What does a helitack do?

Helitack crews provide land managers with a safe, highly skilled, and productive aerial firefighting resource. Crew members are specially trained in the tactical and logistical use of helicopters for fire suppression. These crews are a primary initial attack resource transported to wildfires by helicopter.

Do firefighters rappel?

During fire season, the teams are dropped into fires by rappelling down ropes from a hovering helicopter. …

How much do helitack crews make?

The Helitack Squad Boss and Helicopter Manager salary range is: $2,161 – $2,789 per month or $12.42 – $16.03 per hour.

How do you get on rappel crew?

If you are interested in a seasonal position with the Price Valley Heli-Rappel Crew, you must apply through USAJOBS. We typically request a referral list by the 2nd of January each year. Competition for these positions can be very stiff.

How do you become a helitack?

Applicants must have at least a year of experience as a seasonal firefighter or a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture, Forestry, or Range Management, as well as a valid driver’s license. Prospective helitack crew members who apply prior to February 20 each year get first consideration for all available positions.

What is a rappel firefighter?

Rappellers are small groups of highly trained firefighting specialists who descend by ropes from a helicopter, they are often first on the ground attacking fires in remote forest areas of Victoria.

What type of firefighter makes the most money?

Best-Paying States for Firefighters

• $84,370.
• $80,890.
• Washington. $76,970.
• New York. $75,160.
• Nevada. $69,310.

How much do Smokejumpers get paid?

A smokejumper earns around $16.00 per hour while a smokejumper foreman earns about $24.00 per hour. Smokejumpers are paid nothing extra for making parachute jumps; however, they do receive hazard pay equivalent to 25 percent of their base pay when working on an uncontrolled wildfire.

What is a Type 2 Hotshot crew?

The Firefighter Type 2 serves on a hand crew, engine crew, or helitack crew, performing fire suppression and fuels management duties in the most adverse climate, fuel, and terrain conditions.

Is it possible to rappel out of a helicopter?

A helirappeller, feet on a skid, prepares to rappel off the tower at the Salmon Air Base during recent firefighting training. Trainees approach a helicopter fuselage used to simulate rappelling out of a helicopter during the wildfire training camp last week in Salmon.

When was the first helicopter rappel on a forest fire?

Helirappelling got its start in 1972 in Oregon and Washington, said Bush, and the first rappel onto a forest fire was in 1973 on the Deschutes National Forest.

How tall does a helicopter have to be to rappel into a tree?

Helirappellers can rappel into a 20-foot-by-20-foot opening in the forest canopy. Helicopters must hover 50 feet above the tree canopy to avoid rotor strikes on branches, so the longer 300-foot rope increases safety.

How many helitack bases are there in the world?

The incredible ingenuity and safety record of rappel-capable helitack crews sprouted 45 rappel-capable helitack bases across the country. Soon after, other nations including Canada, Australia, and Russia adopted and developed their own rappelling programs — Russia having the largest in the world with more than 4,000 rappellers.