Wildland Firefighter (Apprentice)

Summary

These positions are located in Region 5, USDA Forest Service units. The purpose of these positions are wildland fire suppression/management/control as a specialized firefighter on an engine, helitack module, or hand crew with responsibility for the operation and maintenance of specialized tools or equipment. For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Brian Grabowski at [email protected]

Duties

• Duties listed are at full performance grade GW-05 level.
• May be assigned to a fire lookout to provide detection and reporting of wildfires.
• May assist trained personnel in more specialized assignments such as backfire and burnout, mobile and stationary engine attack, construction of helispots, helitack operations, and performing hover hookups.
• Serve as an experienced firefighter on a hand crew or other related fire suppression crews performing fire suppression and/or fuels management duties under the most adverse conditions of climate, fuels, and terrain.
• Perform the duties of a fully qualified chain saw operator and chainsaw repair technician.
• Perform and may direct others in starting pump engine, priming pump, adjusting engine speed and pump valves, laying hose, and using appropriate nozzles and nozzle adjustment in effective use of water and additives.
• Perform project work such as road and trail maintenance, habitat manipulation, and miscellaneous equipment and facilities maintenance.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. General/Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GW-03: You must have six (6) months of general experience. Examples of General Experience include: any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of a Wildland Firefighter, or general experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the Wildland Firefighter occupation. Examples of general experience include: Performed farm/ranch labor, such as feeding and tending livestock or general maintenance of farm/ranch facilities; Worked in a greenhouse or nursery moving, watering, and tending plants and performing other general labor tasks; Fed and watered animals, such as in a laboratory, pet store, or zoo; Any work experience, paid or unpaid. Unpaid experience, for example, may be regular volunteer work, such as at a park, community sports league facilities, etc. OR Successful completion of a one (1)-year of related education or appropriate firefighting training may be substituted for experience on a month-for-month basis. Firefighting training obtained as part of a high school curriculum-may be substituted for the six (6) months of general experience. OR An appropriate combinations of education and experience. For the GW-04: You must have six (6) months of general experience (any type of work that demonstrated the ability to perform the work of the position, or experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation) AND six (6) months of specialized experience that is directly related to the work of the position. Examples of qualifying general experience include: Performed farm/ranch labor, such as feeding/tending livestock or general maintenance of farm/ranch facilities and/or worked in a greenhouse, nursery or landscaping e.g., planting, moving, watering, and tending plants and/or animal caretaker in a laboratory, zoo or pet store and/or volunteer work at a park, hospital, community sports league, local fire department, etc. Examples of specialized experience include: Performed natural resource support work, e.g., forestry, range, park technician, wildland firefighter, or similar jobs; performed routine support assignments in a forestry specialty area, e.g., wilderness, timber, fire prevention/control, etc. OR Successful completion of a two (2)-year course of study in an accredited college or university in Fire Training, Fire Science, Fire Technology or other related fields of study. OR An appropriate combination of education and experience. For the GW-05: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GW-04) in the Federal service. OR Successful completion of a 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university with major study in Fire Science, Fire Training, Fire Technology or other related fields of study. OR An appropriate combination of education and experience. Examples of specialized experience include: Patrolled areas of controlled fires to mop-up by searching out and extinguishing any remaining burning material; Served on a specialty crew (hotshot, helitack, engines, etc.) to suppress the full range of difficult and complex fires; Operated specialized fire suppression equipment such as portable pumps or drip torches. Selective Placement Factors For the GW-05 grade level, successfully completed the Primary NWCG Core Requirement of Firefighter 1 (FFT1) Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM) and Forest Service - Fire Program Management (FS-FPM) qualifications must be met by the time of selection. Most recent IQCS master record and/or signed Agency Certified task book must be attached to your application. If you are selected, you may be required to submit an updated IQCS master record or signed Agency Certified task book as proof of attainment of IFPM requirements prior to a final verbal offer. In order to be considered for this position, copies of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record (or equivalent training documents) which contain documented proof of the certification or attainment of the IFPM Selective Placement Factor for this position MUST be attached to your application. Red cards are not acceptable documentation. Currency Requirement: Required to maintain currency once hired into the position. Currency of NWCG qualifications is not required for selection. If not currently qualified, the applicant must provide documented evidence that they have been fully qualified in the past, and are able to regain currency within one year of being hired. Failure to provide this documentation will result in disqualification. FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This is a primary/rigorous position covered under the special retirement provisions of 5 USC 8336(c) for the Civil Service Retirement System and of 5 USC 8412(d) for the Federal Employees Retirement System. WORK CAPACITY TEST (WCT) for Wildland Firefighters: This position participates in wildland firefighting activities. Based on the type of work performed, TAKING and PASSING the WCT at the ARDUOUS, MODERATE, or LIGHT level is a condition of employment. To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify. Must be 18 years of age. This is a drug testing designated position. You will be subject to pre-employment and random drug testing. Appointment is based on a negative result. This announcement constitutes 30 days advance notice. Must pass the Work Capacity Test for certain Interagency Fire Program Management or Fire Program Management positions. Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable). Some Fire positions may have Conditions of Employment such as: a valid state driver's license; a commercial driver's license (CDL); pre-appointment and random drug testing; or a physical or medical examination. Under age 37; less than age 37 after subtracting the months of Permanent Federal Service in a primary or secondary firefighter/law enforcement position or a veteran preference eligible, older than age 37 and is requesting a waiver to the requirement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

See QUALIFICATIONS section for education requirements

How to apply

Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, in USAJOBS click "Apply" and follow the instructions to attach your resume and supporting documents, complete the assessment questionnaire, and submit your application. NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.