Handcrews are diverse teams of career and temporary

wildland firefighter Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

s. The crews typically consist of 18 to 20 firefighters but can also contain 4 to 6 and 8 to 10. These crews have the responsibilities of constructing

fireline A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...

s – strips of land cleared of flammable materials and dug down to mineral soil. These lines are generally constructed around wildfires to control them. Another type of line handcrews create is saw line. This is line where all trees limbs are removed up to shoulder height and all small trees and brush is cut down. All the limbs and trees are then carried outside the line and scattered. These are also called ladder fuels that allow the fire to climb up into the canopies which makes controlling a fire much more difficult. Sawyers do the cutting and swampers do the moving of the debris. Depending on the size of the crew there can be between 1 and 5 swampers per sawyer. Other jobs include burn outs, gridding for spot fires, and mop up after the fire is controlled. Depending on their

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

s and skill levels, crews may be divided into squads (4 or 5 firefighters each). The more qualified crews will have specialized personnel such as sawyers and EMTs. Crews and managers must always monitor the fire and consider

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

. They will often designate one or two crew members to act as a lookout. This person generally has a few years of experience and is placed at a location where they can see a large portion of the fire. For larger fires there are multiple lookouts positioned around the entire fire. They watch for spot fires (fire that crosses the fireline) and take weather readings using a sling psychrometer or a kestrel typically every hour and relaying them up the

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Mili ...

. Aircraft can also serve as lookouts at times, but this is not the preferred option. A crew's day may start at any hour of the day. After breaking

fire camp A fire camp is a campsite for firefighters and support personnel. It is typically set up for a large project fire which requires a large amount of manpower, organisation and logistics. According to the National Incident Management System (NIMS), ...

, crews are transported to the fire. Once on location, crews use hand tools (

chainsaws A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruni ...

, pulaskis,

shovels A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made of ...

, etc.) for working the fireline. Handcrews may hike several miles or more per day. Once at the fire, they may spend hours constructing firelines. Some handcrews work on an on-call basis meaning members do not work unless they are specifically called to work. Other handcrews may spend time clearing brush, prescription burning, or doing other chores while waiting for fire assignments.

Types

* Type I Interagency Hotshot Crew * Type II Initial-Attack (IA) Crew * Type II Crew * Type III Crew

References

About Handcrews USFS
Retrieved July 11, 2006
Hotshot Fitness - Hiking, Running, & Strength Training Programs for Wildland Firefighters
{{Forestry Firefighter ranks Forestry occupations Wildfire suppression

Types

See also

References