Another Notch in my Belt
It just keeps getting better and better. Work is really starting to take a real positive turn, and I haven't even started really. After going to the course held in Kamloops, I was offered first up as camp manager. Pretty much run it and every aspect of it. Then I get a call and was given the go ahead to hand pick my crew when the fire calls go out, instead of being put on a list which ppl were told to work with me. Not that it mattered that much, but I'd rather have ppl on my fire crew that will actually work and not fuck the dog. It's not like I'm a slave driver by any means, but the more emphasis that is put into the smaller fire, the better chances one will get to be used in a bigger capacity on a big fire. Being efficient on the smaller fires and not making it a make work project will be the make or break of how well one does when it comes to the big deal. It all comes down to making good choices and decisions. I know I could drag out a fire that would normally take a couple of days to put out and extend it to 4 or 5 days, but what is the point. Sure I'd make more money, but it's also a test as to how efficiently I can disperse manpower and equipment without breaking both, and not cost any more cash they'd have to shell out on expenses to sustain it. A bit of a balancing act, along with using one's head wisely.
I then got a call today that really rocked my woof. My supervisor asked me what class driver's license I had. At first the excitement went up cause I thought they were needing someone with a class 3 to drive the fire zone water tender. That would be a nice job. It ended up that they want me to be in charge of the mobile command unit, which gets dispatched to all the big fires. Pretty much I'd be getting the command truck from the fire hall where it's being housed, and drive it to the staging area of the fire that it will be utilized at, then set it up and run it. In a nutshell, I'd be running radio ops, time recording, staging for all heavy equipment and fire personnell,and incident command post. The guy who would be heading the fire (incident commander)would be in and out of that comms truck, getting all pertinent information that would be passed on to me from other unit leaders. It'll be kind of cool to be able to make the call and bring in more bodies or machines at any given moment, and then dispatch them to where they have to go. Again, another position that pays more money, flexibility, and the added bonus of utilizing who I want. I know of a few ppl who are just dying to get their paws wet with the forestry sector, and it could very well be a foot in the door. So slowly, I am climbing the ladder to opportunity. It paid off being the grunt.
I then got a call today that really rocked my woof. My supervisor asked me what class driver's license I had. At first the excitement went up cause I thought they were needing someone with a class 3 to drive the fire zone water tender. That would be a nice job. It ended up that they want me to be in charge of the mobile command unit, which gets dispatched to all the big fires. Pretty much I'd be getting the command truck from the fire hall where it's being housed, and drive it to the staging area of the fire that it will be utilized at, then set it up and run it. In a nutshell, I'd be running radio ops, time recording, staging for all heavy equipment and fire personnell,and incident command post. The guy who would be heading the fire (incident commander)would be in and out of that comms truck, getting all pertinent information that would be passed on to me from other unit leaders. It'll be kind of cool to be able to make the call and bring in more bodies or machines at any given moment, and then dispatch them to where they have to go. Again, another position that pays more money, flexibility, and the added bonus of utilizing who I want. I know of a few ppl who are just dying to get their paws wet with the forestry sector, and it could very well be a foot in the door. So slowly, I am climbing the ladder to opportunity. It paid off being the grunt.