Factors that affect retention of federal interagency hotshots in the western United States
As wildfire seasons lengthen and damages from wildland fire increase, federal wildland firefighters play an increasingly critical role in managing wildland fires. Media reports have indicated that in some regions federal agencies have struggled to recruit and retain firefighting personnel in the past few years. To study this, researchers have taken a closer look at federal Interagency Hotshot Crews (IHCs) in the western U.S. to understand how wages and working conditions affect their decisions to remain in the wildland firefighter workforce. Hotshots are an elite group of highly qualified firefighters who are in high demand during the fire season.
The job is high risk, high rewards; it is a dangerous occupation, but it offers high status and pay relative to other firefighter positions. Research using data on Interagency Hotshot Crews member assignments from 2012 to 2018 finds that while retention rates decreased during that period, pay associated with overtime and seniority likely played a role in hotshot retention. Specifically, hotshots were more likely to return to the job if they worked additional days on assignment (which is associated with higher levels of pay) during a single fire season. Retention was also more likely among hotshots that had more time and experience under their belts. The wages of comparable job alternatives in the area didn’t have much of an impact on hotshots’ decisions to stay or leave the firefighter workforce. As fire severity increases, working conditions that affect health, safety, and other aspects of well-being are expected to get worse.
Firefighters will inevitably be forced to consider difficult trade-offs between such risks and potential benefits each time they sign on for another fire season. As agencies and policymakers formulate strategies to retain and grow their firefighter workforce, they might consider the financial incentive structure that has been in place for years and is still in place today. To retain a wildland fire management workforce, the package of potential benefits offered to firefighters will ultimately need to outweigh the challenges of serving as a firefighter.
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