/ Leah Takesenemy, first-year firefighter, July 2021
This year’s class of Crow reservation rookie firefighters were sent to their first blaze the same day they graduated rookie school.
The Buffalo Pasture fire earlier this month became a training ground for Crow firefighting rookies to test out newly learned skills. How fire works chemically, different approaches to fighting fire, and how to stay safe were all part of the curriculum.
Carl Big Hair ran the rookie school and says the opportunity for hands-on experience was an excellent way to test what they learned over the week training. “This was a good opportunity for them. To experience the whole thing to actually dig a line right on the fire,” Big Hair says.