It may (or may not) come as a shock to you that we are short on burn bosses. And it is hard to increase the use of this magnificent tool called prescribed fire without people willing to take responsibility for them. My life history is cluttered with regrets, and I have learned that self -forgiveness is one key to happiness, after all we are only human. One of those regrets is that I did not actively seek to become a burn boss early in my career. I was always content to be a crew member and happy to see someone else leading the fire. It took years for it to occur to me that I should ask myself, “Hey, dude, why aren’t you leading fires yourself?” Like an old parent you think will be around to talk to about things until they are not, many of our old burn bosses are retired and gone.
When I began my career almost 30 years ago there was no clear path to becoming a burn boss, at least none I could discern. There were those men and women who seemed to know how to lead fire and there were the rest of us. We did not burn often enough to get good at it. Things began to change in our agency 10 or so years ago, and now there is a clear method outlined in our fire task books to help a new fire practitioner find their way forward through the smoke. For private landowners this path is much less clear, but there are ways to do it. And it boils down to when you feel you are ready to lead your own fires.
Most agencies and NGOs have criteria for being a basic crew member – from novice to more experienced crew member the progression is dependent on participating on fires under the tutelage of more experienced personnel. This should be the goal of private landowners, too. To participate, some fundamentals must be mastered as well as the physical fitness attained to handle the rigors of fire work. Those first few fires might find a new fire crew member simply observing or learning the basics of drip torch handling, UTV operation, small engine pump operation, basic radio communications, and more. When a certain level of experience is gained, and enough fires are inked in the fire log, a crew member can decide to progress to squad boss and burn boss by following task book guidelines. This step is important, and it is where a person really begins to learn fire behavior, ignition and holding, and everything else required to conduct fire and manage smoke safely. The fine print on all this is that no one is going to make you do these things. You must desire to progress and then reach out to more experienced burners for help and mentoring. It is not an easy road and that is why we have a shortage at least in part. Start small and simple and make sure you are honest with yourself about your abilities. Bravado in a squad boss or burn boss is not a desired trait, but confidence is – make sure you know the difference. And confidence comes from experience and training and more experience and more training…it can’t be emphasized enough, the more you help on fires the more you develop as a practitioner.
I wish that there was a “fire boss academy” where you enlisted and went off to fire boot camp and within three to four months you were coal forged into a full-fledged fire boss, but that does not exist. There are however good trainings in the basics…mini-boot camps offered by some NGOs, and the Virginia Prescribed Fire Manager’s Course which is now mostly on-line and there for everyone, private, agency, or NGO (Virginia Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Course : Virginia Department of Forestry). Much exists online under the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (Homepage | NWCG) and though the name doesn’t say prescribed fire, many trainings cross over and are required for both wild and prescribed fire. Further there are Fire Learning Networks (FLN) – Fire Learning Network – About – Fire Networks .
Practical steps to becoming a “prescribed fire leader” or burn boss:
- Be honest with yourself – being a squad boss or burn boss is not for everyone and crew members are always in demand. If you like a challenge though and recognize that it can’t always be someone else who leads, decide to become a squad boss and then a burn boss.
- Begin reaching out to those around you who are involved in prescribed fire and find out how to become a part of the agency, NGO, or community fire team.
- For private citizens a prescribed burn association (PBA) may exist in your area, join them (Prescribed Burn Associations | Southeast Prescribed Fire Update (ncsu.edu) . Make sure your email is on the fire reach out list for your group and actively seek to help on burns. If no PBA exists, consider starting one with likeminded neighbors.
- Obtain the task books or set of requirements your organization uses as guides for progression through fire team development and begin actively working through them.
- Begin working with your supervisor letting them know you are interested in being a more active prescribed fire practitioner. Work with them to obtain the basic fire personnel protective equipment (PPE) outlined in the task books. Note – most all of us that work in fire have purchased some items with our personal funds. Not necessarily big-ticket items, but some of the basics that can be yours to take with you if you leave one agency and go to another. See what your agency / organization provides first and go from there. For private citizens, you can buy most of what you need for the cost of set of low-grade golf clubs.
- For private citizens, recognize that you may not need all the bells and whistles required by an agency. Plenty of #goodfire has been applied wearing cotton jeans, cotton shirts, leather work gloves and leather boots – and hard hats are not expensive and well worth it – remember if you are lighting fire in a wooded area and a branch falls on your head and you become unconscious…who is going to put out your drip torch?
- Actively seek a mentor or two who are at the level you wish to get to. Encourage them to help you by helping them…meaning show up when they need help on fires or with other tasks. Earn the fun work by helping with the hard work.
- While on those fires do not be afraid to ask questions – not just “how questions” but also “why questions.” Make sure you understand why certain decisions are being made if it is not clear (but keep in mind in an active fire setting to do this later, during breaks or afterwards, not in the heat of the fire – use a bit of common sense).
- Begin asking to look at burn plans that have been developed for fires in your area.
- Start thinking like a squad or burn boss – this is my fire ignition crew, these are the conditions, this is my burn unit, how will I approach the situation. Or this is my burn, how will I organize my crews, how many crew do I need, what equipment do I need, what wind and weather am I looking for, what smoke concerns are there. Get a good fire booklet and work through fire planning check lists. Here is a comprehensive one: Guidebook for Prescribed Burning in the Southern Region | UGA Cooperative Extension and a shorter, but very good overview: Beyond the Bonfire: A Primer on Prescribed Fire for Virginia’s Private Landowners.
- Start to familiarize yourself with how to interpret weather and look ahead – sometimes the window for conducting a fire is narrow and it takes active weather watching in advance to make it happen. Here is one site that is used often: Fire Weather .
I think this is enough to get you thinking about becoming a squad or burn boss. The bottom-line is you have to want to progress and be willing to seek the help needed. If you have gotten this far…you might have it in you to be a fire leader. As for me, I started late in my career, but am no less proud of the progress I have made. I could have hidden out until I was gone, and no one would have noticed, but I accepted the task of continued growth even late in my life. I know my limits and can lead smaller, simpler fires. If I had recognized that I like the challenges of leading fire earlier, I might be a contender now to lead some bigger and more complex fires. And so could you.