Veteran-focused Arizona fire crew achieves hotshot certification
Sep 27, 2019, 5:30 PM
(Bureau of Land Management Photo)
(Bureau of Land Management Photo)
PHOENIX — A veteran-focused fire crew in Southern Arizona has achieved the certification to be an Interagency Hotshot Crew.
The Bureau of Land Management’s Gila District announced Friday that the Aravaipa Veterans Fire Crew became the BLM’s 13th IHC nationwide.
“We’re proud of the Aravaipa crew’s accomplishments and the continued efforts to develop a workforce of veterans,” Gila District Manager Scott Feldhausen said in a press release. “This hardworking and highly skilled crew is now a part of the elite fire resources available to fight fires not only in Arizona, but nationally and abroad.”
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The Aravaipa crew, located at Fort Huachuca, is one of two BLM IHCs in the nation that focuses on recruiting and developing veterans. Following the 2019 fire season, the Aravaipa crew officially elevated their status from a Type-2 Initial Attack hand crew to a Type-1 IHC.
The Aravaipa team began the process in 2016 to become an IHC. Since then, they’ve worked on multiple fire deployments across the west to meet the IHC requirements.
In order to preserve their certification, they must meet and maintain certain requirements, including peak physical fitness.
Additionally, they’re conditioned and equipped to understand strategic and tactical wildland fire assignments.
Hotshot crews are typically dispatched to the most challenging fire assignments.
