Hazard Pay

$2.60 per hour. That is what the federal government has decided it is worth for me to engage in "hazardous" activities. Things like helicopters, uncontrolled fire lines, and slopes greater than 50% constitute the threat that earns me an extra 260 cents per hour.

The funny part is, actually fighting the fire is one of the least hazardous things we do, although every year at least a few of us manage to cash it in. No, the things we do that are most likley to result in catastrophic accident, or more likley yet, long term damage, are frequently overlooked.

I used to think H-pay was supposed to make up for the fact we were risking our lives, but upon much reflection it occurs to me how useles that small premium is if one is dead. Instead I realized, it is to compensate not for the risk of grave damage, but the certainty of cumulative damage.

Just like an accountant, the most dangerous thing we do, is drive. But unlike accountants, we also cut down large trees with chainsaws, hike and dig line in steep rocky terrain for hours on end, and breathe smoke and disel fumes while walking through fire and heat hot enough to melt a credit card inside the pockets of your nomex pants.

Hazard pay is not given because you might die, it is given because you will have a bad back, sore knees, tendonitis, black lungs, sprained ankles, and may, on occasion be required to sleep on top of a municipal landfill. Yep, on our last assignment, at the north rim of the Grand Canyon we were in a fire camp with several hundred other firefighters and overhead personel. Right by the trail which led to the tent area was a red sign that said something to the effect: Former site of a municipal solid waste landfill. Hazardous methane discharges may be possible. Please stay out. So of course I took a picture of the sign. With several hundred tents in the background.