![]() “There are a lot of good things about it but it is going to mean less money in people’s pockets,” Duncan said of the legislation. Some may still end up worse off than they were with the bonus. ![]() While it raises base salaries, it may force firefighters to add more to their heavy workloads to make up the difference. It has bipartisan support, and it’s expected to be voted on this week.īut even if the so-called Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act passes, it won’t be a cure-all. Pressure is on legislators to pass a bill that would codify and secure pay increases before the new fiscal year begins in October. “We are already losing people at an exponential rate – and it will be a slap in the face if they can’t get it together in time.” “It was a big momentous thing for the pay bump to happen, and I think the majority of fire folks had no idea that there was a sunset clause,” said Bré Orcasitas, a former federal wildland firefighter who left the service to focus on advocacy. “But they want to at least be treated like they are appreciated for the risks they take and the sacrifices they make.” Pay bump to expire – unless Congress actsīiden’s temporary pay bump – which added the lesser of $20,000 or a 50% increase to firefighter paychecks – was intended as a salve that would buy Congress time to pass a permanent solution to the problems that have left federal firefighters underpaid and overworked for years. ![]() “Firefighters don’t want accolades, they don’t need to be called heroes,” says Riva Duncan, a retired USFS fire officer and vice-president of the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters advocacy group. But they want to at least be treated like they are appreciated Retired fire officer Riva Duncan Firefighters don’t want accolades, they don’t need to be called heroes. While stress is an inevitable part of the work, he and others argue that better pay would go a long way toward helping people stay in the job and feel valued. “Gritty people make great firefighters and these gritty people have this value of service ingrained in them – but the fatigue is real,” said McLane. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images A US Forest Service firefighter crew arrives to battle the Caldor fire in Meyers, California, in August 2021.
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