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Wildland firefighters ready for anything, anytime

They're the brave folks who keep our property and our lives safe during fire season -- and wildland firefighters are gearing up to hit the fire lines this summer.

For the nearly 200 firefighters joining this interagency fire school south of Sweet Home, it's an exercise as realistic as possible.

"The whole week is like a simulation of a fire," says Deputy Incident Commander Sam Swetland, "in the organization, the incident command system, the chain of command, and then the operation of how things work on a fire crew."

"It's nice to get out in the field," relates first-time firefighter Kyla Chapek, "because the first couple of days were in the classroom, getting all the basics down, and then we get to get out here and get our hands dirty."

"First day, it was a little bit drier than this," says fellow rookie Ryan Riffle. "We had to dig a handline, a little tough, but it was fun. I was a little bit sore for the first time."

Some of these firefighters have been out on the lines before, but many are first-timers, and the veterans say they can turn just about anyone into a firefighter.

"You get down and say I want to run a tool, I've never ran a shovel in my entire life, even digging in Grandma's garden," says squad boss Kreston Koziuk of the rookies he's training, "and by the end of the summer they'll be wanting to come back and signing the papers for next year."

On this day, our hard hats are mostly about rain protection. But the heat is coming, and with it will come fire season, and for these folks, that's when the fun really begins.

"Waking up in the morning, laying on the ground, and kind of asking yourself why you do this," Koziuk says. "And you get down on that fire, and you can normally see by the end of the day you've got something complete. Even though this doesn't look like much, by the time we're done this will be out, 100%."

Day after day of training, with one goal in mind: being ready for anything, at any time.

"Always nervous," Riffle says. "Always nervous, but I'm very excited to do it."

The firefighters will have a little more training at their home bases over the next couple of weeks, before they go on the board for duty this summer.