Written by Cadet Rocha,
OCRFA, Battalion 50, Alpha Company, Squad 1, s4
10/1/18
Wildland
Our day began different then what we had been used to in the opening month and a
half of the academy. At 0700 we began our day inside the classroom with our uniforms on and
Pre-course work we had over the weekend. This included IS-100C, IS-700, S-110, and a skill
sheet. After turning in our certifications we were briefed about our eight day plan and what
would be the plan for us during our wildland training. We then made our way outside to the
bunkers to grab our web gear and other wildland equipment. We practiced donning our
wildland clothes correctly, and got a taste of how fast we needed to be able to don.
With three stations and four companies we needed to split up the Alpha company
among the three remaining companies. One of the drills was a simple hoselay in the
duck pond with Captain Herrick. We would pull out the two one hundred foot sections of inch
and a half hose and practice advancing it through the duck pond. Practicing making an anchor
point and correctly making a wet line for protection. The next drill consisted of rolling and
retrieving hose, as well as building brush packs. This drill was ran by FireFighter Goldie who
showed us different ways to retrieve hose and roll hose for our brush packs. When each
company got through two drills it was time for lunch.
The third drill was an S-190 review with Captain Crudo, where we talked about the
different fuels, terrains and weather encountered during wildland fire. Each drill
lasted one hour and twenty minutes. With the completion of the three drills the battalion met
at staging then walked to bunker row to retrieve packs and prep for our Mock Pack Test. The
Mock Pack test consisted of a 45 minute walk with a brush pack weighing approximately 45
pounds. Walking through ladder land to the dirt lot is were the test took place. As we began
Cadet Segovia took off, showing his amazing walking speed and determination to destroy the
task put in front of him. This definitely influenced others to walk at a faster pace and push
themselves. After the test concluded we made our way over to the duck pond where Cadet
Malloy and Cadet Sandifer gave us a demonstration of a progressive hose lay. With the
Guidance of Captain Herrick and FF Goldie the cadets were able to see how the progressive
hoselay was done. Back in the class to finish the day, we started our exam which included two
chapters from our earlier studies with an unstructured release.