Firefighter - Fire Prevention And Public Information
CurrentThe primary responsibility of any Forest Service wild land firefighter is the protection of firefighter and public life, as well as the protection of our natural resources within the National Forest System. The strive of the fire program within America's National Forests is to mitigate firefighting strategies and tactics in order to manage the return of fire to it's natural state within the ecosystem through the use of naturally started wildfires and/or the use of prescribed controlled burns.My fire prevention program covers northern New Mexico and parts of southern Colorado and is responsible for the education of the public in the responsible use of fire, and the mitigation necessary to protect homes from wildfire threat. My program is also responsible for the engineering of fire prevention communication signs located along National Forest roads and within campgrounds to ensure that display will effectively convey our message to our users, and that such communication is relevant to the seasons, fuel moisture conditions, and fire danger levels. In addition to education and engineering, my program also handles the enforcement of fire restrictions during times of high fire danger.With the ever increasing threat of wildfire to encroaching wild land urban communities, and the current initiative to increase awareness of the importance of the restoration of natural fire within the ecosystem, my fire prevention program has evolved to include public fire information aimed at educating the public in the use by federal public land agencies, of mitigated strategies and tactics to manage wildfire and/or prescribed burns to meet natural resource objectives. As a public information officer, my duty is to travel to politically sensitive wildfires or prescribed burns nationally and/or locally in order to provide pertinent information to the public through human contacts, mass media, and social media to increase situational awareness within the surrounding communities.
