Submitted by Orcas Island Fire and Rescue

Orcas Island Fire and Rescue is hosting a very special fire training event on Orcas Island. We are excited to announce that, through a partnership between the Bureau of Land Management and Team Rubicon, we will be the host agency for a four day Wildland Firefighter training here on Orcas Island at YMCA Camp Orkila beginning on April 15 and ending on April 18.

Team Rubicon is an international non-profit disaster response organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy disaster response teams to communities affected by disasters. Team Rubicon currently maintains a roster of 30,000+ volunteers able to deploy throughout the United States.

The Bureau of Land Management and Team Rubicon formed this relationship last year to provide training for our veterans, to engage them in disaster response and provide them with a sense of purpose, community, and identity often missing following military service. Many of the skills that veterans learned in the military translate to wildland firefighting such as teamwork, decisive leadership, risk mitigation and management, logistics and emergency medicine. This partnership provides a winning combination for veterans, our wildland firefighting force, and Washington. Last year many of these trained veterans deployed to wildfires during one of Washington’s most severe fire seasons; most of the trained veterans are reporting positive and rewarding experiences, and some are exploring Wildland Firefighter careers.

This event will be an excellent opportunity to learn about a program that benefits our nation’s veterans and local fire departments, such as ours, and our public lands.