Do seasonal wildland firefighters need to go to any training on the off season?

[kmogusar]

I'm hoping to be able to do seasonal firefighting and then do boilermaking on the off season, so I was just wondering if I would have to attend any firefighter training on the off season.
Also, I hope to eventually be on a helitak crew or at least a hotshot crew and was wondering if those units have to go through training on the off season that I might not otherwise have to do on a hand crew.

EDIT: Wow... employment opportunities are a lot more grim than I thought if what i've read on here is right. A lot of other sites seem to be pretty optimistic about it.
So I'm wondering now, as a seasonal wildland firefighter would i need to be an emt or paramedic first? I've seen that a few times. What else would help me get in?
Also, four more of my friends are going to be in training with me and I was wondering if we all passed training if it is likely we would be able to land jobs in the same unit or not?

I appreciate your time and effort in reading and replying to this post. Thank you

[nomex82]

I'm hoping to be able to do seasonal firefighting and then do boilermaking on the off season, so I was just wondering if I would have to attend any firefighter training on the off season.
Also, I hope to eventually be on a helitak crew or at least a hotshot crew and was wondering if those units have to go through training on the off season that I might not otherwise have to do on a hand crew.

As a seasonal employee you wont have to attend any training. Your home unit may offer some classes in the off season that if interested you could attend, but nothing mandatory. All you would have to do in the off season is stay in shape and get ready for fire season. I would highly recommend working on a Hotshot crew but be advised if this is your first year you probably wont get picked up because most crews have completed their hiring, and most crews prefer someone who has at least one or two seasons experience. If you have any further questions dont hesitate to pm me. Also there is a wildland forum on this site, you might get more feed back there.

[fire49]

What state are you in

[kmogusar]

Thanks nomex. I'll probably end up PMing you sometime soon

And I live in the upper peninsula of Michigan

[zack_kcaz]

Maybe next year I'll get on a crew. I declined all offers this year because I'm trying to get on a full time department in Ohio or Texas..maybe next year though!