If there’s a wildfire anywhere in America, a group of East Tennessee firefighters can now help those communities because of an added level of certification, commonly called a “Red Card.”
The Rural Metro Fire Department sharing on Facebook that 22 of their firefighters passed Red Card certification this week through the state’s Division of Forestry. This certification enables them to deploy all over the country if there’s a wildfire.
Red Card certification is recognized by the state, so if there’s a wildfire, these firefighters are already on a list and can be cherry-picked to deploy.
In November 2016, firefighters worked endlessly controlling the Sevier County wildfires.
“We found a little spot where we needed improvement,” said Rural Metro firefighter, Brad Rettig.
Rettig says firefighters needed to increase their awareness and techniques around wildland fires.