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Hot Shots do similar work to that of a smokejumper only closer to civilization. Hot Shots usually are near a road and therefore can bring in buldozers and other big pieces of machinery to help them out. They use the buldozers to move trees and brush out of the paths of the fires. This is faster than doing it by hand as the smokejumpers must do. Even though the work is made a little easier with hight-tech equipment the work of a hot shot takes strength, stamina, endurence, and knowledge just like the work of a smokejumper does.

Photo courtesy of Mike McMillian

Hot Shots and Smokejumpers both use a tool called a pulaski. The photo on the right shows you what it looks like. They also use picks, shovels, chainsaws, and many other tools. They clear a strip of land of all trees and brush so that there is no fuel there for the fire to burn. This is called a fire break. When firefighters build a fire break what they are trying to do is make it so the fire has not more fuel to burn. When this happens the fire will burn itself out. However sometimes the fire jumps the break and the firefighters have to try again. Hot Shots have it a little eaiser than Smokejumpers because they can use buldozers and things. However this doesn't make the hard work less tiring by much. Hot Shots and Smokejumpers have the same job fighting fires. Smokejumpers just have to jump down to the fire before they can start fighting it.

Hot Shots and Smokejumpers sometimes have to fight a fire for many hours at a time. That is why they have to have stamina and endurance. Fighting takes lots of strength, too. All fire fighters have to know about fire. They have to know how the weather can effect the fire and all kinds of other things.

| Fighting - Introduction | | Smokejumpers | | Volunteers | | Air Fight |