Wildland Firefighter (Fuels Management)

Department of Interior; Las Cruces, Safford (NM, AZ); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Interior, through the US Wildland Fire Service, seeks a Wildland Firefighter (Fuels Management) for Las Cruces, NM and Safford, AZ. The role requires prior primary wildland firefighting experience and compliance with IFPM qualifications.

Applicants must document detailed fireline experience and meet minimum NWCG standards. This is a direct-hire federal vacancy with mandatory prerequisites and a focus on fuel management.

Qualifications

• Specialized wildland firefighting experience required (primary fire fighting roles).
• Must document months/days/hours per week of firefighting work to credit experience.

Job description

This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans preference is not applicable to this advertisement. Learn more about this authority at: Direct Hire Authority

This Wildland Firefighter (Fuels Management) position is with the US Wildland Fire Service, GW-0456-11 working in the following location(s):

• Las Cruces, New Mexico
• Safford, Arizona

In order to qualify for this position you must possess the Minimum Qualification requirements listed below. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Selective Placement Factor(s):

This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor(s) will be rated not qualified.

This is an administrative position in an organization having a firefighting mission, and is clearly in an established career path. Prior firefighting experience, as gained by substantial service in a primary firefighter position or equivalent experience outside the Federal government is a MANDATORY PREREQUISITE. Candidates must possess Primary/Rigorous wildland firefighting experience, gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days, and hours per week at which the work was performed to be considered. Applicants must have documented prior primary firefighting experience, with substantial service defined as either:

• At least one full fire season working in a primary wildland firefighting role (e.g., Engine Crew, Fire Effects Crew, Prescribed Fire/Fuels Crew, Hand Crew, Helitack Crew, Hotshot Crew, Smokejumper, Wildland Fire Modules or Fire Suppression Crews, etc.) with a federal, state, tribal, local, or private-sector organization; - OR -
• At least 14 days of on-the-ground fireline experience (cumulative or consecutive).

Prior primary wildland fire experience must be clearly documented in your resume. Note: an IQCS Master Record or equivalent document will not be used to determine or calculate prior primary wildland fire experience eligibility for this requirement.

This position has been identified as one of the key fire management positions under the Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM) Standard. This position has been categorized as Wildland Firefighter (Fuel Management) and requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position. Detailed information regarding IFPM positions can be found here: Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM). To meet IFPM requirements, you must have possessed all of the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications and training requirements to be considered eligible for this position (currency not required at time of referral, but may be required to obtain and maintain currency if selected):

A.) Prescribed Fire Burn Boss, Type 2 (RXB2) AND

B.) ENGB: Engine Boss or CRWB: Crew Boss or HMGB: Helicopter Manager, Single Resource

To meet additional IFPM training requirements, as a "condition of employment", you must complete the following within one year of the entry on duty date:

Fire Program Management (M-581)

In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required.

Only experience and education obtained by 11/09/2026 will be considered.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. Please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience. Minimum Qualification GW-0456-11

For the GW-11 level:

At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-09 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following: Examples of specialized experience include: Assist with developing, reviewing and evaluating fire management plans for ecological soundness and consistency with land management goals and objectives; analyzing fuel loadings and determining appropriate fuel treatment methods; performing land use planning and environmental coordination to determine if resource objectives were achieved; assist with analyzing the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management.

OR

At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-10 level, or higher, outside of the Federal service; Examples of specialized experience include: but not limited to: developing, reviewing and evaluating fire management plans for ecological soundness and consistency with land management goals and objectives; analyzing fuel loadings and determining appropriate fuel treatment methods; performing land use planning and environmental coordination to determine if resource objectives were achieved; analyzing the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management.

Secondary Firefighter Retirement Coverage

Applicants for this secondary administrative fire fighter position under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412 (d), must possess knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of wildland firefighting as demonstrated by direct wildland firefighting experience. In order to receive credit, you must provide a written description of your experience in wildland firefighting. Education without hands-on wildland firefighting experience does not meet this requirement. Periods of wildland firefighting experience, gained through militia and rural fire departments, can also be credited. Wildland fire is defined as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Two distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire and prescribed fires as follows: Wildfire: Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires. Prescribed Fires: Planned ignitions. This description includes only fire line experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning stages. Prescribed fire experience must be supplemented by fire suppression experience in order to be creditable as previous wildland firefighting experience.

Physical Demands:

The incumbent must be in good physical condition in order to safety perform field activities. The incumbent must be able to perform duties in areas of uncontrolled wildfire where hazardous conditions exist. The incumbent must be able to fly as a passenger in helicopters and single engine fixed wing aircraft.

Working Conditions:

Work is performed in both an office and field setting with field work. Field work involves exposure to temperature extremes, both from weather and fire conditions where falling trees and the presence of smoke and/or dust conditions create hazardous conditions. The nature of fire management work requires that protective clothing (boots, hard