Redding Hotshots

Being an Interagency Hotshot Crew member means traveling nationwide and working under adverse conditions and hazardous situations. It is not unusual to be away from  our base at Northern California Service Center on fire assignments for 21 days at a time. A person should give serious consideration to this and the overall duration of the detail before applying.

The planned duration of the detail is from early April to mid-October (or at the end of fire season, depending on  seasonal fire activity).

Applicants must have a career or career-conditional appointment, minimum Red Card qualification of "Firefighter (FFT2)," and have one season of fire experience or the equivalent. Apprentice candidates are encouraged to apply, but must be a graduate of the Basic Academy by the start date of the program. Candidates will be accepted from any series and grade. Program participants are considered nationwide from the U.S. Forest Service and other federal, state or local fire agencies.

Physical requirements include satisfactory completion of the Pack Test, which consists of walking three miles on flat ground with 45 pounds in 45 minutes. If selected, candidates must meet this requirement on day one or be returned to their home units. For an example of a comprehensive fitness program visit the FireFit website.

Candidates must be able to perform fireline duties at the arduous level. (Ref. F.S. Handbook 6100-9.12)

To qualify, applicants must meet ALL of the following criteria:

• Career/Career-Conditional or Co-op Student status, with the Federal Government or other resource management agency. (Apprentices must be graduates of the Basic Academy by the program start date)
• A minimum Red Card qualification of "Firefighter" (FFT2).

If you have questions regarding this program, please contact:

Dan Mallia (Superintendent) 530-226-2721

Crew training exercises are tailored to develop skills for fire suppression, small unit leadership and instruction. They are conducted in the classroom, in the field, or on the fireline.

In alignment with the basic tenet of the Redding IHC Leadership Development Program; the focus of all training  is at the small-unit (squad) level. All training is conducted with a stressor involved, i.e., time compression, physical exhaustion, sleep-deprivation, in front of peers, etc. Training exercises are based on proven courses from NWCG, military, corporate and other action-oriented organizations. The following skill sets are emphasized:

1. Observation/Recon

2. Orientation

3. Decision Making

4. Communication

5. Technical Proficiency

6. Training and Simulations

7. Administrative Knowledge

Interagency Hotshot Crew Mobilization is another aspect we spend a significant amount of time on, this provides the skills required to develop and mobilize a Category 1 Interagency Hotshot Crew. Emphasis is placed on crew organization, safety, physical fitness, team building, conduct, presuppression readiness, transportation, and fireline equipment orientation.

The actual training provided each year is dependent upon time available and individual crew needs.

The location of the crew at the Northern California Service Center in Redding facilitates the accomplishment of the program's concept and goal. The North Zone Training Center offers one 7-person and two 25-person dormitories, three fully equipped classrooms, and a simulation projection/classroom complex. In addition, NCSC is located at the Redding Municipal Airport and is within easy driving distance of many highly qualified instructors.

For more information on the Redding IHC, email Dan Mallia

The Redding Interagency Hotshot Crew was the first hotshot crew in the nation to offer a concentrated fire management training detail opportunity. Potential fire management personnel who are detailed to a crew like this at an early stage in their careers are able to gain experience and training that they might take years to receive - or never obtain at their home unit.

1967

The program was developed and functioned as one of the Pacific Southwest Region's three Interregional (IR) Suppression Crews along with the Del Rosa IR Crew on the San Bernardino National Forest and the El Cariso IR Crew on the Cleveland. It remained an interregional crew until 1980, when the interregional concept was abolished nationwide and all category one crews were reclassified as "Interagency Hotshot Crews" or IHCs. The crew's training and career development concept was much the same in 1967 as it is today, but throughout the years it has been modified to its present concept and mission.

1967 to 1971

The crew functioned as a detail training opportunity. The crew organization consisted of one permanent full-time GS 462-7 and 19 detailers, two being recruited primarily to function in the hotshot captain positions. The primary target audiences at that time were foresters in need of large crew and large fire experience. The formalized training curriculum during that period offered the detailer a variety of fire suppression and fire management subjects geared toward preparing the individual at the Sector Boss level.

1971

The pool of available foresters fell short of the level needed to justify continuation of the program under its original concept. In 1972 the crew converted to the conventional hotshot crew concept. From 1972 to 1973 seasonal crewmembers were hired. Training was accomplished only to the extent to meet agency requirements for Category 1 Hotshot Crews. The crew performed conventional project work on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest when not assigned fire duties.

1973

After fire season fire season, the detail concept was reestablished. The original emphasis on foresters as the primary target audience was relaxed, and forestry technicians began to fill a majority of the 17 allocated positions. During this new era, the overhead structure consisted of a GS-462-7 Superintendent and two GS-462-6 Captains. Classroom and field training continued to emphasize a fire suppression curriculum but also included supervision subjects. During the winter of 1977, the superintendent and one captain position were reclassified as "Fire and Training Specialists." The reclassification increased the grade structure of the crew superintendent to a GS-462-9, and one captain to a GS-462-7. The second captain remained a GS-462-6.

1981 to 1986

Foresters filled a small percentage of the crew positions. Local North Zone Fire Management Officer's expressed the need to re-emphasize the participation of foresters who were interested in a career in fire management and who had demonstrated a potential to become future large fire managers.

1985

A steering committee was formed to assist the Redding Hotshot unit with modifying the program to include training in timber sale planning, prescribed fire management, and fire prevention. In 1991, the curriculum was updated again to better meet the needs of fire managers and the incoming crews. The adjustment in the academic curriculum deleted the training in fire prevention and prescribed fire management. In their place, Fuels Management and Ecosystem Planning, S-230 Crew Boss, S-234 Firing Boss, and S-260 Fire Business Management were added.

1992

Due to budget restrictions, the Redding crew was temporarily abolished. The crew returned in 1993, but without the training concept. As in 1972-73, the crew functioned as a conventional hotshot crew for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, hiring a mix of career-conditional and temporary employees. In 1994, at the request of fire management in the region, the training program was reestablished, concentrating on forestry technicians in need of large crew and large fire experience. In 1995 the overhead structure changed again - to one GS-462-9 superintendent with two GS-462-7 captains. In 1997, a national reclassification changed the grade structure of the crew captains to GS-462-8. Currently the overhead structure consists of two GS-462-8 captains.

2003

The Region 5 (R5) Board of Directors (BOD) approved changing the Redding IHC training focus from Fire Program Management to Small-Unit Leadership Development. The program was developed by Robert Holt (former Redding IHC Superintendent), Patrick Lookabaugh (former Redding IHC Captain), Greg Power (former R5 Regional Training Officer), and Jim Cook (National Training Projects Coordinator), and is based on successful military, corporate, and fire service leadership development models. The tenet of the program is: decisions made in historic fireline fatalities and near misses occurred at the small unit (squad/crew) level, not at the upper management level. Therefore, developing leadership skills and increasing decision-making abilities at the small unit level should be the foundation of all operational fire training.

2006

The "detail" was dropped and the program became a "training opportunity". The overhead decided that the crewmembers in the squad leader roles would benefit more by working directly for the captains so the squad leader positions were unfilled when vacated that winter.

2012

The Redding IHC overhead and Regional Office Fire and Aviation staff recognized the need and benefit from having one squad leader position added to the overhead structure. The permanent overhead structure now consists of one GS-462-09 Superintendent, two GS-462-08 Captains and one GS-462-07 Squad Leader.

For more information on the Redding IHC, email Dan Mallia

Crew Superintendents from L-R, Charlie Caldwell (1967-1985) Dan Mallia (2010-present) Craig Lechleiter (1986-2002) Robert Holt (2002-2010).

The primary objective of fire suppression assignments is to provide the detailer with a wide range of fire experience. Emphasis is placed on assigning the crew to as many large fires as possible. This ensures a diverse exposure to many fuel types, fire behavior conditions, organizational structures, and geographical/functional job positions.

The actual number of fires the crew is dispatched to varies from year to year. However, the majority of the fires will be of class "D" size or larger, giving a crewperson considerable exposure to large fire operations. Generally one season on this crew would be equivalent to five seasons of experience on a district suppression crew.

Being on an Interagency Hotshot Crew means responding to fire and/or emergency assignments nationally, and on occasion, internationally. These assignments are normally under adverse conditions and extremely hazardous situations.

This crew has been assigned to hundreds of major campaign fire assignments since its inception in 1967. These assignments have taken place in 17 states, including Alaska, and have also included three assignments to Canada. Protection agencies the crew has assisted include the U.S. Forest Service, various state forestry departments, the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), state park systems, state fish and wildlife departments, the Alaska Fire Service, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, the Saskatchewan Department of Environment and Resource Management, and the Alberta Forest Service.

In 2005, the Redding IHC was assigned its first FEMA incident to assist in Hurricane Katrina relief. The crew did two tours in Mississippi doing a various amount of assignments from staffing and organizing P.O.D.’s (Places of Distribution), FEMA trailer setup/maintenance and staffing DRC’s (Disaster Recovery Centers).

For more information on the Redding IHC, email Dan Mallia.