East Coast FF Helping Out In California-Is It Possible?

[brgold 0]

I was just reading about how the LACoFD had to recall some of their seasonal firefighter to battle the blazes there. But what I was really wondering, and couldn’t find on their website, what policies are out there pertaining to us east coast guys going out there and helping out on the line? I realize that there are some inherent problems in sending a guy to do something they might not be trained in doing (fighting wildfires) out to California for a week. But I cant imagine that some of the city departments are running at full capacity since they must be pulling some of their guys to help out on the line; so maybe that’s a possibility. Just wondering your opinions and if you have any info perhaps.

Edited October 24, 2007 by brgold

[nycemt728 49]

I was just reading about how the LACoFD had to recall some of their seasonal firefighter to battle the blazes there. But what I was really wondering, and couldn’t find on their website, what policies are out there pertaining to us east coast guys going out there and helping out on the line? I realize that there are some inherent problems in sending a guy to do something they might not be trained in doing (fighting wildfires) out to cali for a week. But I cant imagine that some of the city departments are running at full capacity since they must be pulling some of their guys to help out on the line; so maybe that’s a possibility. Just wondering your opinions and if you have any info perhaps.

Wildland firefighting is very different than structural. It would be impossible to combine the two in the way you suggest, but I do agree it would appear some dept's are cross trained out there, so perhaps if the lawyers don't have field day with it, some ff's could help man the urban area calls while the locals handal the forest stuff. I think though, insurance companie would put up WAY too much of a fight to make it practical. Perhaps vollies could help w/ camp duties and rehab duties etc cosidering the large, extended nature of wildland fires.

[x635 4,066]

Being very familiar with Southern California fire operations, it's A LOT different out there than here in NY, both structurally, interface, and wildland.

As mentioned above, wildland firefighting is completly different than structural firefighting. Not to mention, very dangerous- you have to be trained to read the conditions carefully or you can easily be burned alive in a second.

I can see East Coast firefighters going out to help with disaster relief, putting out hot spots after the fire has passed, help with support operations, etc. But, the departments out there and State agencies have a rigorous, very orginanized command system. I would highly discourage anybody going out there to "freelance".......wait until there is an official request (if there is one), and then go through the proper channels.

And even with how nasty these fires look, the State Of California and the fire agencies are very well equipped to handle this situation. Don't forget...you're really not fighting the fire...you're trying to contain it and that is what the FF's are doing.

And, as per a contact, all LA City and County stations are completly covered.....albeit, there's a lot of overtime . Don't forget, they have the "Task Force" and "Strike Team" concepts that allow them to respond to major incidents without stripping coverage.

[Billy 68]

Being very familiar with Southern California fire operations, it's A LOT different out there then here in NY, both structurally, interface, and wildland.

As mentioned above, wildland firefighting is completly different then structural firefighting. Not to mention, very dangerous- you have to be trained to read the conditions carefully or you can easily be burned alive in a second.

I can see East Coast firefighters going out to help with disaster relief, putting out hot spots after the fire has passed, help with support operations, etc. But, the departments out there and State agencies have a rigorous, very orginanized command system. I would highly discourage anybody going out there to "freelance".......wait until there is an official request (if there is one), and then go through the proper channels.

And even with how nasty these fires look, the State Of California and the fire agencies are very well equipped to handle this situation. Don't forget...you're really not fighting the fire...you're trying to contain it and that is what the FF's are doing.

And, as per a contact, all LA City and County stations are completly covered.....albeit, there's a lot of overtime . Don't forget, they have the "Task Force" and "Strike Team" concepts that allow them to respond to major incidents without stripping coverage.

Regarding this Seth, how does the firefighting "breakdown" work in a situation like this? In other words, how many of the firefighters involved are regulars in the San Diego FD or LA County FD or are many of them from the state of California? Are there State firefighters that are Forest Rangers or used just for brush fires? What training do cities such as LA or San Diego FD have for fighting large widfires such as this?

[exmrvfc 0]

NYS does participate in Wildland Firefighting Mutual Aid. Wildland fireifghting in NYS is provided by the local fire department and supported/coordinated through NYS DEC Forest Rangers. NYS DEC also coordinates fire crews made up from some of the lower security correctional facilities. I have worked fire lines with the Forest Rangers and Correctional Team. The Forest Rangers have and do get called out to support other wildland units. If the need is great enough, Volunteers that have taken thre required courses, can also be called upon to "work the line" out west or where needed. Most of the mmebers are from Upstate. Here is some info from NYS DEC website.

National Wildfire Response

In 2006, the Division mobilized three 20-person firefighting crews to western wildfires as part of its cooperative agreement with the US Forest Service. Each crew was staffed with a forest ranger as its crew boss plus three other rangers as squad bosses. The other 16 members were forest rangers, other DEC employees and department volunteer firefighters. New York State Crew One was sent to the Los Padres National Forest in California in late July. Crew #2 was sent to Salmon- Challis National Forest near Landmark, Idaho in mid-August while Crew #3 went to Boise National Forest, also in Idaho, in late August. This was one of the busiest years rangers have had supporting western or southern wildland firefighting efforts since 1979 when New York sent its first crews.

[x635 4,066]

Regarding this Seth, how does the firefighting "breakdown" work in a situation like this? In other words, how many of the firefighters involved are regulars in the San Diego FD or LA County FD or are many of them from the state of California? Are there State firefighters that are Forest Rangers or used just for brush fires? What training do cities such as LA or San Diego FD have for fighting large widfires such as this?

All the information you need on LA Brush fires, click below:

http://lafdtraining.org/ists/brush.htm

[Fex404 0]

And even with how nasty these fires look, the State Of California and the fire agencies are very well equipped to handle this situation. Don't forget...you're really not fighting the fire...you're trying to contain it and that is what the FF's are doing.

On Cnn this morning, There was a high ranking California Fire officer who said that they just dont have the resources or personnel to handle this anymore. The containing efforts are failing just because of the vast amount of coverage area that needs to be contained.

I know that The Fed Govt is sending many resources including money to help fund this effort. Hopefully there will be a change in the weather which will help them as well.

[Capejake72 8]

in order to go to another state (generally on a Fed (US Forest Service) fire) you need to have at a minimum completed an approved S130, s190, and l-180 courses (basic wildland firefighter) as well as passed the arduous physical test (3 miles, 45lb pack in 45 minutes) and be on a roster for an agency that has teams available for th National Interagency Fire Center (which coordinates all the wildland firefighting resources) as things stand right now, I couldn't go ( I'm a forest ranger for the Florida Division of Forestry) and I'm not yet certified or available for western details as of yet, though we can respond to any of the southern states (southern Area Fire Compact) or anywhere within Florida for disasters or wildlfires. After California, Florida is the 2nd largest Forestry service in the US and the highest in terms of training standards

I would advise you to check with your state division of foresrty to see what their requirements are for wild land fire training and western (or southern details) http://www.dec.ny.gov/

[brgold 0]

Thanks for the info, thats just what I was looking for!

[helicopper 1,050]

Another consideration is the duration of most wildland fire assignments. They're typically 14, 21, or 30 day stints. Sending a crew from NY to CA for a week becomes a logistical nightmare with very little return on the investment. There are ALOT of fire resources between here and there that require a lot less travel.

Just another thought...

[JetPhoto 626]

To provide assistance from NY the state has to be contacted in order to supply assistance this then goes to the county coordinators then to the fire chiefs.

If you freelance you could face going to jail

If injured you will not be covered under your departments insurance

If your equipment is damaged no one will pay to fix or replace

Agreements should already be in place with departments that are along state boarders in the event of m/a to a neighboring department.