Leadership Development Program
/ 1101 15th St North
Great Falls, MT59401
Phone: (406) 791-7788
Fax: (406) 731-5302
Date: January 10, 2013
Subject: Lewis and Clark Hotshot Crew – Employment Opportunities 2013
To: All interested candidates and Fire Program Managers
The Lewis and Clark Hotshots are one of the four developmental hotshot crews in the nation – (L&C, Redding, Redmond, Asheville) – and our purpose is to provide skilled fire suppression skills nationally while providing for training, growth and development of our employees. Most of this development is focused on small-unit leadership, in the field training during fire suppression and standard classroom setting.
This announcement is seeking potential temporary employees who are seeking to further develop their knowledge of fire and leadership by working on a hotshot crew.
Hotshot assignments are extremely demanding, and often require employees to function at the edge of their endurance, while providing for the safety of their crew and themselves. Because of this, all selected candidates will be required to and maintain physical standards as outlined in the Work Capacity Test at the arduous level. In addition, all crewmembers are expected to maintain a level of fitness through the season that is commensurate with the IHC recommended minimums. For questions about physical fitness standards, feel free to call Willie Knudsen – 406-791-7759 or Matt Holmstrom – 406-791-7788. Additional information can be found online at –
Being a member of an Interagency Hotshot Crew involves extensive travel, working under adverse conditions, in extremely hazardous situations for extended periods of time. It is not unusual for this crew to be away from the Lewis and Clark Fire Center on fire assignments for up to 21 days, followed by a brief R&R and another lengthy assignment. Selected candidates are expected to remain with the crew for the entire fire season, generally May to November. Interested candidates should give serious consideration to the required level of personal commitment, the physical demand of incident operations and training, and the length of service required for successful completion of the program before applying
If you have further questions, regarding this program, please contact either WillieKnudsen (Asst. Supt) @406-791-7759 or Matt Holmstrom (Supt) @ 406-791-7788.
Region 1, Fire and Aviation Management is advertising a Fire Management Development Opportunity. The purpose of this opportunity is to offer Leadership Development while simultaneously providing a fully trained Interagency Hotshot Crew.
Location: Lewis and Clark Fire Center – LCF SO
1101 15th Street North
Great Falls, MT 59401
Dates: Tentative start date May6th, 2013 through the end of the 2013 Fire Season
Position: Crewmember on a Type I Interagency Hotshot Crew, 1-2 positions will be filled, depending on funding and needs
Duties: This position will serve as a crewmember on the Lewis and Clark Interagency Hotshot Crew.
Individuals will take part in a daily physical fitness program consisting of stretching, hiking/running and conditioning exercises, for example: chin-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, etc.
During the first weeks, individuals will participate in intense, concentrated classroom and field training. During this time, the training emphasis will be in small unit leadership, crew cohesion, fireline tactics/strategy, and fireline first aid. While engaged in this training, the crew is unavailable for assignment.
When the crew is available for fire assignments, crewmembers may be provided the opportunity to complete on the job training position taskbooks (PTB). Certification of completed PTB’s will be given due consideration by crew overhead following supervised, on the job training.
During fire season, classroom training may also include other specialty operational positions. The training curriculum will be tailored to meet the collective needs of the crew based on training needs. The completion of all formal training is subject to time constraints imposed by incident responses through the season.
Target Audience: Fire Management Technicians, Wildland Fire Apprentices, Professional Trainees, Coop Student Trainees and Career Employees.
Tour of Duty: Typically 6-7 months depending on length of fire season with Saturday and Sunday as days off.
Housing: Shared barracks are available, at the USFS daily rate.
Physical Requirements: Work Capacity Test, (3 mile hike with a 45 pound pack over level terrain in 45 minutes or less.)
- All L&C IHC personnel will strive to meet the physical fitness goals as outlined in the National IHC Operations Guide (1.5 mile run in 10:35, 40 sit-ups in 60 seconds, 25 push-ups in 60 seconds, and 4-7 chin-ups). Candidates must be able to perform fireline duties at the arduous level. (Ref. F.S. Handbook 6100-9.12)
HOW TO APPLY:
Additional Information: The vacancy announcements for these positions are posted on the U.S. Government's official website for employment opportunities at, under the vacancy announcement numbers shown below. These are Open Continuous vacancy announcements with no closing date. Those that wish to be considered for this position must apply to the vacancy announcement by February 11rd, 2013 and select Great Falls, MT as duty location. The Referral List for this position will be issued to the selecting official on or around February 11th, 2013. All applicants who have applied to the announcement on or before the listed dates and are found to be qualified and in the quality group will be referred for consideration.
Fire Positions:
TEMPOCR-0462-03-FIRE-DT
TEMPOCR-462-4-HOTSHOT-DT
TEMPOCR-462-5-HOTSHOT-DT
Qualifying experience for the GS-03 level includes six months general experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position or that provided familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the occupation.
Qualifying experience for the GS-4 level includes six months general experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position or that providedfamiliarity with the subjectmatter or processes of the occupation AND six months specialized experience at the GS-3 level that is directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.
In order to meet qualifications for the GS-5 applicants must have had S-290 and be FFT1 qualified under IFPM requirements. Please attach an IQCS Master Record or other documentation to support this requirement.
- On-line applications for 1039 positions are accepted through USA Jobs at There is a helpful tutorial on how to apply for Federal jobs on YouTube:
- If you have previously applied for this position, you may need to re-apply under the new OCR announcements number(s) listed above.
- After 60 days of submitting your application you will have to go into USAjobs and recertify the job you have applied for or it becomes inactive.
- Be sure to indicate the duty stations at which you are interested in working. (See below)
- Referral lists will be requested starting Feb 11th, 2013.
Interested applicants, or those desiring further information, should contact the following;
Matt Holmstrom - @406-791-7788
Or
Willie Knudsen - @ 406-791-7759