Last week, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried submitted a budget request for fiscal year 2022-2023 that includes a $2,500 pay increase for 932 firefighter and firefighter support positions within the Florida Forest Service.
A vacancy announcement for Forest Ranger, position #42002179 closing today whose duties include forest fire prevention, detection, suppression and pre-suppression shows a starting salary of $29,080 annually, which works out to $13.98 an hour (based on 2,080 work hours per year). This raise would increase it to $15.18 an hour.
Nikki Fried, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
These numbers are similar to the pay for a federal wildland firefighter starting at a GS-3 in most of the United States. Their salary is being temporarily bumped up to around $15 an hour, but there is an effort to rebuild the pay system on the federal side, possibly with a more substantial permanent increase.
Applicants for the Florida job must swear that they have been a non-user of tobacco or tobacco products for at least one year immediately preceding application. They must live within 30 miles of the headquarters, in this case Chipley Florida, throughout employment in the position. Within 6 months of appointment they are required to obtain a Class A Commercial Driver License (CDL).
Over the last three years, Florida Forest Service personnel responded to an annual average of 4,672 fires that burned 147,169 acres, according to a press release from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Preliminary information is now available from the FAA about yesterday’s fatal helicopter crash in Central Florida:
Aircraft conducting fire water drop exercises, lost control of the bucket causing the rotor section to separate, crashed in a wooded area, and caught on fire. Leesburg, FL.
The FAA reports there were four fatalities, one flight crew member and three passengers.
Local media is reporting city officials said the bodies all four crew members were recovered from the crash site and are in the custody of the medical examiner’s office. Their names have not been released.
The aircraft, N9FH, was a Sikorsky UH-60A, a Blackhawk registered to Brainerd Helicopters Inc. out of Leesburg, Florida. The police department described the owner as Brainerd Helicopters Inc./Firehawk Helicopters, located at Leesburg International Airport.
Brainerd has firefighting contracts with the Federal government and other organizations.
We extend our sincere condolences to the families, friends, and coworkers of the four individuals.
In 2017 I took photos of some of Brainerd’s Firehawks at their facility in Boise.
10:57 a.m. EDT May 26, 2021
A Blackhawk helicopter crashed Tuesday afternoon near Leesburg International Airport in Central Florida. The incident was reported at 5:47 p.m. One fatality has been confirmed and the other three on board have not been found. A black column of smoke was seen at the crash site.
No survivors have been located. ONE confirmed death at this time. Most of the fire is under control now. US forestry is on scene plowing a line around the scene to prevent any vegetation fires. FAA has been notified of the crash and will start their investigation tomorrow.
The Miami Herald reported that the helicopter was on a firefighting training exercise.
Based on preliminary information, it appears that the helicopter went into a spin, and at some point its tail separated, Leesburg Police Capt. Joe Iozzi told WKMG, a TV station in the Orlando area.
“The tail actually went onto the airport runway area while the main body of the helicopter went into the wooded swampy area which is making it difficult for rescue crews to get back to,” Iozzi told the news station.
As this was written at 10:57 a.m. EDT May 26, the names of the personnel on board or the agency operating the helicopter have not been released.
The firefighter is expected to recover from his injuries
A screenshot from News Channel 8 footage of a fire engine surrounded by flagging parked a few feet from a CSX train, in Polk County, Florida, February 2, 2021.
Tuesday morning, February 2, a volunteer firefighter in Florida was hit by a train while was suppressing a vegetation fire near 1491 14th St. NW in Fort Meade. The injury occurred on a fire that burned three to four acres along the railroad tracks, mostly in grass.
Location of firefighter hit by train, News Channel 8 image
According to WFLA News Channel 8 the fire had been contained and structures were saved, but as a CSX train approached, “The firefighter saw that the door was open on one of their trucks, so he ran over to shut the door of the truck, but the train arrived at about the same time he made it to the truck.”
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported the Fort Meade firefighter was transported to a hospital where he was treated for a broken leg.
The cause of the fire was not released, but from my experience it is common in some areas for trains to ignite fires adjacent to their tracks, started by hot carbon particles from the exhaust or brake failure.
36th Ave. SE Fire — Greater Naples Fire Rescue District.
These photos of personnel at the 36th Ave. SE Fire about 10 miles east of Naples, Florida show that many of the emergency management staff members were wearing masks.
The photos by the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District were posted May 14, 2020.
36th Ave. SE Fire — Greater Naples Fire Rescue District.36th Ave. SE Fire — Greater Naples Fire Rescue District.36th Ave. SE Fire — Greater Naples Fire Rescue District.36th Ave. SE Fire — Greater Naples Fire Rescue District.
Map for the 36th Ave. SE Fire, released by the Florida Forest Service, May 15, 2020.
(UPDATED at 1:37 p.m. EDT May 15, 2020)
The Florida Forest Service Green Incident Management Team assumed command of the 36th Ave SE Fire at 7 a.m. today. The team reports the latest size of the fire is 8,500 acres.
Mandatory evacuations are still in place on both sides of Alligator Alley (Interstate 75). Friday morning, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office gave an update on the situation, saying no additional evacuations are expected today those in effect will remain throughout the day.
Currently, the FFS has 16 tractor/plow units from around the state battling the blaze, along with 3 single engine air tankers, 1 fixed wing aircraft, and 4 helicopters, including the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Air Rescue 1 which is assisting with water drops.
A large air tanker out of Lake City, Florida an MD-87, is also being used. Yesterday the aircraft completed four sorties to the fire — each time dropping 4,000 gallons.
Map showing heat detected by satellites on the 22nd Ave. SE and the 36th Ave. SE fires, at 12:30 a.m. EDT May 14, 2020.
(UPDATED at 6:25 p.m. EDT May 14, 2020)
The two wildfires 10 to 12 miles east of Naples, Florida have merged and by 4 p.m. EDT Thursday had grown to about 8,000 acres according to the Florida Forest Service (FFS). The fire is now known as the 36th Ave. SE Fire.
The FFS is working in unified command with local fire and emergency responders, including the Greater Naples Fire Rescue, North Collier Fire Rescue, Marco Island Fire Rescue, Collier County Emergency Management, Collier County Sheriff’s Office and many others. Currently, the FFS has 16 tractor/plow units battling the blaze, along with 3 single engine air tankers, 1 fixed wing aircraft, and 3 helicopters, including the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Air Rescue 1, which is assisting with water drops.
Additional FFS resources have been deployed, including the Green Incident Management Team, a dozer strike team from Northeast Florida, and 2 dozer strike teams which are en route from the Five Mile Swamp Fire in the Panhandle. The Florida Fire Chiefs Association is securing resources to provide additional structure protection.
Currently, there are 80 active wildfires burning nearly 16,000 acres in Florida. Last week, the Florida Forest Service battled the 2,000-acre #5MileSwamp Fire in Santa Rosa County and the #MussettBayouFire in Walton County, in which an arrest was announced on Tuesday.
Wildfire east of Naples Florida. Photo May 14, 2020 by Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.
Two helicopters shown working the #wildfires about 10 miles east of Naples, Florida — a UH1 and a H60; at 4:15 p.m. EDT today. pic.twitter.com/Hsz3bQBuP1
Two wildfires about 12 miles east of Naples, Florida have prompted mandatory evacuations and closed parts of Interstate 75 (Alligator Alley). Named 22nd Ave. SE Fire and 36th Ave. SE Fire, the two blazes merged Wednesday night and have burned approximately 4,000 acres according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office in a Wednesday evening update. That night, pushed by winds described as moderate, the fire spread south across the Interstate requiring additional evacuations.
The fire behavior was described as extreme and burning embers were causing spot fires. Greater Naples Fire reported “several” structures have been lost or damaged, but they did not have an exact number.
The Florida Forest Service has mobilized the Green Incident Management Team to assist local firefighters.
Photo of the 22nd Ave. SE and the 36th Ave. SE wildfires, May 13, 2020. Collier County Sheriff’s Office.Evacuation map posted by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday night.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Rob. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
Map showing the approximate location of the Moonfish Fire in Big Cypress National Preserve at 2:42 p.m. EDT May 8, 2020.
A wildfire that started May 7 is spreading rapidly in Big Cypress National Preserve 37 miles west of Miami, Florida. The fire is south of Tamiami Trail near the shared boundary with Everglades National Park.
The Moonfish Fire is actively burning in sawgrass prairie and cypress strands. Full suppression actions are taking place given the current drought and wind conditions. Wildfire Today’s very unofficial estimate of the size is approximately 6,000 acres.
An MD-87 air tanker, Tanker 101, delivered a total of four loads of retardant on Thursday and Friday, flying out of the Lake City Tanker Base, a 650-mile round trip. On April 21 that aircraft lost an engine after dropping retardant on the Holcombe Road Fire in Crockett County Texas. The crew declared an emergency and landed safely on one engine after diverting to Midland, Texas (MAF) as airport crash-rescue trucks stood by.
Personnel from Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park are working the Moonfish Fire along with interagency assistance from Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and Miami-Dade Fire to protect structures in the area. Two helicopters and three engines were assigned to the fire on Thursday.
South Florida is currently experiencing hot, dry conditions typical of this time of year.
Radar detects smoke from the Moonfish Fire in Big Cypress National Preserve, 8 p.m. EDT May 8, 2020.
