The orange cones are set, and the clock starts running. Inside the cab of a Forest Service fire engine, a firefighter from Wyoming grips the wheel and begins running the truck backward through a course called the dogleg.
A one minute and 30 second time limit. Don't hit the cones.
This is the Rocky Mountain Engine Academy at the City of Aurora Public Safety Training Center in Aurora, Colorado. For roughly 50 firefighters working through its paces in spring 2026, it was the most demanding week of preparation they faced before heading to wildfires this summer.
"Training is the foundation for everything that we do as wildland firefighters as we approach what we know is going to be a really busy fire season," said Ali Richards, Rocky Mountain geographic area director of safety, fire and aviation management. "Having the opportunity to put on this Rocky Mountain Engine Academy is exactly what we need to be doing."
The academy, closed during the pandemic, and was not staged since 2019. During the seven-year gap, firefighters continued to train through local programs. Still, the pause meant there was not a centralized program to bring new and experienced operators together for this high-level training.
Bringing it back took two years of steering committee meetings, logistics work and relationship-building. One of the biggest challenges was finding a training center that could support 11 type 6 engines, which are compact wildland firefighting vehicles used for initial attack, and one type 3 firefighting engine, which are larger initial attack vehicles. Locating a facility with enough paved area to run three timed driving courses simultaneously, with bays for maintenance work and space for pumping operations, is not easy on a training budget.
Aurora Fire Rescue stepped in to help solve that problem.
(left) Jacob Brandt, a firefighter with the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests & Thunder Basin National Grassland, takes notes during classroom. The academy combined classroom learning with hands-on field exercises to reinforce engine operations, maintenance procedures and incident readiness. (right) A firefighter with Aurora Fire Rescue operates on the roof of a training structure during an exercise at the city of Aurora Public Safety Training Center. The Rocky Mountain Engine Academy partnered with Aurora Fire Rescue to provide Forest Service firefighters hands-on training in fire operations and interagency coordination. (Forest Service photos by Travis Weger)
"Utilizing this training facility through Capt. Sones and the Aurora Fire Rescue has been a blessing," said Jeremy McMahon, deputy fire staff officer for the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland. "Developing relationships and relying on our partners, that goes both ways, to help each other out and get the most out of our training."
Deeper than shared pavement
Alongside Forest Service firefighters, two Aurora firefighters are embedded in the academy's teams, going through the same drills as their Forest Service counterparts.
Aurora Fire Rescue also maintains a 62-person wildland response team. When large fires push into the wildland-urban interface and flames move from forests into neighborhoods, these agencies will find themselves working the same incident from different angles.
"The big overlap is where the wildland meets the homes," said Brad Danek, a captain with Aurora Fire Rescue. "And then we're talking about an urban interface fire or even an urban fire as the fire's moved from the wildland arena into structures, that's where we have a big overlap."
That overlap has real-world application. Jeremy Sones, a fire captain with Aurora Fire Rescue, described a recent incident where a fire that started on a military base and moved toward surrounding property. Two agencies, with different radio protocols and different command structures, working under pressure with relationships already in place.
"We were able to work together, through communication challenges," said Sones, "and make sure that fire was basically handled without getting too large or threatening too many areas around the base."
Cross training makes this possible. At its core, the engine academy covers three disciplines: preventative maintenance, pumping operations and driving. Students are evaluated in all three, and they must demonstrate competency to earn the engine operator certificate.
(top) Students from the Forest Service and Aurora Fire Rescue receive instruction from Brice Stanton, a firefighter with the Black Hills National Forest, about the day’s events during the Rocky Mountain Engine Academy. (bottom left) Dru Phillips, a firefighter with the Shoshone National Forest, performs preventative maintenance beneath a fire engine. Students worked through hands-on inspections and mechanical training designed to improve operational readiness and engine safety. (bottom right) Anna Dellapenta, a firefighter with the Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands, prepares for the driving course at the city of Aurora Public Safety Training Center. Dellapenta participated in the Rocky Mountain Engine Academy, where firefighters trained in driving, pumping operations and preventative maintenance. (Forest Service photos by Travis Weger)
"We go through the truck front to back, top to bottom," said Stephen Engebretson, fire engine captain from the Black Hills National Forest. "We're looking for any deficiencies."
In the classroom, a PowerPoint slide can show you a truck's undercarriage. But crawling underneath one and identifying the drive shaft, shocks and springs by touch, is a different experience.
"Until we're able to actually roll around underneath the engines and point to all the components, a lot of people are like, ‘oh, okay, now I understand,’” said Engebretson.
On the driving side, three courses are set up across the training center's lot. One is the dogleg and is described by the students as the hardest.
Dominic Manley, an engine captain from the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming, failed his first attempt the first day. On his retest, he passed.
"It feels really good," said Manley. "It is fun, but it is pretty stressful."
Anna Dellapenta, a fire engine operator from the Pike-San Isabel National Forests who works out of Canyon City, Colorado, talked about what the course demands.
"Just your spatial awareness," said Dellapenta. "Being able to reverse in a potentially stressful situation, getting out of areas and not hitting things you don't want to hit."
Both operators plan to go home and teach other fire engine operators what they've learned.
"We really want to help hone these leaders' skills, standardize a process that they can take home and mentor everybody else on their programs," Meyer said.
(left) Ben Pedigo, a firefighter with the Rio Grande National Forest, times a vehicle moving through a driving course. Firefighters were evaluated on precision driving skills through timed exercises designed to simulate high-pressure operational conditions. (right) Firefighters from the Forest Service and Aurora Fire Rescue gather for instruction and discussion. The academy strengthened partnerships between the two agencies through joint training in engine operations, maintenance and driving ahead of the 2026 fire year. (Forest Service photos by Travis Weger)
Not every firefighter on every district can attend an academy like this. The goal, Engebretson explained, is to seed knowledge outward to save on costs. Students go back to their forests and pass the skills down to seasonal employees and to the next generation that may eventually make it to the academy themselves.
The cones come down at the end of the week, and the crews disperse back to Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and South Dakota.
They trained on white trucks and green trucks and red trucks. They learned the same valves, the same pumping calculations, the same maintenance checks.
"It's not a fire season, it’s a fire year," said McMahon. "We train constantly in preparation for the call when it comes out to either help a neighboring cooperator or interagency partner. We're ready to go."