3:30 p.m. MDT April 7, 2021
The Bureau of Land Management released yesterday a two-minute video that supposedly answers questions, including, “Should I apply to be a wildland firefighter with the BLM?” This is at best, misleading, since most if not all of their employees that do fight fire work under job titles of “Forestry Technician” or “Range Technician”.
Besides the “Should I apply” question, the video addresses others, such as:
- “I don’t know, it seems kind of boring. And not fun at all.
- “What if I get dirty?
- “What would I do in my free time?”
.@BLMNational #FirefightingResources control wildfires & reduce hazards while working with federal, state, local & international orgs. #FireJob includes suppression, preparedness, predictive services, fuels, prevention, & education –> https://t.co/fv0R22aY4m #NotYourOrdinaryJob pic.twitter.com/g4vm0tfrHx
— Bureau of Land Management Fire (@BLMFire) April 6, 2021
Our take
The federal land management agencies that hire employees with a primary function of fighting fire put most of them in positions with job titles of Forestry Technician or Range Technician. It is deceptive advertising to publish documents or videos stating that you can be a “firefighter” with their agency.
The Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits advertising that is likely to mislead consumers and affect consumers’ behavior or decisions about the product or service.
If an advertiser under the Federal Trade Commission’s jurisdiction is advertising a product that does not comply with the law, violators could face enforcement actions or civil lawsuits with fines up to $43,792 per violation, or civil penalties up to $40,654 per violation.
In the case of the BLM encouraging the public to apply for firefighting jobs, the solution is to do the morally and ethically right thing — accurately describe the positions these employees would be working under. In the longer term, change their job descriptions from Range or Forestry Technicians, to Firefighter.
And, let them earn a living wage that is commensurate with the work they do, and is competitive in the firefighting community.
We have reached out to the BLM about this issue. If we hear back, we will update this article.
I work on an IMT – from a structure department. I wonder- if these federal land management agencies are too afraid to admit they have real fire people with tons of experience – doing firefighter type work?- maybe because if they do- they won’t have a budget to support all the non-fire work? That’s what we hear anyway. Good luck ya all.
My day job title is FOS but still catagorized as Supervisory Forestry Technician. I marked timber for one week 12 years ago, and I thumped juniper all day for three pay periods the same year under the generic project name “forest restoration”, otherwise my federal work has been specifically fire related. It would take me a good bit of training to relearn how to set up a timber sale in 2021. I am not a forestry technician, I am a wildland firefighter. I have few regrets about what I’ve chosen as a career, other than the immense harm I’ve incurred and probable shortened life span due to all the carcinogens I’ve inhaled and absorbed. Adrenaline and sunsets posted to Insta and Tiktok aren’t enough now, and they will not be enough for the GS3 and 4s starting next month with dreams of making this a career. This used to be a viable career. Look at the GS 11+ today who secured mortgages before the boom. Wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living. It’s cool that some of you bought a sweet house on GS-4 wages and 1000 hours of OT for 50k back in the day but those days are gone. It’s 300k for a dump fixer upper where I live. Who will fill management positions next year when the DIV or BC retires and their house sells for 600k and an apartment in the stabby side of town goes for 2500k/month? I also acknowledge I do not live in R5, where wages versus cost of life are even more askew. Gotta go take a pic of tonight’s sunset, the bank will love it.
It’s time to call them what they are WILDLAND fire fighters
Every time I hear of great jobs with BLM, I keep thinking, “yes, but I would wind up in Battle Mountain or some other office with a similar verdant landscape to look at.”
Bureau of Lonely Men, as they say
Thanks Bill.
I won’t recommend this job to anyone, and refuse to do school presentations.
Recruitment reality looks more like this:
1. Get addicted to adrenaline filled, exciting work.
2. Slowly lose all social connections as you aren’t home during summers to maintain them.
3. Choose between your career or personal life, either languishing as GS4-6, or knowing your family is home languishing while you are gone 100+ nights per year.
4. Develop alcoholism.
5. Develop depression
6. Contemplate suicide or know friends that have done so.
7. Reach out to the Employee Assistance Program and discover many seasonals are not eligible in off season.
It just continues from there and there won’t be any support from the agency leadership and not even an email to show they are aware that there is a mental health crisis amongst their workforce…
I might not recommend this job to anyone either. Despite the increase in fires and fire activity, there’s too much waiting around and fire-watching instead of actual firefighting. When there is work, it’s hard, the waiting around is hard. The pay should be better, but you make it sound like everyone who gets into this is affected by your 7 points. I see it as a way to spend time outdoors, in places you may not have thought of, for a couple of summers to make a little money, and then decide if you want to stay or move on. The places you get to visit are great. I’ve gotten to see National Parks and Forests I probably wouldn’t have thought of visiting. The down time as a Forestry Technician is tough, but the good forests keep employees busy by doing project work or Rx. If you end up getting a Firefighter designation, it will just be more sitting around waiting for a fire. I’m not against it, but what are you going to do for many weeks in a row with nothing to do. I don’t see 1-7 changing that much. The good part of the job is the variety, and every forest or in BLM’s case, area, would benefit from increasing the variety of work, of course better pay, and just treating their employees better while expecting quality production.
The title of “firefighter” is accurate since that is literally what the person in the position is hired to do. Your point is that the OPM designator is a forestry or park technician and people have developed a problem with that designation. I have to laugh a little thinking of the military designations MOSs for Marines and soldiers. I think it’s a little insincere to attack the system. If you don’t want to be a forestry tech, get a different job.
It’s fraud dude !
No two ways about it, enticing unsuspecting youth to the adrenaline is the same thing a drug dealer does, use em up… watch them go through depression, then divorce, then alcoholism and drug addiction! Just not right … he’ll yes I know what I’m talking about. … I just retired after 33.4 yrs hotshots and smoke jumper and 2 seasons engine world.
Good day
Well sure Frank. But there is a classifier’s handbook that states the federal government is required to classify its employees as accurately as possible, and to me and many others, the classification 0462 Forestry Technician, which doesn’t include the word “fire” at all, is not accurate.
Funny thing is, many legislators agree with that sentiment. So when we get it switched, people will be able to stay on the forestry technician if they like. So no skin off your back.
Cheers.
The forestry technician vs firefighter discussion isn’t about the semantics of the phrase. It’s about the pay, benefits and support that federal employees whose primary job is fire fighting are not receiving. Fire Fighters almost universally receive pay, supportive services and protections that most forestry technicians are not entitled too. So if you think access to an effective EAP, clinical counseling services, effective and efficient workers compensation, or lifelong coverage from respiratory illness, cancer or chronic injuries amongst many many other day to day benefits is an unfair attack on the system…I’m afraid we don’t have much common ground.
And if you think that folks who don’t want to be forestry or Range technicians should find another job, don’t worry, they are. Organizations like Cal Fire and CO Division of Fire Prevention and Control are taking the best and the brightest from federal agencies with higher pay and benefits. Seasonal’s come out for a year or two, have some fun or maybe not, and then decide to leave for more stable careers in different sectors. The agencies are bleeding and deeply hurting for talent. Attitudes that suggest put up and shut up or support the status quo are fundamentally at odds with building a sustainable federal fire fighting force.
This 100%. I left the feds for a better paying, more stable fire job that allows me to take a weekend off to go to a wedding in the summer and not feel bad for it. There’s not much room for professional growth AND stability in the feds, unless you are single and happy to relocate every other year to make it to a livable wage.
You nailed down dude !
I asked a question under their Tweet (a set-up; they can’t answer it truthfully without exposing themselves).
These Agencies have to stop doing this ,
It’s Fraud !
The BLM hires firefighters no more than other federal agencies.
Time to stop defrauding the youth of this country and tell them they will have the time of their life as a Forestry Technician and nothing more.