Audit: Some firefighters lack training

YAKIMA – The U.S. Forest Service must strengthen its oversight of contract firefighters hired to battle wildfires and take steps to ensure those workers have sufficient training and English language skills, a federal audit has concluded.

Questions were raised about the effectiveness of the crews the agency hires through contractors following the 2002 Biscuit fire, which burned nearly 500,000 acres in southwestern Oregon and cost nearly $150 million to douse. Fire bosses noted numerous problems with poorly trained and inexperienced contract crews in the Pacific Northwest that year, prompting reviews by the Government Accountability Office and others.

In an audit released Tuesday, the U.S. Agriculture Department’s inspector general found that the Forest Service had corrected some of the problems identified in earlier reports, but other issues remained unresolved.

Auditors reviewed the qualification records for 107 firefighters in 10 private contractors’ offices. For 35 firefighters, records lacked the documentation required for the position.

In some cases, training certificates were missing or task books that show firefighters have completed necessary work for a position were incomplete. Some records also showed that firefighters were promoted to supervisory positions without adequate work experience.

“As a result, firefighters who had not received adequate preparation to perform their jobs in a safe and proficient manner are being dispatched to fight wildfires on contract crews,” the audit said.

In its response to the audit, the Forest Service concurred with all of the recommendations, saying that no national contracts will be awarded without reviewing the qualification records of key personnel.