VFC Crew 946 members sitting on a log during a break

March 20, 2019 | A lot has happened in the last month for the crew. We attended fire school at the Cohutta Springs conference center, we were apart of a prescribed burn, and we traveled to South Carolina for our first assignment as red carded firefighters. The fire school in Cohutta springs was an amazing experience, thanks to the great forest service employees and the SCA members that were in attendance for the training with us. The two week course felt more like summer camp rather than a training seminar; being fed 3 meals a day, spending time with people that shared similar goals and hobbies, and being able to attend fun activities (burning being the favorite amongst the students and everything). Following the fire training, our crew spent a week with the fellas at the Conasauga District learning how to safely operate chainsaws. This was a bittersweet week due to the excitement of getting the opportunity to cut some stuff in less than favorable weather that was teetering the freezing level. On Tuesday, March 12th we went on our first fire hitch in South Carolina, which was an outstanding experience. Camping at night and hiking through the woods all day working on prescribed fires is a pretty solid routine. I am beyond excited to see what the rest of this spring and summer has to offer.

- Blake Zemek, VFC Crew 946