Service After Serving: OIFR Hosts BLM, Team Rubicon

— by Lin McNulty —

Crossing the Rubicon: to take a decisive, irrevocable step.

Nearly 60 motivated, exuberant men and women recently participated in a four-day training session at Orcas Island Fire & Rescue. The wildfire class, conducted by staff from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is part of a series of training sessions for Red Card Certification. This course is designed to provide the basics needed to safely deploy as a Wildland Firefighter Type 2 with BLM.

Much of the course takes place in a classroom covering a mix of FEMA ICS (Incident Command System), wildland fire basics, and human factors information. A good part of a day is spent in the field, learning and practicing required firefighting and safety skills, and includes an infamous pack test: a three-mile walk that must be completed in 45 minutes or less while carrying a 45-pound pack. At the end of the four-day course, participants receive their Red Card qualification and are eligible to deploy.

This story actually begins with the Haitian earthquake in January of 2010. Two former U.S. Marines, Jake Wood and William McNulty, knew they could help. Together with six other veterans and first responders, they gathered funds and medical supplies from friends and family and flew into the Dominican Republic. They then rented a truck, loaded their gear, and headed west to Haiti. Uniting the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams, Team Rubicon was born under the imperative: “Disasters are our business. Veterans are our passion.”

Vince Moffitt, Team Rubicon

Vince Moffitt, Team Rubicon, IMT Chief (Incident Management Team) says the recent pairing of Team Rubicon with BLM enables the federal agency to call on 30,000 vets across country for disaster relief. A retired firefighter, Moffitt notes that veterans have many of the same skill sets as first responders.

A call that must be answered; to serve again. A challenge that they must adapt to.

Team Rubicon, whose membership is 70 percent veteran-based, is an international nonprofit disaster response organization that combines the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to deploy disaster response teams to communities affected by disasters across the country. On June 9, 2015, Interior Secretary Jewell announced a partnership between the BLM and Team Rubicon to hire and train veterans in order to increase firefighting response capabilities.

Mike Prill, Team Rubicon

Mike Prill, with Rubicon since September, has already been deployed to fires in the Okanogan and flooding in Oregon. He describes this as the “ultimate in community service” and stresses the therapeutic benefit for survivors of post traumatic stress.

Team Rubicon is funded by private and corporate donors such as Southwest Airlines (flights), Home Depot (supplies), and Enterprise Rent-a-Car (transportation).

During the four-day session, time was set aside for a 5K Run to honor Rubicon member, Purple Heart recipient, and veterans’ advocate Clay Hunt who took his own life on March 31, 2011.

“Orcas Island is a great training location,” said Moffitt. “We hope to come back next year.”