KERNVILLE, Calif. (KERO) — For the past few years, the genders of those on the team have been close to evenly split, a rarity in wildland firefighting units.
- The Kernville Helitack is a team consisting of U.S Forest Service wildland firefighters that are trained to respond to fires in a helicopter.
- The unit is active when they recieve the helicopter, which they have on contract from May 15 to October 11. Depedning on fire conditions, the helicopter contract can be extended past October.
- According to the U.S Forest Service "There are 9,951 permanent wildland firefighter employees. Of that, 1,337 or 13%, are female. The average length of service for the permanent female firefighters is 8.4 years. We estimate that 1 in every 8 female firefighters are in a supervisory position. Males make up 87% of the permanent firefighter population. The average length of service for permanent male firefighters is 9 years and we estimate that 1 in every 3 male firefighters are in a supervisory position. As of April 6, the breakdown for temporary firefighters is essentially the same with 14% female and 86% males in the temporary workforce."
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“I was always told as you're growing up that if you want to stay here either go into the medical field, become a firefighter, or become a teacher. Like those are the good paying jobs. And I remember hearing that I'm like 'Oh, I think I want to be a teacher,'” said Lynn Correa, a Captain on the Kernville Helitack Team.
Correa grew up in the Kern River Valley – to pay for school, she joined the U.S Forest Service as a seasonal firefighter. At 18 Correa was given a crash course on the intensity of wildland firefighting.
“That year, I specifically remember being on a fire that we had in Bodfish called the Deer Fire and they were losing structures and it was my first exposure to all this stuff. Going on in my mind is like ‘Oh my goodness, like what did I get myself into?’”
Despite the inferno Correa persisted - and ended up choosing firefighting as her career.
“My friend told me about the California Conservation Corps,” said Alexandria Bender, a wildland firefighter for the U.S Forest Service., “When I went they actually had a firefighter training coming up. It was two weeks. It was super hard, but it was the most rewarding thing I'd ever done. And I was hooked.”
Bender started as an apprentice in the U.S Forest Service.
“When I got the apprenticeship, I was able to work on the helicopter module”
The module, which is a term used to define distinct teams within the U.S Forest Service, was Kernville Helitack – an elite, and specialized crew of firefighters trained to perform initial attacks on wildfires.
They start their day with physical training.
“You’ll be pushed to your limits,” Bender said.
“Engines have their engines that take them to the fire. Hotshot Crews – they have their buggies. We have a helicopter. That's what takes us to the fire,” Correa explained.
In May - the helicopter arrives in Kernville and the team starts training.
The crew has to be ready at all times.
Three beeps on the radio signify a potential dispatch to a fire.
“Every time we get the three beeps I get butterflies in my stomach still to this day,” Bender said.
Speed is key.
“We have to get out to the helicopter in under five minutes,” Bender said.
“When we get to the fire where the helicopter lands we get out and we cut the line and we put the bucket on the helicopter so the helicopter goes and drops water while we're on the ground cutting line,” Correa explained.
The bucket is a 210 gallon apparatus is set up by the firefighters and Correa says once the helicopter lands, the goal is to unload all of the equipment, set-up and attach the bucket to the helicopter – all in two minutes.
The crew is close knit and moves as a unit.
“They become your family. They become your team,” Bender said.
“You rely on everyone and they rely on you,” Correa said.
Normally they’d be cutting line when a helicopter is dropping water - but during this initial attack drill, they watched the pilot practice filling and releasing water
Kernville Helitack can be traced back to the 1970’s and pictures of various crews over the years adorn the halls – but these past few years - the team has looked different.
“Half my module is women, which is kind of out of the norm,” Bender said.
5 of the 11 members of Kernville Helitack this year are women.
The U.S Forest Service currently employs roughly 10,00 firefighters nation wide – only 1,300, or roughly 13 percent - of those firefighters are women.
“I have definitely had a couple of mixed experiences like being a woman in a male dominated field,” Bender said, “You have to be confident in yourself. Because if you're not confident in yourself, other people can see it.”
“Now I don't think about it at all. It's just my job.”
Correa never felt she was treated differently because of her gender.
“If you can do the job, it doesn't matter what your background is, or what you are.”
One in three male firefighters are estimated to be in a supervisor position – for women – that number is just one in eight.
“I’ve had really good mentorship and really good leadership throughout my career as people who have believed me and challenged me into becoming a better version of myself,” Correa said.
Now a captain on an elite team – Correa hopes to help and inspire others like her mentors did for her – speaking with her community about her job.
“They see people like me and they're like, ‘You do fire?’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, I do fire, I fight fire. I work on the helicopter. And I've also done other stuff you could do if you put your mind to it.’”
“Don't think that it's something that's out of your reach. This job? It is challenging, but it's super rewarding,” Bender said.
Bender, remembering advice she received from a female firefighter during her first season.
“What separates a good firefighter from a great one is character and competency,” Bender said.
Both Correa and Bender have plenty of both - and have been able to not just succeed, but excel as firefighters.
“The best part of the job sometimes it's that at the end of day you feel like you've accomplished something and you feel like you're doing some good in this world. I mean, we are public servants,” Correa said.
“When I decided that I wanted to make this a career, I do feel like I have a sense of purpose. Like I always knew that I wanted to help people. I didn't know in what capacity and it just so happened that while I'm helping people I can help nature too at the same time,” Bender said.
They serve as examples of the literal and figurative heights female firefighters can achieve in the forest service.
“People usually say firemen, they don't say firefighter and so I think changing the vernacular and having the representation out there like myself. Letting young girls know that it's not a fireman. It’s a firefighter.”
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