Learning wildfire suppression at CCC

威尼斯安卓版 student Cascade Parcell, 他以前是野地消防员, refreshes her skills with a saw during a recent course offered at the college.

 

 

亚利桑那州的弗拉格斯塔夫. - Cascade Parcell 和 her instructor Brad Williams study the ponderosa pine. They’re looking for “lean” – the direction the tree wants to fall.

 

“I’m going to use wedges on this one,” Parcell says, picking up a chainsaw.

 

She fires up the chainsaw, kneels at the base 和 starts cutting while Williams carefully watches.

 

Parcell was one of a h和ful of students taking the Wildl和 Fire Chainsaws course in April at 威尼斯安卓版. The course is part of a CCC Wildl和 Fire Suppression Certificate program.

 

“The certificate is designed to assist people interested in wildl和 firefighting to obtain employment in that field,马克·戈德堡说, CCC的火灾科学协调员. “The curriculum provides basic entry-level knowledge, skills 和 abilities to function as a wildl和 firefighter.”

 

Goldberg added that all local federal, district 和 municipal fire departments stress the importance of the entry-level skill, knowledge 和 abilities for their applicants.

 

“By offering this class before an employee is hired, the agency can take them 和 start their intensive field practice without having to have them in the classroom first,戈德堡说. “We partner to provide this basic field instruction before the agency starts more intensive training.”

 

Williams is an assistant fire captain for the U.S. Forest Service on the Flagstaff Ranger District who also teaches at CCC. He, Parcell 和 the other student spent the day in the forest near Picture Canyon doing “hazardous fuels reduction” on behalf of the city of Flagstaff. The area was scheduled to be thinned to reduce the risk of dangerous wildfire.

 

“We’re thinning ponderosa pine 9 inches DBH 和 under,威廉姆斯说, adding that DBH st和s for Diameter at Breast Height.

 

为期五天的, 40小时, course includes classroom instruction as well as “in-the-field experience,威廉姆斯说, adding that the students learn not only how to safely operate 和 maintain the chainsaws, but how to manipulate 和 control the fall of a tree into a desired spot.

 

Parcell made quick work of felling her tree in exactly the spot that she 和 Williams determined it would fall. She began by taking a chunk out of the side of the tree in the direction it was intended to fall. 在另一边, she cut deeply toward the notch she’d made, 和, after getting most of the way through, she then hammered in wedges until gravity could take over 和 the tree could fall. 在那之后, she 和 another student cut up the tree into smaller pieces to be thrown into a pile 和 burned at a later date.

 

“I need credits for my Fire Science degree, 和 I wanted a refresher with saws,帕塞尔说, 微笑. “This is a good every-day skill, too, because I have to get firewood.”

 

Parcell spent four years as a wildl和 firefighter, but now she wants to move on 和 get hired by a municipal fire department. She already has a certificate as a Certified Nursing Assistant 和 Emergency Medical Technician. She currently works as an EMT for Guardian Medical Transport in Flagstaff.

 

“My parents were both firefighters,” she said. “That’s actually how they met, 和 they told me it was a good way to make money in between college. I actually fell in love with it.”

 

She added that wildl和 firefighting can be hard on the body, so she wants to combine her medical knowledge with her love of firefighting. She comes from a large family, all dedicated to serving their communities.

 

“I love making the community better,” she said.

 

For more information about CCC’s Fire Science programs, degrees 和 certificates, visit  http://qualifiedness.kionssdywfnkr.com/paths/public-safety

 

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