Forestry Technician (Fire)

Duties

• Perform Wildland fire related duties involve fire prevention, patrol, detection or prescribed burning.
• Serve as a skilled crewmember on an engine, helitack or hand crew.
• As an assistant on a wildland fire engine, works as a trainee engine operator driving the engine, operating the pump and making hose layouts under the direction of the engine foreman.
• Utilizes a variety of specialized tools, equipment and techniques while actively suppressing wildfires, such as a Pulaski, shovel, McLeod, ax and chainsaw to control the spread of wildfire.
• Provides assistance on a wildland fire engine, operating the pump and making hose lays under direction.
• As a helitack crewmember, loads helicopters determines weight calculations, competes crew manifests and may rappel from a hovering helicopter near ground level in remote area to construct helistops or to attack small fires, hotspots and spot fires.
• Performs basic fireline activities such as line construction, hose layout, operations of pumps and accessories, lopping and scattering of fuels using hand tools and holding, patrolling, monitoring, and mop-up operations. Moves dirt, chops brush, small trees, etc. to construct fire line. Is responsible for observing the rules of wildland firefighting safety. Applies practices and techniques to minimize resource damage.
• Independently carries out specialized assignments such as tree falling, backfire and burnout, mobile and stationary engine attack, construction of helispots specialized helitack operations and hover hookups.
• Serve on an organized crew during prescribed burns, monitoring and controlling the fire and collecting data on fire weather and fire behavior.
• Performs project work such as fuel inventory and hazard fuel reduction projects.

Qualifications

Experience and Education Requirements: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Technical and Medical Support Positions, GS-0462, and Individual Occupational Requirements for GS-0462: Forestry Technician Series).

GS-4: 6 months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience OR 2 years of successfully completed education above the high school level that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of course such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable OR 4 seasons of specialized experience.

General Experience: (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation.

Seasonal Experience: A season of experience is considered to be a period of no less than 3 months of continuous employment on a seasonal basis.

Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Examples of qualifying specialized experience:

• Forestry aide or technician work.
• Engineering, range, or soil conservation technician work that involved the application of cultural, resource conservation, or land management practices on nonforest or ranch lands when combined with knowledge of forestry operations and equipment.
• Farming or ranching work that involved application of cultural and soil and water conservation practices, including safety and use of equipment, and that provided a basic understanding of land use.
• Forest or range fire control, prevention, or suppression work.

Firefighter Retirement Coverage and Maximum Entry Age Limit: This position is covered as a primary firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of U.S.C. 8336(c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412(d) (FERS) subject to maximum entry age and mandatory retirement at age 57, or anytime after 57, upon reaching 20 years of covered service. Applicants for this position must not have reached their 37th birthday upon appointment to this position; an exception is allowed if there is prior federal service in a covered firefighter position. Also, if you are a preference eligible veteran, you may be eligible for this position after your 37th birthday. You must supply a copy of your Defense Department Form 214 (DD-214) along with Standard Form 15 (if applicable) and any associated documentation in accordance with the instructions in this vacancy announcement. Failure to provide this documentation with your application will result in the loss of eligibility to receive a waiver of the maximum entry age requirement.

Condition of Employment: A medical exam will be required for newly hired personnel in permanent positions that require arduous duty in accordance with the Department of the Interior (DOI) Medical Standards Program (MSP).

This is a Testing Designated Positions (TDP) under the Department of Interior Drug Free Workplace Program.

Education

Foreign Education: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation upon request. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.