It started with the first 22 just about two weeks ago. Bound for Oregon, they said farewell to loved ones, boarded a jetliner and headed for the Northwest where tinderbox conditions have left federal firefighting officials sending out the call for help.

Volunteers from DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry and community fire companies across the state answered that first call. More requests would come late last week.

As those 22 volunteers were landing Monday night in Harrisburg after a two-week stint in Oregon and Washington, the first of two more 20-person squads were assembling at Lower Swatara Township Fire Department in Middletown. Some would fly Tuesday to Redding, Calif., others to Sacramento.

All would see duty fighting wildfires in the Northwest as federal officials bump up the preparedness level of crews such as those Pennsylvania continues to offer.

Bound for northern California, Pennsylvania wildfire fighters board an airliner early Tuesday at Harrisburg International Airport.

“On behalf of Gov. Corbett and the people of Pennsylvania, I thank you for volunteering your service and what you’re prepared to do,” DCNR Secretary Ellen Ferretti told the final departing group of firefighters gathered Tuesday at the Lower Swatara firehouse. “Stay safe out there as you carry on what has become a proud Pennsylvania tradition.”

Indeed, it has:

-- In past years, the bureau has dispatched as many as 300 volunteers a year to help other states;

-- Pennsylvania over the years has provided both crews and highly specialized individuals to wildfires in many Eastern states and every state west of the Mississippi. Most assignments involve firefighters traveling as part of a 20-person crew;

-- All volunteers from Pennsylvania have received intensive training at a Bureau of Forestry training camp that dates back 26 years. The three-day camp duplicates real-life firefighting experiences found across the nation;

-- Because of the training—and organization—Pennsylvania’s volunteer wildfire fighters continue to get the call when the going gets rough with forest and brush fires across the country;

-- Over the years, DCNR has seen its people—and those it trains—regularly receive high reviews for their training, attitude and knowledge;

-- After training and their out-of-state assignments, these Pennsylvania firefighters bring home more than the satisfaction of giving 100 percent. They bring back first-hand knowledge to help them fight large fires in our woodlands.

(Reprinted from the August 6 Resource newsletter from DCNR.)

8/11/2014