r/Wildfire • u/smokejumperbro USFS • Feb 19 '25

News (General) Hiring freeze of firefighters could be deadly, Forest Service captain warns

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/hiring-freeze-firefighters-deadly-forest-service-captain-warns-rcna192494

Great one!

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63

u/Busy_Lightnin_Bug Feb 19 '25

your career ladder promotions are on hold too.

4

u/Timoftheforest Feb 19 '25

Haven’t seen documentation of this, when did this happen?

28

u/ZonaDesertRat Feb 19 '25

Promotions and details are part of the freeze. They are not part of the exemption, and must be individually cleared to be flown.

Grade and with-in grade are not, at least currently, part of the freeze, but know grade increases are not automatic. The agency can choose to hold them back, to be reviewed if they so choose.

8

u/Darth_Ra Dirty COMT Feb 19 '25

Not only that, but a lot of folks are super paranoid about taking a promotion right now, or even a detail, as it could put you on a short list.

A ton of the "probationary" folks that just got fired weren't new employees, they'd just taken a new position. My specific position has been working to reclassify ourselves for a decade now, and in the last month the people who have been pushing for it the hardest have had to start being like "well, now we're not so sure that we want it, because you'll fire us all".