Fire Crew Member Position

What is the job like?

The majority of fire crews begin work in late April or early May and work until the end of August or early September. Some crews remain on through September or even into October depending on fire conditions and activity.

Our fire crews usually work regular hours during the hottest part of the day, 10:30 to 18:30, when fires are most likely to start. The normal work shift is seven hours per day and 35 hours per week, with the actual days worked varying.

When staff are on active fire duty, they may work longer days and can remain on a fire for up to two weeks before getting a day off. For safety reasons, the actual number of days a fire fighter works on a fire is limited and followed by days of rest or light duty.

If crews are not already on a fire but the fire danger is high, fire fighters may be placed on standby, meaning they must be ready to leave immediately once a fire call comes in. All fire fighters must be available for standby throughout the entire fire season, including their weekends and after hours.

There's more to the job than just fighting fires. When fire crews are not on the fire line or engaged in training exercises, they undertake non-fire project work for Forest Service programs and B.C.'s communities.

Project work provides a diversity of forest and natural resource management experience, such as spacing and thinning of forest stands, as well as snag removal and right-of-way clearing. In cases where fire may accommodate specific land or resource management objectives, fire fighters may be called to assist with prescribed burns.

Fire fighters also have the opportunity to do community-based work. This includes trail maintenance, presentations at local schools, parade appearances, or hosting community and school group tours of the attack bases. Fire crews may be asked to participate in public awareness seminars conducted for schools, fire departments and home shows, or take part in National Forestry Week seminars and wildfire simulations.

Fire fighters also come to the aid of other emergency response agencies. Whether it's filling sandbags for a local flood control effort or travelling across the country to fight fires in rural Ontario, for B.C.'s fire fighters, it's all part of the job.

What happens after you apply?

1. All applicants will be reviewed and screened. Those who pass the initial screening will be scheduled for an interview.
2. An elegibility list is created following the interviews. Based upon the number of vancancies, candidates are invited to a training Boot Camp where they must pass a pre-employment fitness standard comprised of a "pack test" and "pump/hose test." Both components of the pre-employment standard are job-related and require upper and lower body strength and endurance (work capacity) to pass.
3. At the end of the Boot Camp, all successful trainees will be placed on an eligibility list for consideration to fill any vacancies throughout the province. Being named to the eligibility list does not guarantee anyone a job, however, it does mean you are among the available pool of candidates for possible crew vacancies that season.

What are the minimum requirements for the job?

In addition to being physically fit, highly motivated, and able to perform strenuous physical labour for long periods of time in extremely demanding conditions with a variety of tools and equipment, applicants must also have the following:

• A valid WCB Occupational First Aid Level 1 with Transportation Endorsement certificate. These certificates must be valid through September. Contact your nearest B.C. Workers Compensation Board office for information regarding the closest certified training institution offering this 2-day course.
• For Rapattack: You must possess a valid OFA Level 3. This must be valid through September.

The recruitment process is highly competitive, and we may also use the following preferred qualifications to further screen applications:

• Resource training/Resource experience (Post secondary training in Forestry, Geology, Resource Management, etc.)
• Fire Suppression experience (BCFS/Contract/EFF/other provinces)
• WCB Falling and Bucking Ticket/Chainsaw experience (falling and/or bucking)
• Wilderness work experience
• WCB OFA Level 3
• Supervisory experience/Coaching experience
• Mechanical/small engine experience
• Fire Suppression Training (S-100 course)

Read about our different kinds of crews.