Apple Fire – Guarding a Burnout
	Apple Fire Ohio Interagency Crew

Purpose
Ohio makes available wildland firefighting forces to:

• Support the national effort to suppress wildland fire to protect lives, personal property and natural resources.
• Provide training opportunities for career oriented individuals.

Background
The Ohio Division of Forestry has participated in the national mobilization of wildland firefighting forces since 1986 through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Forest Service.

Crews and single resources have been dispatched to Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Virginia, Florida, Texas, and other locations. Requests for resources (crews, overhead, equip.) comes through the Forest Service.

Training and Qualifications
Individuals desiring to be a part of the IAFC must meet two requirements:

• Successful completion of basic wildland training (36 hours, I-100/S-130/190)
• Successfully complete the pack test which entails walking three miles in 45 minutes with a 45 lb. pack or running 1 1/2 miles in 11 minutes 40 seconds.

Annual Qualifications
Every qualified individual must pass the physical requirements each year. The Division of Forestry schedules a few days each year for ALL qualified individuals to requalify and to receive updated information and/or training. The annual IAFC qualification is held at the Fire Academy in Reynoldsburg. Check with Mike Bowden for this year's schedule.

General Information
The Division of Forestry maintains a list of all qualified individuals that make themselves available to participate. When a dispatch call is received, individuals typically have 4-8 hours to assemble at the Fire Academy in Reynoldsburg. To be a member of a fire crew you must be able to make a three week commitment of time even though most assignments do not last longer than two weeks. Individuals not employed by the Division of Forestry will be issued personal protective equipment when they arrive at the Fire Academy.

For more information, contact Mike Bowden or Rick Maier, Div. of Forestry, at 614-265-1088 or 740-774-1596 ext. 7.