Wildland Firefighter

About the role

This position is located within a National Forest. The position is located on a fire crew as a crewmember within the fire management organization. The purpose of the position is wildland fire suppression/management/control, as a firefighter on an engine, hotshot, helitack or hand crew.

What you will do

• Serves as a senior firefighter on a hand crew.
• May perform the duties of a qualified faller, saw repair technician, or certified in the use of long line.
• May on occasion serve as driver of crew carrier.
• All drivers of crew carriers are required to meet state Department of Transportation licensing requirements.
• This license must be obtained prior to being assigned driver duties.
• Driver is subject the requirements of the Department of Transportation drug and alcohol testing program.
• Serves as a senior firefighter on a Fire Engine.
• Serves as alternate to the Assistant Fire Engine Operator.
• May assist in performing work of 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.
• Firefighter may have specialized duties such as water handling specialist, fully qualified faller, or responsible for maintenance of specialized equipment used to respond to wildland urban interface/intermix situations.
• Serves as a senior firefighter on a helitack crew.
• Loads helicopter cargo considering methods, weight distribution, necessity for securing, total weight, etc., and completes manifests of personnel and equipment being transported to the fire or other work site.
• May exit helicopter in remote areas to construct helispots, or to attack small fires, hot spots and spot fires.
• Specialized firefighter may serve as certified rappeler or specialist in the operation and maintenance of accessory equipment.
• May serve as part of a short haul crew.
• While on the fireline, employee will suppress the fire by moving dirt, chopping brush, felling trees.
• Build fire line using hand tools such as axe, Pulaski, shovel and McLeod, and power saws, to control spreading wildland fire until relieved or fire is suppressed.
• May perform various aviation and ground support activities, such as servicing and operating batch mixers, tanks, and related components including pumps, valves, and hoses.
• Conducts operations in the urban interface and/or point protection in remote settings as directed.
• May fill-in for other work leaders on established crews who are absent.
• May lead a squad (3-5) firefighters on a module in performing suppression duties on small or large fires.
• As work leader is responsible for showing new employees how the work is performed, for implementing quantity and quality goals on-the-job, for assuring that equipment and tools are available, and that work is performed in a safe manner.
• May inventory fuel beds, prepare associated reports, monitor burning conditions, pile logging debris and act in assigned positions during fuel reduction efforts by prescribed fire.
• May perform project work and lead other workers in the same type of work which may include but is not limited to cleaning outdoor recreational facilities. mows grass and trims shrubs; perform trail maintenance and building maintenance duties; marks trees for timber harvesting in accordance with designated plan, checks seedling survival, and so forth.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Direct Deposit Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choosing.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check.
• To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify.gov.
• 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.
• This is a Test 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.
• Incumbent is subject to medical screening and must meet the Federal Wildland Firefighter Medical Standards for arduous duty wildland firefighting.
• Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable).
• Occasional overnight travel may be required for fire suppression or fire related assignment.
• Must pass the appropriate level of the Work Capacity Test for Wildland Firefighters.
• Successfully completed the Primary NWCG Core Requirement of Firefighter Type 1 (FFT1) Successfully completed the Secondary NWCG Core Requirement of Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior (S-290)

How you will be evaluated

This is a Direct-Hire Authority position, all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, the resume is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements.

A rating will not be used; veteran's preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be referred to the selecting official.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Documents you must provide

• The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete.
• Encrypted documents will not be accepted.
• Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
• Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications.
• Resume cannot exceed 2 pages.
• If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts.
• An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty.
• Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university.
• If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards.
• There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service.
• For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website.
• All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
• Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.

What to expect next

Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status.

You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.

Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer.

An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance.

To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to ***, subject line: Fair Chance Act.

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE: This vacancy is being used to fill positions for FY2027 Temporary Employment Hiring season. The expected start date for this position will be between April 18, 2027 to June 13, 2027.

By selecting the "Location Negotiable" option during the application process, implies your willingness to be considered for any official duty location listed on this announcement and/or those duty locations not listed for this Regional announcement. Pay rates vary depending on location.

The salary shown is for the Rest of the U.S. See OPM.gov for additional information on pay rates. This position is temporary, has a Not-to-Exceed date and will be filled for up to 6 months or as a not to exceed (NTE) 1 year, however an extension of the appointment may be possible without further competition. The appointment may also end early due to lack of work or lack of funds.

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other groups within the Region who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in any of the geographic location(s) listed on the announcement.

Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. The duty station for this position will be at one of the duty locations listed in this announcement. Salary range as shown is the locality pay Rest of U.S. (RUS).

Pay rates vary by location. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management's website for additional information on pay rates. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors.

CTAP/ICTAP eligible must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered. If you are retired from the Federal Government and are selected for this vacancy, your retirement annuity may be offset from your pay. This position is not eligible for telework.

Availability of government housing and federal day care facilities will vary by location. Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.