Any forest service or nps firefighters out there?

I have a cousin that was a FS firefighter for many years and loved it, in california & wyoming as well as montana until he died. I am very interested in pursuing this possibly as a career but not sure where to start as I dont have a degree in forestry or natural resource management etc. any advice would be appreciated.

http://www.firehouse.com/forums/f301/

So I am actually working on becoming a wild land firefighter right now. My brother in law is a hot shot and my father was when he was younger. You need to first get you s130 and s190, they are just wild land firefighter training and wild land fire behavior certs. You can take them for free online but I was advised to take them in person, I am taking mine in April at the fire academy where I live it cost me 100$ for my s130 s190 and two other certs that were not needed but everything helps. I would look into that now as most courses fill up quick. You can start applying in the fall for a job in 2015 by now most crews have hired. Good Luck

Unless it's changed in the nearly 15 years since I went through it, you'll also need I-100 (I think it may be ICS 100 now) along with S-130 and S-190 in order to get your "red card". The red card is what makes it possible for you to fight the fires on national lands or out of state.

While it may not be a requirement, ICS 200 and 700 would be a good idea as well. All of those are available online on the FEMA site.

Dan Felix wrote:Unless it's changed in the nearly 15 years since I went through it, you'll also need I-100 (I think it may be ICS 100 now) along with S-130 and S-190 in order to get your "red card". The red card is what makes it possible for you to fight the fires on national lands or out of state. While it may not be a requirement, ICS 200 and 700 would be a good idea as well. All of those are available online on the FEMA site.

And of course the pack test 3 miles in 45 minutes with a 45 pound pack I believe and you cant run....

thanks for the info, I was aware of the s130 & s190 but had lost the bookmark to that info page, I was part of a highschool firefighting program and went through training with the local department I would definitely like to pick up with wilderness learning. I am actually starting off with a job for the forest service doing park surveying this year!