AUGUSTA — Rich Beaudoin, who has worked since 2012 as a firefighter and paramedic with the Augusta Fire Department, is spending two weeks of his vacation time fighting the deadly wildfires in Southern California.
Beaudoin is among 20 Maine firefighters who arrived in the Los Angeles area this week to help battle wildfires that have killed at least 25 people, burned more than 40,000 acres and destroyed thousands of homes.
Augusta Fire Chief Dave Groder said Beaudoin could be joined by a fellow hotshot firefighter, Theo Marshall, who might also go to California to fight the wildfires if there is another wave of firefighters from Maine needed to join the effort. Beaudoin and Marshall have previously used their vacation time to battle fires elsewhere in the country.
A hotshot is a person trained to fight forest fires, oftentimes in remote areas.
Groder said the colleagues Beaudoin has left behind have him in their thoughts as he takes on the wildfires that have been driven by extreme winds and that have leveled entire neighborhoods and communities.
“We’re all thinking about him, concerned about his safety, because it’s so bad out there,” Groder said of Beaudoin.
Groder said Beaudoin and Marshall are part of a Maine Forest Service group of hotshot firefighters who have specialized training to be certified to fight wildfires. They take time away from work to travel across the county to help when wildfires rage out of control.
Beaudoin was expected to arrive Tuesday in California and get to work immediately fighting wildfires. He has not been available for comment.
Beaudoin, who is married with two children, has previously traveled with other Mainers to fight fires in California and Alaska.
Marshall, who is also certified as a hotshot firefighter, has also taken part in similar trips. He is prepared to go to California to fight the fires as part of a second wave of Maine firefighters who might go help if needed. He has been a firefighter and paramedic in Augusta since 2015.
The firefighters rearrange their schedules — and use vacation time — when there is a call for their services.
Groder said local firefighters are paid by the federal government when fighting wildfires. There is no expense to the city, and it does not affect the Fire Department’s staffing.
Groder said the knowledge and experience firefighters receive when battling massive blazes benefits the city’s Fire Department.
“The knowledge they gain out there, you don’t see that here, you don’t have fires like that in Maine, and you can’t buy that kind of training,” Groder said. “That hands-on stuff, you can’t buy. And they bring it back here and share it with us as we do our training.”
Two crews from Maine, composed of eight state forest rangers and 12 volunteer firefighters, are in Southern California, where they are expected to spend two weeks helping with firefighting and recovery efforts, Gov. Janet Mills announced this week.
“In times of emergency and crisis, states step up to help one another and that is what we are proud to be doing here,” Mills said in an announcement to the news media. “Our highly trained Forest Rangers and volunteer firefighters are answering the call to support the people of California and provide much-needed relief to exhausted teams on the ground. I thank them for their service and bravery.”
Firefighters from many other states, along with Mexico and Canada, have also arrived in Southern California to help battle the flames.
Under the Master Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and Stafford Act Agreement, state forestry agencies collaborate with federal land management agencies to respond to national emergencies, including wildfires and hurricanes.
Late-night television talk show host Jimmy Kimmel expressed gratitude Tuesday to those who are fighting the wildfires in the Los Angeles area. After the fires temporarily stopped him from broadcasting his show, an emotional Kimmel used his monologue to acknowledge that firefighters had came from several states and two other countries.
“Maine, firefighters came all the way from Maine,” Kimmel told his audience, “and we’re very grateful for them.”
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