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Smoke Jumpers

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ShoulderSurfer
Posts: 456 - Karma: 12
http://www.jobmonkey.com/parks/html/fighting_fires.html

anyone ever try this? i might apply. what are the chances of death? i'm not a weakling
Dec 11 2009 8:37PM
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GreekAR6
Posts: 527 - Karma: 11
Holy shit that's gnarly.  Do it and then bump this thread in a year, I wanna hear some stories.
Dec 11 2009 8:41PM
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T-Holt
Posts: 5020 - Karma: 639
That looks sick. That's something I might want to look into.
Dec 11 2009 8:43PM
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rockjumper
Posts: 496 - Karma: 13
a buddy from school does it. not as fun as it sounds. i know another guy thats a lumberjack. makes a lot more money and alot of companies dont op in the winter.
Dec 11 2009 8:45PM
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CarRamRod
Posts: 533 - Karma: 28
I thought this was going to be about Entourage.....damn
Dec 11 2009 9:14PM
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stompdat
Posts: 641 - Karma: 50
same. and dam.
Dec 11 2009 9:39PM
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skibum193
Posts: 3737 - Karma: 33
in missoula montana they have a smokejumper base and shit goes off there. definitely intense. my dad did the hotshots in college, basically they heli you into a fire, you do work, they heli you out. said it was sick because all the pilots were just out of 'nam and could fly anywhere
Dec 11 2009 9:42PM
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Zump.
Posts: 3338 - Karma: 305
still though, 4 months! that sounds like a good deal
Dec 11 2009 9:45PM
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noparking
Posts: 1123 - Karma: 50
the chance of you getting the job is 0, you need years of wild land firefighting before they would ever consider you.
Dec 11 2009 9:50PM
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EastCoast315
Posts: 3136 - Karma: 137
really? that sucks
Dec 11 2009 9:52PM
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p-fo
Posts: 9372 - Karma: 6,155
ya pretty much. you need time as a normal wildland firefighter, on a hotshot crew and then you need to train in jumping, etc. good goal, just requires some work
Dec 11 2009 9:59PM
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pat_in_the_hat
Posts: 3019 - Karma: 2,695
yea. im pretty sure its tress years. then you have to have all the task books signed off. (that takes a long time)  but IF you get the job. you dont get that much work cause theres alot of jumpers. and not many uses. the day of the jumper is leaving. its innefficient. and super expensive. it costs a fire 500 bones to just get the jumper out of the door. plus, rappeling onto a fire is the way to go ive heard. but. lets say you get the job. your high on the list to gettin on a fire. well. a district will only order jumpers if the fire is virtually inacessable and out of control. and its not as extreme as you would think. they basically jump near the fire, take note of the fuel type and hike to the nearest ridge and watch the fires behavior until either it dies down, or it grows and you need to order an engine or hand crew, etc. i have 2 years on an engine crew and have looked into it. its not as "extreme as you would think" but they are really extreme people. tough and strong and not afraid of work
Dec 11 2009 10:19PM
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benk
Posts: 1342 - Karma: 988
Type I handcrews (hotshots, smoke jumpers, heli tack) allow for 1-2 entry level jobs a season. But other than that. you need years of experience. I'm going to hotshots next season and its going to be tough for me and I have 4 years on an engine crew (engine boss, crew boss, firing boss)

needless to say you need a lot of experience on fire behavior
Dec 11 2009 10:25PM
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Black-Bandanna
Posts: 6680 - Karma: 1,602
That honestly sounds like such a fucking awesome job.
Dec 11 2009 10:37PM
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Username_42069
Posts: 1591 - Karma: 15
looks like it could provide good stories to tell your grandchildren
Dec 12 2009 12:36AM
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EastCoast315
Posts: 3136 - Karma: 137
I get the magazine The Economist and there was this one guy in the obituaries who was a smokejumper. They told the story of his life, it was badass.
Here it is, I found it:

Click for larger image
Dec 12 2009 6:44AM
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TheQuailman
Posts: 7381 - Karma: 144
I worked with a guy at my camp who is a firefighter.  He was massive and that shit sounded so badass
Dec 12 2009 2:05PM
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deleted5
Posts: 14507 - Karma: 13,500
props if you get in
Dec 12 2009 2:11PM
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sneezin
Posts: 632 - Karma: 430
me too.

fucking love entourage.
Dec 12 2009 2:19PM
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ShoulderSurfer
Posts: 456 - Karma: 12
Thanks bro, I'll bump this thread if I do.

I'm taking a firefighting class next semester and i'm also switching my major to forestry to become a forester technician.
Dec 12 2009 2:22PM
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benk
Posts: 1342 - Karma: 988
what school?  you dont need a degree to be a forest tech. and for anything in the forest service you need a masters or phd. PM me if you need any info on what its like. I'm a senior at Oregon State which is the best forestry school in the world and...there are no jobs out there in forestry. fire..yes. people are making $100K+ a season in california ( that state is going bankrupt) . but forestry is going down the shitter. thank you people for buying plastic shit instead of a renewable natural resource.
Dec 12 2009 3:33PM
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jmason
Posts: 1595 - Karma: 136
I have friends who have done it up here in Canada, and I'll likely be doing it this summer or next. The physical tests up here are much more strenuous, but if you pass apparently it's extremely rewarding. The first year firefighters have to take an $800 training course, but if you get hired, you pay it off in the first two days of work.

I plan on doing it, as I really enjoy the thought of a challenge, and I think it would be a great experience!
Dec 12 2009 3:58PM
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jmason
Posts: 1595 - Karma: 136
BTW I'm talking about HotShot-ing, not smokejumping... I dont know anybody who's smokejumped before
Dec 12 2009 4:00PM
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anxju
Posts: 9371 - Karma: 61
i was hoping this would be about hollywood actually making a movie from entourage. silly me
Dec 12 2009 4:17PM
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sk1er
Posts: 614 - Karma: 10
Without any experience in the field your odds of getting in are nil.  They want people with 4-5+ years fire experience, military experience or fire experience with a degree in some kind of forestry.  Being a current forest service employee doesn't hurt either and recommendations from people on the inside go a long way.

That being said smoke jumpers are cool but alot of them are entitled dicks.  Hotshots (20 person elite crews) are way more bad ass in physical terms and generally much more friendly.

https://www.avuecentral.com/ is where the forest service accepts applications for fire jobs and ect.

If anyone is applying submit your apps and call the office you want to work for every week.  It shows your interest.  We often keep a tally of how many many times people call in.
Dec 12 2009 4:26PM
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