My husband is a hotshot and has been the last 16 years. I to fight fire and know the dangers of being a hotshot. Hotshot crews Rarely hire people that do not have at least two seasons fight fire and even that is a stretch due to the nature of the job. As for overhead there are 9 positions with each overhead personnel having at least 5 seasons as a hotshot. These men and women are the best of the best in the wildland fire community. You rarely see them on TV because they are on the front lines of the fireline in the hottest and hardest parts of the fire. To say these kids were probably “wet behind the ears” is not right. My husband had the pleasure with working with this crew last year and he said they were a great crew.
Thanks for the information, especially about the numbers of supervisory personnel I never said, or even implied, that they were “wet behind the years” ( your phrased, not mine)..They were incredibly brave. And I do understand that the strenuous physical demands on the hot shot crews make it a young man’s game. We do, however, learn from our experiences..and the very young average age jumped out at me. In a thorough after action review, nothing should be off the table..everything should be looked at closely..hoping to avoid future fatalities if at all possible.