Handcrew Foreman
Department of Natural Resources
Chehalis, Washington
| Job Type | Permanent |
| Salary | $3,811 - $5,117 per month |
| Benefits | DNR offers a comprehensive benefits package |
| Deadline | May 04, 2026 |
| Min. Experience | 0 - 1 year |
Handcrew Foreman
Location: Pacific Cascade Region- Chehalis, WA
Relocation Compensation may be available and considered
Salary: $3,811.00 - $5,117.00 Monthly
Responsibilities:
Suppression
- Protects human life, natural resources, and property on Department-protected lands from wildland and urban interface fires to minimize resource loss and fire costs while ensuring firefighters and public safety. Firefighter safety is the top priority.
- Provide direct fire line supervision of the Handcrew, which responds to grass, brush, and forest fires and is available for district, region, and statewide and/or interagency dispatch. Provides interagency fire suppression activities for initial attack, extended attack, mop-up, patrol, and rehabilitation. Assists in ensuring safe and efficient use of the Handcrew as an effective firefighting resource. This often requires working long, irregular hours on weekdays, weekends, holidays, day or night. These duties involve fieldwork requiring physical performance, calling for above-average endurance and superior conditioning.
- These duties may include an occasional demand for extraordinary strenuous activities in emergencies under adverse environmental conditions and over extended periods of time.
- On initial attack fires, may perform ICS functions as Incident Commander Type 4 and 5, task force leader, air-to-ground contact, single resource boss, firefighter, timekeeper, or public relations contact. Works cooperatively with other fire protection authorities when working on joint jurisdiction fires.
Community Resilience
Leads and supervises crew in a variety of community resilience-related tasks and duties.
Preparedness
Under the guidance of the Hand Crew Superintendent:
- Plans and implements training for seasonal crews and interagency cooperators
- Instructs seasonal and permanent staff and private contractors as appropriate
- Assists with developing the unit’s annual preparedness review
- Plans and provides drills and training exercises regularly to the seasonal staff
- Ensures vehicles and equipment are serviced regularly.
Supervision and Crew Administration
- Assist in providing supervision and leadership for a 20-person hand crew, ensuring adequate safety, production, and quality control of work projects and suppression efforts.
- Directly supervises 4 Squad Leaders and up to 14 Firefighters. This position routinely supervises and leads up to 18 people fighting fire and performing other activities.
- Assist and/or lead in the recruiting, orientation of applicants, screening applicants, and verbal interviews, and make recommendations to the Hand Crew Superintendent for the hiring of squad leaders and firefighters.
- Ensures onboarding and various trainings are completed according to agency policy and timelines, such as orientation, mandatory safety, position-specific, first aid, fiscal/accounting, and human resource-related trainings. Facilitate reviews of Job Safety Analysis and Task Hazard Analysis.
- Ensure accurate completion of crew and agency documents and submit these as required by determined deadlines. Completes hiring and end-of-season forms as required by agency Human Resources and Accounting programs.
Fire Training
- Prepares for and participates in interagency training classes and hands-on courses of wildland firefighting tactics, fire behavior recognition, safe chainsaw operation, use of tools, pumps, and water delivery systems, working around helicopters, and assessments of hazards.
- Assists crew with guidance on various position task books, training records, and evaluations. Assists in conducting Fire Unit training and participates as an instructor or lead at the Statewide Fire Training Academies or other trainings.
- Prepares lesson plans and timelines for a variety of professional trainings for participants from DNR, Interagency Cooperators, and the general public.
Physical Fitness Training
- Following DNR’s Physical Fitness Training Policy (PO20-007), the position requires passing annual work capacity tests at the arduous level as NWCG requires.
- Assist with facilitating daily physical training activities for the crew throughout the fire season.
Required Qualifications:
- Qualified as NWCG Firefighter Type 1 AND Incident Commander Type 5.
- Experience supervising or leading wildland firefighting personnel.
View a complete position description with full application instructions at careers.wa.gov.
When you apply, please indicate that you are responding to the posting on Conservation Job Board.
| Category | Forestry , General / Stewardship |
| Tags | Wildland Firefighter |