ZUNI HOTSHOTS BIA IHC
The Zuni Hotshots are an elite BIA-funded IHC Native American federal fire-fighting crew based on the Zuni Indian Reservation, Zuni, New Mexico.
NATIVE AMERICAN FIREFIGHTERS:
- Zuni Indian Tribal Nation.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
ZUNI HOTSHOTS IHC
BIA Zuni Agency
PO Box 369
Zuni, NM 87327
BASE CAMP:
Telephone: 505.782.3367
Fax: 505.782.3017
Standing strong in the belief that all life is sacred, even the lives of their enemies, the Pueblo of Zuni has a long history in fire fighting.
The Zuni BIA agency has an earned national reputation of providing quality firefighters for over 50 years. Based on that reputation and the need for employment on the Zuni Reservation, the agency proposed to develop a Type I Interagency crew.
Paley Coonsis Sr. was selected to spearhead the research and development of an IHC program. After researching the history of Zuni firefighters and corresponding with established IHC boards in 1997, Zuni compiled and presented their proposal to the Zuni Tribal Council and the local Geographical Area Committee (GAC). GAC agreed for the need of a national Type I crew. Zuni was funded for the start up of the proposed crew from 1998 to 2000.
Paley along with former agency staff, Mr. Mike Hackett, Agency Superintendent, Mr. Roger Jensen, Forest Manager, Mr. Joseph Holford, Fire Management Officer, and Mr. Bryston Bowannie Sr., Assistant Fire Management Officer developed an Operating Plan and recruited crew personnel on detail assignments to gain hotshot experience through Mescalero Apache Hotshot Crew and the Redmond Interagency Hotshot Crew.
Zuni’s proposal was presented to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Hotshot Board, the National Interagency Hotshot Board and the Operations Chief from the National Interagency Fire Center.
2001 was the inception year for the Zuni IHC when Mr. Carl Crawford Assistant Superintendent of the Chief Mountain Hotshot Crew accepted the position as the Superintendent for the Zuni IHC; Paley served as an Assistant Superintendent up until 2002. The crew became nationally available as Type I Trainee Crew in early September 2001 and accepted their first assignment to the World Trade Center Incident in New York.
The crew operated as a trainee crew for three years and received certification for Type I status in September of 2003. Upon attaining crew certification, Mr. Crawford accepted a District Fire Management Officer position with the U.S. Forest Service in Parks Fall, Wisconsin. Mr. Tony Parks, who was employed with the Navajo Hotshots as the Assistant Superintendent transferred to the Zuni Hotshot Crew as the new Superintendent for the next two years.
Please CONTACT WEBMASTER to edit or add photos or information.
|
FIRE INSTITUTIONS:
