history of firestorm

Firestorm began as a vision from the founder, Jim Wills, to create a resource that could assist the federal agencies in their forestry and fuels management and fire suppression efforts. In 1995 Firestorm was established with a memorandum of understanding for a single organized fire crew on the Lassen National Forest in Northern California. This was a 20-person fire crew that had the same required training as an agency crew and was only used when needed. This was the first private fire crew contract in California for the United States Forest Service.

Being an on-call resource, Firestorm was in search of more work to help keep the fire crews working, not only to provide work, but to also continue to develop cohesiveness and physical fitness which are two key attributes in running a successful 20 person hand crew. This quest began our Forestry Services Division. Our hand crews and engines perform thousands of acres of controlled burning and forestry health projects each season while being on-call to assist in the suppression of wildland fires and other emergency situations.

In addition to large forestry projects improving our forests health, Firestorm also saw a need for Fire Safety Consulting services for both large and small landowners to mitigate the threat of wildfires in the wildland urban interface. These services are now recognized as a valuable asset to insurance companies and other professional organizations needing continuing education, both for their personnel and their clients, in the field of fire safety as it pertains to their organization.

presently

Today, Firestorm’s Emergency Services division now provides multiple fire crews, wildland engines and overhead personnel throughout the United States for fire and all-risk incidents. Each year we provide hundreds of thousands of personnel hours towards the support of emergency situations.

As the number of our resources grew, there was a need to be able to provide advanced fire training to our employees as well as provide a training program to potential firefighters looking to get their foot in the door. Firestorm now provides several National Wildfire Suppression Association (NWSA) certified wildland fire instructors to teach wildland fire courses from the basic training to the advanced levels. Firestorm provides training to all agency fire personnel as well as other professionals looking to advance their knowledge in the fire and forestry arena.

Firestorm is made of up land management and fire professionals that can help our clients from day one in the consulting and planning phase all the way to the final days of implementation and completion. We look forward to serving you.