The Orion Online

Issue date: 8/27/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Brian Randle As he looks to the future, firefighter Cameron Mouzoon holds onto a his musical pastime. [Click to enlarge]

First the wind picked up, and then came the smoke and then the flames.

Brian Horn, a 22-year-old volunteer firefighter from Durham, sat on the side of Neal Road in lower Paradise, a region scorched by fires during the hot summer, and waited for orders from headquarters.

A 100-foot crown fire consumed the dry trees around Horn, who retreated into a water-supply truck, he said. Crown fires only burn the tops of the trees, but are still dangerous and intimidating.

"It was an adrenaline-pumping situation," Horn said. "I wasn't scared. You can't panic in a situation like that."

Many volunteers helped battle the Butte County fires, which burned more than 60,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.

Horn got into volunteer firefighting because he wanted to pursue a job where he could help people without asking for anything in return, he said.

"When that crown fire passed over me, I was thinking, 'What do I have to do to make this my career,'" Horn said. "It was awesome."

Butte College Fire Academy has been receiving more applications than usual, said Kathy White, administrative secretary for the academy. She attributes the heightened interest to all the fires in the area.

The academy recruits twice yearly and in past years has received 100 to 120 applications, she said. The academy takes a maximum 50.

"In April, we had 160 applications," White said. "And only four of the cadets dropped out. We usually have a lot higher dropout rate than that."

Not all volunteers are on the track to professional firefighting.

Junior Trevor Thompson hadn't considered firefighting until his friend proposed the idea, he said. One week later, Thompson was road tripping to Oregon with his friends for four days of training.

His parents were proud of him, he said.

"My dad said it was sick that he wouldn't have to pay for me all summer," Thompson said.

Thompson's training included hiking through the area with other firefighters and feeling for hot spots that could potentially start fires, he said.

The white ash that results from fires stays hot a long time, and firefighters have to keep an eye out for it, Thompson said.

A firefighter wasn't what Thompson expected it to be, he said. But, then again, he didn't know what it was going to be like.

"I thought we were going to be jumping out of planes and stuff," he said. "It's hard work, we hike into fire zones with 30- to 40-pound packs, tools and a chain saw."

Some tasks are more fun than others.

"I'm having the best time when I'm in direct contact fighting the fire," Thompson said. "That's the exciting part."

A helicopter crash north of Redding that killed nine firefighters and crew in early August still weighs heavily on the minds of fellow firefighters.

"It's really sad, and kind of scary," Thompson said. "We were supposed to go on a helicopter ride that day but we didn't. It was really weird."

Thompson had an incredible time but doesn't see himself as a firefighter for the long run, he said.

"I've had some really great experiences," he said. "I've seen a lot of cool stuff, like something out of a movie. And I got to use a chain saw. But firefighting is a temporary thing for me."

Cameron Mouzoon, 20, from Scotts Valley, began training in the Butte College Fire Academy on Monday, he said, and discovered it is one of the toughest and most highly recognized training programs in the state.

Firefighting appealed to Mouzoon because it is an occupation that will leave him time for a family in the future, he said. He doesn't see any down side to a career in firefighting.

"I decided I wanted to get into some sort of public service and this seems perfect for me," Mouzoon said. "You stay healthy and fit your whole life, and you get to be in a calendar - no, just kidding."

Joel Hersch can be reached
jhersch@theorion.com

Related links
Butte College Fire Academy Web site

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