A fire fighting crew that includes a group of military veterans arrived in Fairbanks Friday afternoon. BLM Alaska Fire Service spokesman Ken Frederick says the Type 2 hand crew includes veterans trained through a group called Team Rubicon.
“Team Rubicon is a nonprofit organization that gets corporate funding to train former military members in disaster response and emergency services,” Frederick said.
“They’ve recently had volunteers go to Nepal to help with earthquake recovery,” he said. “And wildland fire is one of the capabilities that Team Rubicon is adding this summer.”
Frederick says the deployment is significant because it will be the first Team Rubicon fire crew to work an actual incident.
He says the crew, which also includes more experienced BLM firefighters, will be on a 2 week assignment in Alaska, adding that could be extended if conditions warrant.