Delaware News

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Delaware Forest Service seeking motivated recruits for wildfire training

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | Date Posted: Tuesday, December 16, 2014

A wildfire crew from the Delaware Forest Service battled the Bugg Road Fire near Tonasket, Washington in July of 2014 — A team of wildland firefighters sponsored by the Delaware Forest Service battled the Bugg Road Fire near Tonasket, Washington in the summer of 2014. The DFS is looking for qualified and motivated candidates to enroll in wildfire training classes that begin in January at the Delaware State Fire School in Dover. For information, go to http://de.gov/wildfire or call Kyle Hoyd at (302) 698-4548.

The Delaware Forest Service (DFS) is seeking qualified and motivated candidates for its wildfire training classes at the Delaware State Fire School. Applicants should be at least 18 years of age, physically and mentally fit, motivated to learn, and willing and able to travel for up to two weeks or more (usually during the summer months) for out-of-state fire assignments. Previous firefighting experience is not required.

While volunteer firefighters can register through their own fire company, those without prior firefighting experience must contact Kyle Hoyd, DFS Wildland Fire Program, by phone: (302) 698-4548 or email: kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov to get authorization before enrolling in the classes. The deadline for course registration is January 3, 2015.

The first set of wildfire training classes: “S-190, I-100, and PMS-416,” will be held on Saturday and Sunday, January 24 and 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at the Delaware State Fire School, 1461 Chestnut Grove Rd, Dover, DE 19904, 302-739-4773. The second set of classes, “S-130: Basic Wildland Firefighting,” will be taught at the Fire School over the course of two weekends: February 28 and March 1, and also March 7 and 8, 2015, from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. each day. The cost of S-190, I-100, and PMS-416 (January) is $50 (includes lunch both days) and the cost of S-130 (March) is $100 (includes lunch every day), with remittance payable to the “Delaware State Fire School.”

Registration Form*(PDF)
2015 Training Schedule* (PDF)

Both S-190 and S-130 are required for prospective firefighters to attain “red-card” certification from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG), the lead agency for wildfire training in the United States. In addition to basic coursework, candidates must also complete a rigorous “work capacity” or “pack test,” which involves carrying a 45-pound pack over a three-mile course in less than 45 minutes. The capstone of the wildfire training series is the Delaware Forest Service’s annual “Fire Camp,” which will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2015 at Redden State Forest in Georgetown, Sussex County. The one-day seminar features intensive, hand-on training in a range of wildland firefighting tools and strategies, culminated by a “live-burn” exercise designed to simulate conditions on an actual fire assignment.

To fully complete the entire training series, potential candidates must register for S-190 by the January 3, 2015 deadline.

One of Delaware's wildfire crews spent two weeks in the summer of 2014 battling fires in Washington State. — One of Delaware’s wildfire crews spent two weeks in the summer of 2014 battling fires in Washington State.

Delaware’s wildland fire program is coming off another successful year: in 2014, the Delaware dispatched two 20-person teams to out-of-state assignments through the National Interagency Fire Center: one crew traveled to Oregon to battle wildfires in July while another crew was sent to the West in August to battle fires in Washington and Oregon . Trained and dispatched by the Delaware Department of Agriculture Forest Service, wildfire crews are comprised of men and women of varying ages and backgrounds who represent a mix of public agencies, nonprofit groups, volunteer fire companies, and private citizens—all with an interest in firefighting and a desire to help their communities.

Despite its small size, Delaware has an outstanding reputation on the national firefighting scene and was honored by Governor Markell during the celebration of National Fire Prevention Month in October. Since the program’s inception in the 1990s, the First State has also sent personnel to aid in other national or regional emergencies, such as hurricane relief crews in Florida and New York.

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