Pennsylvania firefighters prepare for unpredictable wildfire mission in Washington
Firefighters from Pennsylvania are gathering their gear and preparing to travel to Washington to combat wildfires, sharing their experiences and expectations for the challenging assignment.
HARRISBURG, Pa. —
A team of 20 firefighters from the Pennsylvania Wildland Fire Crew is preparing to travel to Washington on Monday to assist in battling the Sinlahekin Fire, where they are scheduled to work for 14 days.
“Everybody, everybody works together for the same, same goals and objectives,” said firefighter Chad Voorhees.
The crew, which includes members with varying levels of expertise, gathered at the Penn Harris Hotel to collect their gear before the journey. Their mission not only supports affected communities but also provides valuable training and experience for the team.
“It goes a long way to helping those people, those communities. And again, for the, for the training to bring home and to give that experience to our guys,” Voorhees said.
Voorhees, who has been fighting wildfires since 2010, emphasized the unpredictable nature of the work.
“We never know what to expect out there. Every, every assignment’s completely different. Big fire, small fires,” he said.
For firefighter Cody Crouse, this marks his second trip this year to fight wildfires.
“It’s a very rewarding job. You get to meet a lot of people, see different things and the people’s homes and stuff,” Crouse said.
Crouse shared his expectations for the conditions they might face in Washington.
“We’re expecting the fires in that area to be pretty hard to contain and deal with just because of how dry it is,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Crouse said the gratitude of those they help makes the experience meaningful.
“If you get around those, they’re very thankful, appreciative. You see lots of signs. Thank you, firefighters,” he said.