Fire fighting planes..anyone fly one?
The aircraft in the air now fighting fires needs to be doubled and the US could do it if the will was there.
The whole
business of Wildland firefighting in the US is a **** show.
Operationally, the boots on the ground and resources in the air have a very efficient system and we run ourselves into the ground every year during fire season making due with very little funding and support from our agencies (USFS,BLM, NPS, BIA, and USFWS).
From my view, as someone who has been a Hotshot, Helitak, and now fire engines in the US Forest Service, my agency is ran and headed by biologists and butterfly counters. They view Wildland firefighting portion of their workforce as menial labor, unskilled, and replaceable. We have several entry level pay grades that make less money than McDonald’s employees but these kids want to do it because of several noble factors. The higher ups and politicians see us with dirt under our fingernails and ash covered faces and assume manual labor = dummies. We have people leaving the Federal Wildland Firefighting workforce in droves only to be replaced by fresh bodies with less training and experience.
The Office of Personnel Management and the bean counters at the Agencies have done a very dubious thing in classifying this workforce as “Forestry Technician” for the USFS and “Range Technician” for BLM, National Parks, BIA, and US Fish and Wildlife. There is a job series called “Firefighter” but they are DoD and staff Type 1 (municipal) engines and mostly don’t get any fire calls. In the Wildland Fire workforce we are starting to fight fire all year long and when winter comes we are burning prescribed fires as much as allowed by Smoke Management office, EPA, and fuel moistures. Prescribed fires can get just as dangerous as wild fire and the carcinogen exposure is the same or even more as you stand in the smoke and flames all day.
For all the pay inequality between us and “real firefighters “, I am hopeful that the Infrastructure Bill does not pass. There is a provision in it to pay the Federal Wildland Firefighter workforce more and to change outer title in OPM to “Wildland Fire Manager”. That’s great but it’s wrapped in that stupid bill that is so damaging to our country.
Rant over. Back to firefighting aircraft …..
