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Since You Asked: Firefighters earn their pay — big and small Wednesday Aug 24, 2016 at 2:00 AM Thankful that we haven't had a lot of fires this summer in Southern Oregon, but I've always wondered how much the fire crew members are getting paid to work in those tough conditions. I'm sure they deserve every penny they get, and then some. — Sandra, Medford We agree they deserve every penny they get for working long, hot hours in often very tough conditions. Some of them deserve a lot more, as the pay can vary greatly. In our cursory search, we found that a wildfire suppression specialist for the state of Oregon can earn $14.28 to $29.28 per hour. We also found wildlands firefighting jobs with private companies that pay $11 to $15 an hour. A U.S. Forest Service opening for a smokejumper offered a pay range of $32,000 to $36,000 annually. In several blogs we read anecdotal stories about firefighters earning hundreds of hours, or even more, of overtime pay, so an hourly rate isn't necessarily indicative of how much they would make in a summer. However, those words, "in a summer," should also be taken into account, as the jobs typically last for three or maybe four months. Clearly, another variable in the pay is the severity of the fire season. Some years, firefighters can barely get a break for a nap while in other years they are cooling their heels waiting for a call. When they do get that call, they definitely earn their money. Here are some of the described duties and working conditions: "constructs fire line using hand tools or power equipment by cutting, scraping, digging and chopping or burning out to remove flammable materials." "... Makes parachute jumps from various aircraft under many conditions while executing landings on rough terrain, open areas, mountain slopes, or timber. Performs wildland fire suppression duties using a variety of hand and power tools (such as Pulaski, shovel, chain saw, and McLeod)." "... Occasionally required to work under adverse conditions such as noise, smoke, heat, rough terrain, dust, inclement weather and exposure to poison oak, bees and poisonous snakes. Requires occasional exposure to heavy equipment operations, aircraft, hazards of burning and/or falling material, and chemical and biological pesticides." Ready to sign up, Sandra? — Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. To see a collection of columns, go to mailtribune.com/youasked. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.