In a forested area west of Bend, Oregon yesterday, Sarah Jakober watched helicopters circling overhead. Soon she’d board one with other rappellers so they could practice jumping out of a perfectly good helicopter.
Actually, they don’t jump — from planes — like smokejumpers. Rappellers, affectionately known by some as sliders, climb out of a helicopter door, balance on the skids with their gear, then slide down their own ropes to a wildland fire below.
Jakober is in Bend for two days as part of annual recertification required by the USFS for rappel crews. Michael Kohn of the Bend Bulletin reported on this in a feature published by the Oregon Capital Insider (along with some DANDY photos by Andy Tullis).
Rappel crews typically fly into remote locations not easily reachable in the early stages of a fire by firefighters in ground vehicles.
Jakober is with the Grande Ronde Rappel Crew based out of La Grande. She told Kohn the job’s easier now than when she was a rookie seven years ago. “It was pretty scary,” she said. “I was hyper-focused on what I needed to do.”
The Malheur Rappel Crew (MRC), based in John Day, Oregon, is a Type 1 25+person crew specializing in initial attack and helicopter ops. The Malheur base is one of 11 in the USFS nationally. Rappelling as an initial attack fire response began in the Pacific Northwest and the region hosts five of the national bases, with rappellers coordinated at the regional and national level.
The Malheur airbase responds to smoke reports on the Malheur National Forest and the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness and includes four wilderness areas in its response zone. Big timber and very few roadways have required rappellers for initial attack; for 40 years there’s been a helicopter based out of John Day.
The Malheur crew adheres to stringent fitness standards; without fail, the questions they always get include: “What are the minimums? What do I have to do to be considered for entry into the program?” Malheur rappellers are held to the USFS minimum physical standards, like every other program in the agency, including the pack test, which is carrying a 45 lb. pack over 3 miles in under 45 minutes. Beyond that, the rappel program includes the mile-and-a-half run, pull-ups, push-ups, plank tests, and the rappeller pack-out.
Minimum requirements:
1.5-mile run in 11:00 min or less (AVG: 9:40min)
2:00 min plank (AVG: 2:40min)
25 push-ups in 1 min (AVG: 36.5)
7 pull-ups (AVG: 10.4)
3-mile flat <90 min pack-out 85 lbs. (AVG: 55:45min)
These physical standards will be met by all members of the program on day one of the season — veteran rappellers, permanent staff, and rookies alike.
Rappel crews typically have a wide range of skills and strengths; Malheur crewmembers provide a list of quals from ICT5 to DIVS to FEMO.
This variety of skills and experience is typical at a rappel base.
The Grande Ronde Rappellers include these staffed positions:
- 1 Base Manager (GS-11 PFT)
- 2 Foremen (GS-9 PFT)
- 4 Assistant Foremen (GS-7/8 PFT)
- 6 Squad Leaders (GS-6/7 PSE 18/8)
- 14 Senior Firefighters (GS-5 PSE 13/13)
- 16 Seasonal Firefighters (GS-4 or 5 Temp 1039)
About 80 wildland firefighters were certified this week on the Deschutes National Forest. The full story by Michael Kohn on this week’s recertification is [HERE] and is worth the read!
