Wildland Fire Medic: Beginners Guide to Working on the line (EMPF/EMTF)

Wildland fires have become an increasingly devastating phenomenon in the western half of the United States. Every year, news footage captures the intensity of these fires that many have experienced firsthand. In 2020, over 10 million acres burned and over the last decade fires have cost the federal government an average of $2,358,603,800 per year. Tragically, in 2022, 25 firefighters lost their lives while deployed on fires. 

Due to the remoteness and hazardous nature of the work, dedicated EMTs and paramedics are now a common feature on the fire line, providing crucial medical assistance when and where it is needed most. These line medics can work alone as a single resource, as a two-person crew with an EMT and Paramedic, or as a four-person rescue team, comprised of a paramedic, EMT, and rope rescue technicians (REMS). They may travel in a 4×4 ambulance, truck, UTV, hike in with a fire crew, or rarely by boat or helicopter.

In this article, we will provide an overview of the process, including the skills and training required, and the steps needed to become a fireline qualified EMT (EMTF) or Paramedic (EMPF). 

What about experience?

First and foremost, it is essential to have solid clinical experience at your certification level. Most private companies will require 2-3 years of 911 experience at your current provider level before hiring you. You need these strong clinical skills because you may find yourself tending to a severely injured patient on the side of a mountain, hours away from the nearest hospital. We owe it to the firefighters risking their lives to bring them the absolute best care possible. Inexperience can be dangerous in this setting!

Okay, you are an experienced provider and ready to get started. Now what?

To become fire line qualified or “red carded” you need to take a couple of classes (free online), complete one in-person field day, and pass an arduous pack test. 

It is also helpful to maintain National Registry of EMTs (NREMT) certification though not always required.

While there are a few ways to meet these requirements, I will outline what is the easiest and cheapest (free) method. 

The first two of the required certifications you probably already have as it is frequently needed at most EMS agencies, as well as commonly required for licensure in most states.

List of Required Classes:

The first two are FEMA Incident Command Systems 100 and 700 available for free on FEMA.gov. The links below take you to each respective course.

The next three are completed online with the S-130 having the required field day after the completion of the online portion. All three can be taken at the US Fire Administration FEMA website.

You will have to register and obtain a FEMA SID number if you do not already have one. This is a free and relatively simple process.

These courses provide crucial knowledge and skills related to the unique challenges of working on a wildland fire, including understanding fire behavior, managing incident command, and mitigating human factors in high-stress situations. The field day goes over the basics of fire fighting and things like deploying your fire shelter. Most private companies that hire medics for wildland fire also provide this field day for free. You can also reach out to your local forest service office to see when they put these classes on. 

Video of fire shelter deployment above

Arduous Pack Test

During the field day, you will also complete the arduous pack test. This pass-or-fail physical fitness test involves walking 3 miles in 45 minutes while wearing a 45lbs weighted vest or backpack. This 15 min per mile pace is a brisk walk and, if not prepared, can be a bit challenging. However, after getting approval from your physician, a few months of gradually building up the weight of the pack and the pace will give you the confidence to know that passing on test day will be a walk in the park (pun intended).  

In addition to these classes, it is common for some companies to provide multi-day training programs to give you a real-world experience of what it will be like working on a wildland fire. While this is not a requirement it can further prepare you for success. These “Mock” fire camps help in getting you oriented to the day-to-day operations like checking into a fire, communicating with Medical Unit Leaders or MEDL (MED is pronounced as in medical and the L is said as the letter “L”. MED-L ), attending morning briefings, using the mapping software, understanding the importance of the 8 Line/MIR (Medical Incident Report) during a medical emergency and dealing with common injuries on a wildland fire. Some of these classes cost money and some are free.

Congratulations! After completing these steps, you are now fire line certified, physically fit after training for the pack test, and ready to go. The last step is making sure you are prepared for your “roll”. A roll is typically 14-21 days straight on a fire. Look for a later blog post to tell you how these work and how to prepare. 

 Working on wildland fires is one of the best jobs in EMS with a really unique working environment and dynamic.