There are 31 new firefighters ready to battle wild fires in the Black Hills this summer. The new crew got their training in late May at the Black Hills Interagency Fire School near Nemo. Robert Cota is the assistant fire management officer at the Box Elder Job Corps Center. Cota says the course includes 40 hours of classroom training and a day of field exercises. Recruits learn about pumps and hoses, shovels and picks, and the various incendiary devices firefighters use on the job. But most of all, they learn how to stay safe in what can be a very dangerous environment.
Cota says the new firefighters could be on the front lines when a fire breaks out or they could be assigned other duties away from the fire. He says they’ll go where they are needed, anywhere in the country. All of the new firefighters are 18 or older, most work other jobs and will now be on standby status with the Black Hills National Forest Service and other agencies that fight wildland fires.