Delaware Forest Service seeks trainee registrations by Feb. 17
The Delaware Forest Service is seeking trainees for its annual wildfire training classes at the Delaware State Fire School. No previous experience is needed. Applicants should be over 18 years old, physically fit, motivated and willing to travel for at least two weeks (usually during the summer) on out-of-state fire assignments.
To register by Wednesday, Feb. 17, contact Kyle Hoyd, DFS Wildland Fire Program administrator, at 302-698-4548 or kyle.hoyd@state.de.us.
All trainees must complete these courses on two separate weekend sessions:
Course S-190: Introduction to Wildfire Behavior is set 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6. Course S-130: Basic Wildland Firefighting is set 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20. Courses are taught at the Delaware State Fire School, 1461 Chestnut Grove Road, Dover. For more information, call 302-739-4773.
Both S-190 and S-130 are required for prospective firefighters to attain red-card certification from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, the lead agency for wildfire training in the United States. In addition to the basic coursework, candidates must also complete an arduous work capacity or pack test, which involves carrying a 45-pound pack over a three-mile course in less than 45 minutes.
The capstone of the Delaware Forest Service’s annual wildfire training is its 21st annual Fire Camp set for Saturday, April 23, at Redden State Forest in Georgetown. The intensive one-day seminar includes hands-on training across a range of wildland firefighting tools and strategies, culminating in a live-burn exercise designed to simulate conditions on an actual fire assignment. Last year’s camp was featured on the WHYY-TV news program “First.”
In 2015, Delaware mobilized a 20-person crew to the National Interagency Fire Center that battled the 36,500-acre Fork Complex Fire in Northern California. The Delaware crew served at a time of intense need for firefighting resources, coinciding with the period when the National Preparedness Level hit a maximum of 5 on a 5-point scale.
Delaware has been mobilizing crews to serve on out-of-state assignment since the late-1990s. The crews have battled fires in Alaska, California, Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
The First State has also sent personnel to aid in national or regional emergencies, such as hurricane relief efforts in Florida in 2004 and New York in 2011. Trained and dispatched by the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, wildfire crews are composed of men and women of varying ages and backgrounds who represent a mix of public agencies, nonprofit groups, volunteer fire companies, and private citizens, all with an interest in firefighting and a desire to help their communities.
