New Firefighter Brian

I say "new firefighter" but Brian has been fighting wildland fires in North Carolina and south Georgia for some time now, so he already had more experience than most of us have in that arena. This experience overlaps nicely with his interest and education in Forestry.

The great news that we all congratulate him on is that he has passed the written Mod 1 exam, which he took as a challenge. This means that he didn't take the weeklong lecture part of the course, but passed (and more than just passed) the written exam studying on his own.

And last Thursday Mar 27 he spent all day proving himself by going through the required structure fire practical. From his description last night it sounded pretty rigorous, with basements and multiple rooms involved during various times of the day. Despite all that he was on his way to our usual training night at Wolfskin but was sidelined en route by a flat tire. Apparently there are no ten-codes for that.

Brian will be heading out west for a two and a half-month job starting in June (I think), where he'll be working with crews fighting wildland fires in Montana and Idaho, if I recall correctly. We might be hearing from him and seeing some photos that he sends us this summer, and we'll post those as they come in and keep everyone informed.

Of course we're all pleased with him and excited for the opportunity he has this summer but that means he won't be here in Wolfskin, and he'll certainly be missed.

(BTW - I haven't put last names - I never do unless it's clear that it's ok. I certainly will be glad to do so if it meets approval. Brian's efforts have been a great accomplishment.)

--Wayne