Fire Prevention Week

Oct. 6th ~ 12th

Ranger hits the ground running, faces

‘baptism by fire’

By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer

    You could say Carson Hartman, one of the Maine Forest Service’s newest rangers, began his career earlier this year on the run, with one of the first official activities he was involved in being the annual Special Olympics Torch Run. A short time later, he found himself on his way to his first forest fire.

Photo courtesy Maine Forest Service

     CARSON HARTMAN is one of the newest rangers with the Maine Forest Service, currently assigned to the Clayton Lake region.

Staff photo/Kathy McCarty

    AN AVID RUNNER, Forest Ranger Carson Hartman said he was honored to be asked to participate in this year’s Torch Run for Special Olympics. Pictured from left meeting some of the local Olympians are: Jason Parmelee, Kevin McKinnon, Carson Hartman and George Ferland.

    “Carson and I went to Quebec from July 19 to Aug. 1. It was a good fire to help with the training of our new ranger. The intensity was low and the complexity was moderate,” said Forest Ranger Justin Carney, who’s made several similar trips prior to this year.
    Carney said this trip was “primarily a seek and destroy — a bit like geocaching.”
    “In the morning the infrared scan by helicopter indicates the location of hot spots; they collect the coordinate and toss a roll of toilet paper with the hot spot’s number written on the inside of the role’s tube. We then get dropped off by helicopter as close as possible, hike in and suppress,” explained Carney.
    At times Carney said equipment would be needed to be slung in or water drops utilized in conjunction with hand tools to get the spots out.
    “I don’t recall the size of the fire ‘350’ fire, but typical fires in Quebec I’ve worked have been several thousand acres. On this particular fire, Carson and I were attached to a crew from Massachusetts. Carson was a firefighter and I was initially assigned as squad boss (supervisor of five or six personnel),” he said.
    “My role changed on arrival to (what I would call) a crew rep. Due to my previous history of working numerous fires in Quebec, I helped assist crews from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Nova Scotia with local techniques and language barriers, as I attended college in Quebec and can speak French to a limited degree,” said Carney.
    Carney said they had approximately 60 firefighters from the northeastern part of the United States on this particular fire.
    “We were the only two from Aroostook, but the crew from Connecticut had three Mainers on board as well,” said Carney.
    He said fires in the Province of Quebec are handled a bit differently than they are on western fires.
    “PQ tools, techniques and terrain are similar to local fires; for this reason, crews from the Northeast, especially Maine, do very well here. More crews from Maine have been sent to assist in PQ over the years than any other state,” he said.
    Carney said while he doesn’t wish for such fires, he does enjoy the work involved.
    “Wildland fire fighting is fun, exciting, laborous work; I love it. I get the opportunity to travel all over the world and meet many great people and see amazing sights. The satisfaction one gets from helping save a beautiful landscape or housing development can be a bit overwhelming at times,” said Carney, who added he’s been “fortunate to fight wildfires in all four corners of the United States and numerous times in PQ.”
    “Although I’m not sure the exact number of times I’ve been out of state on fires, I’ve been working 14 years and average between one to two trips annually,” he said.
    Hartman said this was his first experience with a wildfire.
    “It was very eye-opening. It was a great experience that helped me understand my role as a forest ranger. There were a few aspects of this trip that were difficult — the physical aspect of hiking through difficult terrains and never knowing what was going to happen next. We were gone for 12 days,” said Hartman.
    He said he was proud to be a part of the annual Torch Run, held in June.
    “I’ve always been an avid runner, so when asked to do the Torch Run, I was honored. It was a great experience not to mention a great cause,” said Hartman.
    As a child, he said he idolized the forest rangers in his community and thought that was something he’d like to do when he grew up.
    “Just seeing the forest rangers in our community, I grew up knowing this is what I wanted to do with my career. My advice for others interested in becoming a forest ranger is to apply to a summer internship that the Forest Service provides annually. Also, the hiring process is very lengthy but definitely worth it, so be patient,” said Hartman. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
    Hartman, a graduate of the University of Maine at Orono with a social sciences background, is assigned to the Clayton Lake region.
    Carney said the MFS has begun “a new crew formation in Northern Maine.”
    “I’m excited about these changes. We will be better equipped and I suspect this crew will have several deployments annually,” Carney said. “I’d urge anyone who may be interested in fighting wildfires to contact me for more information.”
    For more information, call 435-6975.