Forest Service training prepares firefighters

Every summer the call goes out, and every summer they come. From all walks of life, people sign up to become Forest Service foot soldiers in America's annual battle with fire.

These days, however, the Forest Service doesn't just hand you a shovel and send you out on the fire line. If you want to fight fire in the modern Forest Service, you have to go through Guard School.

The training is done in one intensive week in the Deschutes National Forest. Instructors range from experienced fire scientists to members of the Prineville Hot Shots.

To finish off the week, new firefighters grab tools and hard hats and take to the field to fight purposely set "mock" fires. This last component of Guard School serves as a hands-on final exam for the novice firefighters.

This year's contingent of firefighters took their last day of training Thursday, June 20.

"Everything you've learned so far is going to be applied today," Rock Gerke, Fire Operations Manager for the Deschutes National Forest told more than 35 students attending the school. "You're going to do all the things you've been hearing about all week."

After sitting in class for several days, this was the student firefighters' chance to get their hands on a fire tool, to smell woodsmoke in the air and feel the heat of a real forest fire in their faces.

In the old days of the 1930s and '40s, fire training often consisted of getting a streetside bum to sober up before putting him in front of a wildland blaze. Forest rangers found their firefighters on barstools and in flophouses.

Now, several decades later, fire crews consist of college students, ski instructors, school teachers and anyone else looking for hard work and some summer excitement. They are mostly young, in good shape, and eager to get out into the woods. Firefighting in the 1990s is a science as well as a long day's work, and trainees are expected to pass written tests about fire weather, safety codes and equipment use.

For the trainees of the Deschutes National Forest, the final field test came in the form of a few acres of active flames, moving fast and furiously through tinderbox-dry brush and timber. Mother Nature happily cooperated with the plan, showing her best and worst sides.

The weather was fairly calm and mild. But Gerke was quick to point out that under partial clouds, the wind could change directions in a hurry.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you should see some torching today," said Gerke.

When torches were applied to the dry shrub, flames leaped quickly skyward, consuming pine needles and dead limbs. Most trainees took an involuntary step backwards, then watched as a seasoned crew demonstrated how to beat down a small fire of less than one acre.

Working fast, the experienced crew circled the fire with a quick fire "line," or a cleared trail of exposed dirt. Then workers moved into the blackened area and tossed soil onto any flames and hot cinders.

What fire scene is complete without the din of helicopters and planes overhead? Gerke and the other instructors supplied all the action and equipment of a real fire scenario, right down to the Forest Service helicopter dropping a few hundred gallons of water onto the hot trees.

In less than 30 minutes, the fire was knocked down and beaten into the wet dirt. These were experienced firefighters after all, doing what they knew well.

But the new students still had some tough questions for them.

"What about eye protection?" asked one trainee. "A couple of them weren't wearing proper safety glasses." Others pointed out a few procedural faults. The difference between a classroom and several years on the fire lines was clear.

Things are different out here. The fire rarely does what it is told.

To ram that point home, the trainees were given fires of their own to deal with. The instructors lit three small fires, all less than one acre, and mock crews of ten to 11 trainees marched to work.

Now, finally, the lessons of a week past were put to the test. The initial shovel and ax swings were tentative, but before long the trainees moved with authority. They might not beat the flames back as fast as a team of Hot Shots yet, but they soon had their fires lined out and knocked down.

To remind them that class was not yet over, crew bosses kept a close eye on the new workers, dispensing advice and wisdom.

"Don't waste time on that one bush, keep an eye on the whole fire," advised one instructor. "Watch your safety zones and keep an eye on your buddy."

Simple lessons, maybe, but critical ones that will keep these new recruits in the fire wars alive. All they needed to provide was the will to win.

"Bring it on! Let's get this fire season going!" exclaimed one trainee. The others nodded. It is summer, after all.