The Post Register
SALMON, Idaho — Clad in fire-resistant clothing, men and women dangled from 40-foot towers at the Salmon-Challis National Forest air base this month — learning the ropes of rappelling.
The highly specialized firefighter training south of Salmon drew 82 novices and dozens of instructors and support staff from across the U.S. Its goal is to produce firefighting teams that excel at initial attacks onwildfires in remote, rugged terrain.
During fire season, the teams are dropped into fires by rappelling down ropes from a hovering helicopter.
The rookies, who intend to join U.S. Forest Service rappel crews this season, were tasked with performing eight rappels at varying heights in order to gain certification. The most challenging of the eight is a drop from 250 feet.Gallatin National Forest Aviation Officer Steve Christman, incident commander at the Salmon rappel academy, said the program ensures rappellers have the physical and mental fortitude to withstand extreme conditions.
“You have to have folks who can be dropped off in the middle of nowhere, work to suppress a fire, then find their way back to a road to be picked up,” Christman said.
The training in Salmon came amid grim predictions about this year’swildfire season in the West, including parts of Idaho, as well as federal budget cuts that mean there will be hundreds fewer firefighters to battle anticipated fires.
Despite the rigors of rappelling, there is fierce competition amongfirefighters for what is considered one of the most challenging jobs in an arduous profession, Christman said.
Those with chain saw and other firefighting experience are favored as applicants.The 2009 death of a firefighter in California, who fell during a routine proficiency test, prompted the Forest Service to launch a nationwide push for more standardized training in rappelling.Many of the maneuvers that rappellers eventually perform from the skids of a helicopter are practiced on the ground first.
Equipment checks, including harnesses and descent devices, are paramount. Rappellers use a system called “buddy check” to ensure crew members are properly outfitted before they climb into a helicopter.
A “spotter” is responsible for ensuring rappellers are deployed safely. Decisions made by spotters are considered critical to any mission, Christman said.Rappellers and spotters who trained last week on the towers at the Salmon air base used a series of hand signals to initiate actions or indicate a problem.
“There is a lot of communication going on with no talking,” Christman said.
Bre Orcasitas, on a rappel crew with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington state, said missions make heavy physical demands that must be met during training.
Rappellers are required to run a mile within 10 minutes and 30 seconds, perform pull-ups based on body weight and walk certain distances while carrying packs that weigh up to 85 pounds.
At a trim 130 pounds, Orcasitas carries more than half her body weight when she is packing out 85 pounds.
In a profession in which men outnumber women, Orcasitas said women must work harder and longer to perform tasks tied to upper-body strength. At the end of the day, crew members must rely on each other.
“You have to trust your people to know what they’re doing and to be able to do it,” she said.
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