Advice from Experienced Wildland Firefighters
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- I asked and I received! I got some golden nuggets of advice from seasoned firefighters that I want to share with you! I wasn't able to fit it all in this video so let me know in the comments or like this video if you want to see this as a series.
Also, if you have any nuggets of wisdom that you want to share please feel free to leave it in the comments for others to check out! Enjoy!
--------------------------
CHECK IT OUT!
www.wildlandfirefit.com
📕 Advice from Seasoned Wildland Firefighters amzn.to/3LQWtC2
🛍️ Amazon Favs: www.amazon.com...
--------------------------
LET'S CONNECT!
∆ Follow me on INSTAGRAM 📸 / wildlandfirefit
∆ Send your best fire season pics to Ronniocampo11@gmail.com to get featured on my page!
--------------------------
Darn Tough Socks bit.ly/3Dp7dAF
White's Boots amzn.to/3bqgPPs
Heavy Duty Leather Conditioner amzn.to/3aBfYw6
Leather Boot Laces amzn.to/2ZDIDu0
This video is NOT sponsored and everything was purchased myself | Some links are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting myself, this channel and helping me continue to create content for you ♡
#wildlandfirefighting #wildlandfirefighter #wildland #femalefirefighter
Be in really good shape and really good at cardio especially hiking. Don't bitch, pay attention, stay busy, work hard, and get used to being uncomfortable.
That’s how I live my life… uncomfortable
Keep an emergency roll of TP in your pack. Keep a smaller emergency length of TP on your person that goes anywhere you go, like in a yellow pocket or under your helmet, and in a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet. Bowel issues can hit at the worst times, and you really don’t want to be out in the woods in the middle of nowhere without any way to deal with it. I also carried a small pharmacy with your over the counter stuff like Advil, or whatever, and especially Benadryl. Allergies might not be an issue where you live, but you might react to something in a different part of the country and again, you want to be able to deal with it, and not become a liability. It falls under “prepare for anything” but none of the trainings suggested any of that.
Be flexible with mindsets; for example, crews, engines, helitack, jumpers and aircraft folks all tend to gravitate to what they know best and tend to try to instill that in others theres always multiple aspects to every fire. Another example is when im teaching during an academy i teach folks how to think far beyond the simple and mundane, as in theres no such thing as cant be done
Good advice. Tho I typically wear the same pair of socks for 2 or 3 days, I can’t say I recommend everyone doing it but it works for me
I would sometimes have the same socks for multiple days. It just depended
Thanks for all the insight! I just finished my wildland course yesterday so hopefully I can get on a crew for this upcoming season.
I’m a type 1 wildland. This is such awesome advice for the new guys coming in
Thank you! I really hope it helps the newbies out there and I also want to post a few more videos with more of the advice that I received. It's too good not to share
Me too. So dope!
I just passed my 100 and 700 c fema and pack test, this advice is wonderful
Yay!!! I am so glad!!! If you are wanting some more I was able to gather advice from over 300 experienced wildland firefighters and put it into a book. If you are interested you can check it out here amzn.to/3N1dNFN
You received outstanding feedback Ronnie, thanks for sharing it through your excellent video. One thing I might add ( and your crew will thank you)…: Don’t whine…don’t complain. This is a tough, stressful, demanding job. I found mentally and emotionally challenged at times but you need to push through that.
The hours are tough- some people like it, personally I did not. 4 seasons was enough for me, and I’m glad I had the opportunity; I gained so much from the experience. 20 plus years later I still have good stories to reflect on and share.
I found 6:05 VERY reassuring, it's my first season but a family friend asked me to be his groomsmen in July. And wasn't sure what to do about it. Thanks for sharing!
Good! Just know that you may get some push back about it but don't let them. You are authorized to take leave so do it if you want to. I think that is something in this culture that needs to change. It's sometimes frowned upon to take leave and they give the person a hard time or some kind of repercussion is given, but then we have firefighters who are committing suicide and people wonder why. We aren't allowing them to take personal time which is a part of the self-care/ mental health piece.
Sorry for the soapbox answer but I just don't want you to experience what I know a lot of firefighters experience.
@@wildlandfirefit Thanks for the reply! I remember a few months ago our state voted on a bill to help get vollies better crisis care plans/ programs and hotlines. A few statistics they mentioned was that first responders attempt suicide 10 times higher than the general public and a firefighter is 3 times more likely to die by suicide vs LODD. Definitely something things people in the fire community need to quit pretending it doesn't exist.
www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/population-focused-modules/fire-and-ems/
How did you go about acquiring your red card
I recommend to do crossfit for me personally its been the best thing to help me out with wildland firefighting
First timer here. Thank you for the videos. I've been on wildland fire incidents but did finance/admin work. This will be my first year as a wildland firefighter. Does anyone have any sleeping tips? I found it was really difficult for me to turn my brain off to rest. I'm currently at fire school and am having trouble getting to sleep while in an air conditioned dorm room. I'm aware this will be much more physical but I can't seem to shut things down mentally.
Off season doesn't mean you take a break from fitness.. in the field take the time to quickly jot down notes about things you have seen that worked or didn't work .. break in those boots in the off-season.. train with your fully loaded pack at least 3 times a week at 6 or 7 miles
Could you talk about the pay, promotions, and top salaries ?
Ya! I'll put it on the list 🙂
Do you recommend getting the “red card” at the Colorado fire camp before taking on an apprenticeship? How can one become a wildlands firefighter with higher pay?
If they offer it (for free) then I'd say get it if you can. Why are you doing an apprenticeship? You can apply, get trained, and get paid right off the bat for all the hard work you are going to be putting in.
You can choose what fires you go on? Cuz really my biggest qualm other than being away from my kids so much is that I would most likely end up missing both their birthdays (really close together, smack in the middle of summer)
Hey Emily, short answer is no BUT you do get days off that you are able to put in for. With this careerfield it is hard becasue you will miss out on a lot of the fun summer stuff but I would highly recommend using your days off for those special events (birthdays, weddings, anniversarys, etc.). I think the fire community is getting better at letting people take their leave days because it helps with mental health & family life.
I can hear you on lookout from a mile away.
Thank you for this!
No problem
Got a call for a gs3 position. Thx for the video
That's great!!! Congrats!!!!
@@wildlandfirefit thank you, really excited and cant wait honestly! Definitely need to get cardio to top notch shape haha. Thx for the videos
How’d you get them to call you?
@@selasepps3773 usajobs my g. They have all the places to apply for seasonal and permanent positions
@@ReesBeBallin69could I be hired right after hs or is it a college “not required but highly preferred” kinda job
Hello!
Great insightful video.
I was wondering, did you ever meet or know any single parent wildland firefighters? If so, did they ever mention how they handled work and family?
Hey Adrian, thank you!
I have been wanting to do a video addressing the family life as a WLFF. I can't recall any of my friends being a single parent doing it. Since the job is so demanding at all hours of the day I think you'd definitely have to have older children who would be ok on their own for a few hours but then would need some help from neighbors, friends or family if the fire is a few days long.
@@wildlandfirefit Thank you for answering! I had one more question, are there different positions/levels for WLFF's? I applied for a Forest Ranger position and in parenthesis the posting had WLFF.
i’m about to get out of highschool and i have no idea where to start ): i want to train and do everything this year but i’m not sure where to even go especially being from houston
Have you checked out my guide? If not, I'd start there, you can download it for free. mailchi.mp/305a43c8971d/ronni-ocampo-wildland-fire
@@wildlandfirefit just checked it out!! thank u so much
@@vj3908 of course! If you have any more questions let me know. I'd be happy to answer the best I can, but that should be a good starting point.