Out of three applicants from Brooks Secondary School for the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ initial attack program, only one was selected.
It was James Southcott, son of City of Powell River councillor Rob Southcott, who was chosen.
“We made the selection with the best candidate in mind,” said John Forrest, Powell River forest-protection technician for BC Wildfire Service. “We evaluated everyone on a variety of factors, like physical fitness, how well they scored on the written test we gave them and just a general evaluation based on their enthusiasm and their work ethic.”
James was just starting his final exams before graduating from Brooks when the school vice-principals asked if any students might be interested in the program.
“I went to a meeting, it sounded appealing to me and working outside was pretty cool, so I put together a resumé, got some reference letters and I applied for it,” said James.
The program gives local high school students the opportunity to gain exposure to the fire crew through focused, basic training and work experience that mirrors the boot camp for forest firefighters.
“Boot camp is a week-long initiatory training session that we conduct in Merritt over April and May with about 100 recruits per one of the three boot camps that we put on,” said Forrest. “It allows us to evaluate the candidates for selection, as well as provide them the basic training they need to go fight fires.”
In the case of James, he will learn basic fire suppression, fire-entrapment avoidance, portable pumps and water delivery, helicopter use and safety, radio communications, wilderness survival, first aid and courses such as Bear Aware, according to Forrest.
“I’m really enjoying it, a lot,” said James. “There’s definitely a lot of good aspects here. I like everyone I work with. That definitely makes it a lot easier, being outside for most of the day is really appealing.”
The benefit to the BC Wildfire Service is local recruitment, according to Forrest, particularly at more remote bases such as Powell River, where general recruits would not necessarily request to be stationed.
“We get a bit of loyalty and if these guys do come on with us as regular crew members then we often see them stay with us for a number of years,” said Forrest.
According to James, being a forest firefighter would be a rewarding career, but he wants to take some time to consider it.
“Regardless, I would still want to continue my education to open my mind up to a lot of different possibilities,” he said. “I’m 18 and this is really cool and I really enjoy it, but I’ll definitely go and see what else is out there.”
For now, after just completing high school, James said being able to stay and work in Powell River is a bonus.
“Not having to pay rent is a pretty big thing,” he said, “especially to save money so I can go to school next year.”
