Crew positions require wildland land firefighting experience or directly related college education, and are advertised on the Federal government's on-line job service.

Smokejumper
As a Smokejumper you will be a member of an elite corps of specialized firefighters or leaders who parachute into remote areas for initial attack of wildland fire. You will maintain fire equipment and inspect and pack parachutes. You must be self-reliant and be able to work in both small groups and as part of larger organized crews. You must be in outstanding physical condition and have prior wildland firefighting experience.

Temporary Smokejumper positions are filled at the GS-5 and GS-6 level. Permanent Smokejumper positions are filled at grades GS-5 and GS-6 levels, with leadership positions filled at the GS-7 level. These positions require wildland land firefighting experience, and are advertised on the Federal government's on-line job service.

Fire Prevention
As a Fire Prevention Officer, you will establish contact with forest users, visitors, and local residents. You will inform the public of fire danger, advise of precautions to prevent destructive fires, and explain the laws and regulations.

Fuels Prevention Officer positions are filled at the GS-7 level and require both wildland firefighting experience and experience one of the more complication positions such as a Smokejumper or in a leadership position. Apply for these positions on the Federal government's on-line job service.

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