Do you have what it takes to become a BC Wildfire Service firefighter?

In 2003, ravenous wildfires swept through the B.C. Interior and they indiscriminately consumed the landscape. Many of us looked on helplessly as our homes burned to the ground, but more damage would have been done if not for the efforts of over 1,000 firefighters.

Often the only thing standing between us and one of nature’s most ravenous and destructive elements is a crew of highly skilled BC Wildfire Service firefighters.

Combating wildfires is gruelling, backbreaking work. When fighting a wildfire, an average day starts at sunrise with breakfast and a "battle strategy". After carefully outlining the most effective way to deal with a fast-spreading fire, a crew of firefighters is committed to a series of challenging and demanding tasks. Typical tasks include carrying heavy loads up through B.C.’s mountainous terrain, laying down long stretches of water hoses or cutting down dozens of trees with a hefty chainsaw.

The day ends 14 hours later when the firefighters re-enter their tents to sleep, before waking up to another day on the fire line. Depending on the wildfire situation, they could work like this for 14 days straight.

Every year, about 1,500 men and women apply to be new firefighters with the BC Wildfire Service. Fewer than 200 of them succeed.

According to Ryan Chapman, forest protection technician with the BC Wildfire Service and a chair of one of the "new recruit bootcamps", it takes a lot of skill and effort to make the grade and become a provincial firefighter. Recruits need to be motivated, team-oriented, in excellent shape, and capable of handling high levels of stress. Even if an individual has all those attributes, he or she still needs to survive the boot camp.

“During the eight-day bootcamp we test the limits of a recruit's work ethic by always creating new mental and physical challenges,” said Chapman. “We make sure a recruit can persevere and endure. We stress them, but we also set them up to succeed by putting them in teams. This way they can lean on each other and feed off their positive values and attitudes.”

Training activities consist of physically draining drills and field work. A recruit will learn about helicopters, air-tankers and fire line construction, in addition to undergoing fitness challenges.

After graduating from bootcamp, successful recruits are offered a job with the BC Wildfire Service. Their placements can take them anywhere in the province, where they'll be integrated into small, three-person initial attack crews or larger, 20-person units crews.

“The period after being placed is extremely important,” said Chapman. “During this period, recruits focus on hands-on training. At this point, they learn about setting up helipads, off road driving and setting up water delivery pumps and tows. However, most importantly, the recruit will become part of a team. This will be the factor that motivates and inspires them for the next few months.”

Recruits will be stationed at their base for about four months, although they may be deployed elsewhere in the province if wildfire activity warrants it. The length of the fire season and the often remote locations where they work can pose challenges to those with loved ones elsewhere.

“One of the most challenging parts of being a firefighter is the three months away from home,” said Chapman. “As there is very little cell service in the wilderness, we have few opportunities to call our families. Yet, being surrounded by your team means you're never alone.”

The BC Wildfire Service offers a comprehensive guide on preventing wildfires on its website.

Not all of us are fit enough to fight raging wildfires alongside the men and women of the BC Wildfire Service, but we can all do our part to prevent these destructive forces harming our communities.