Wildland firefighters face a huge pay cut without action by Congress – here's how physically demanding this lifesaving job is
Retrieved on:
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
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Up the fireline, firefighters in yellow jerseys are swinging Pulaskis, axlike hand tools, to carve a fuel break into the land.
Key Points:
- Up the fireline, firefighters in yellow jerseys are swinging Pulaskis, axlike hand tools, to carve a fuel break into the land.
- By 10 a.m., these firefighters have already hiked 3 miles up steep, uneven terrain and built nearly 1,200 feet of fireline.
- But that increase expires after Sept. 30, knocking many federal firefighters back to earning the minimum $15 per hour.
- The National Federation of Federal Employees warns that a large number of firefighters could quit if their pay also drops.
Firefighters push their bodies to extremes
- It’s a constant reminder that everything wildland firefighters need, they carry – all day.
- Hiking with a load and digging firelines with hand tools burns about 6 to 14 calories per minute.
- Measured with the same techniques used to quantify the energy demands of Tour de France riders, wildland firefighters demonstrate an average total energy expenditure approaching 4,000 to 5,000 calories per day.
The physical demand of a day on the fireline
- Each participant swallows a temperature-tracking sensor before breakfast that will record core body temperature each minute throughout the work shift.
- The highest-intensity activity is generally during the early morning hike to the fireline.
- However, regular breaks and having a strong aerobic capacity provides some protection by reducing heat stress and overall risk.
The season takes a toll
- Hotshots are physically fit, and they train for the fire season just as many athletes train for their competition season.
- Most crew members are hired temporarily during the fire season – typically from May to October, but that’s expanding as the planet warms.
- Pollutant and smoke exposure, lapses in nutrition, sleep disorders and chronic stress during the season seem to gradually poke holes in the Hotshot armor.
- Many Hotshots have bounced back and returned season after season.