Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why is the U.S. Forest Service (FS) changing from round parachutes to ram-air
parachutes?
The FS is learning and adapting to a changing environment where wildfires are becoming
increasingly volatile due to climate change, hazardous fuel build-ups, the presence of some
70,000 communities in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), and other factors. The agency’s
primary objectives are to:
• Enhance the smokejumper program’s operational effectiveness by increasing the
capability to staff wildfires during more severe environmental conditions (higher winds)
when they are most vulnerable to escape, reducing the risk that they will become large,
costly, and dangerous to other firefighters and the public.
• To accomplish this without increasing, and with the goal of reducing, the likelihood of
serious and minor injuries attributed to parachute landings.
What are the advantages of ram-air parachutes compared to round parachutes?
The advantages of ram-air parachutes are that they are more maneuverable and controllable and
can be used in higher wind conditions than round parachutes. This capability is expected to
increase the operational effectiveness of smokejumpers when they are deployed to wildfires in
these conditions and decrease the odds that they will have to wait for more favorable parachuting
conditions. Deploying smokejumpers during higher wind conditions will reduce the risk that
wildfires will become large, costly, and dangerous to other firefighters and the public.
Using ram-air parachutes is also expected to reduce the risk of minor and serious accidents
attributed to parachute landings. In addition, ram-air parachute systems incorporate an automatic
activation device (AAD) and allow for greater vertical separation among jumpers.
What are the disadvantages of ram-air parachutes compared to round parachutes?
The disadvantages of ram-air parachutes are that there will be some loss of capability to jump in
extremely small jump-spots and there will be increased costs to equip and train smokejumpers.
What are the maximum wind speeds that round and ram-air parachutes can be used in?
Round parachutes can be used in winds up to 15 miles per hour while ram-air parachutes can be
used in winds up to 25 miles per hour.
What ram-air canopies will FS smokejumpers use?
Ram-air jumpers are initially trained on the DC-7. The CR-360 canopy is being used by jumpers
that have initially been trained, and is an approved parachute by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) as well. The CR-360 is gaining in popularity among Forest Service Jumpers
who jump mainly in Forest Service country and will be evaluated as a Forest Service canopy.
The Eiff canopy is currently not being used until an evaluation process is developed.
What is an Automatic Activation Device (AAD)?
An AAD is a self-contained mechanical or electro-mechanical device that is attached to the
interior of the reserve parachute container or harness, which automatically initiates parachute
deployment of the reserve or main parachute at a pre-set altitude, time, descent rate or
combination thereof.
What process did the FS use to come to this decision?
The FS smokejumper program has always looked toward improving its parachute system. Over
the last 20 years, the FS has evaluated ram-air parachute delivery systems as well as other
improvements to round parachutes. For increased performance in the environment the FS is most
concerned with, the ram-air parachute delivery system promises the most improvement.
In 2012, the FS tasked smokejumper base managers with conducting an analysis of round and
ram-air parachute delivery systems. The purpose of the analysis was to recommend to WO staff a
course of action. The smokejumper base managers considered data and information from the
BLM smokejumper program, the R1 pilot program, and a parachute and deployment system
development project by the FS Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC). The
group used the evaluation criteria of safety, operational effectiveness, training, potential for
innovation, and cost for Washington Office (WO) consideration. WO Fire and Aviation
Management (FAM) staff took the FS smokejumper base managers’ recommendation into
consideration before making their final decision to fully transition to a ram-air parachute delivery
system.
What process will the FS use to transition to ram-air parachute delivery systems?
The FS has designated a Change Management Action Team consisting of smokejumper base
managers, smokejumper program experts, employee union representatives and a line officer to
develop a Change Management and Implementation Plan for the ram-air parachute systems
project. This work has been organized and documented by Change Management professionals.
What are “next steps?”
The Change Management Action Team will guide the project beginning with the approval of the
Decision Memorandum. The plan will provide critical safety controls through risk management
processes and developed plans that meet management intent for ram-air parachutes while
ensuring the best methods for success. A method will be in place to provide critical feedback to
management regarding safety and whether or not the new technology is performing at the
expected level.
Smokejumpers are the most important part of the transition. All smokejumpers will be provided
the opportunity to have transition training from one system to the other and be fully confident
with the ram-air equipment and its operational characteristics. The FS Northern Region, in
partnership with the BLM, has developed a progression plan that establishes plans and
benchmarks for programmatic implementation. This provides a solid model for a national
transition process in all affected FS regions.
It is estimated that the FS can safely transition 10-15 jumpers, or more, per year; consequently
the agency expects the transition to take 7-10 years. However, the process will be constantly
monitored and changed as needed. It is vital to train key personnel (training, loft, and
management) quickly as they will enhance overall transition efficiency. Human resource
management concerns are recognized, and will be addressed, to accommodate objectives of both
management and individual smokejumpers.
How long have FS smokejumpers been using round parachutes?
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FS smokejumpers have been using round parachutes since the smokejumper program started in
1939.
What kind of round parachutes do FS smokejumpers currently use?
FS smokejumpers currently use a maneuverable round parachute known as the “FS-14 system.”
This is a parachute designed for the FS and manufactured by private companies on a contract
basis. This round (poly-conical) parachute is controlled by pulling down on toggles that are
attached to control lines. This allows the jumper to steer the canopy to the drop zone.
How long will it take for the FS to complete the transition to ram-air parachutes?
It will take approximately 7 to 10 years to acquire equipment and conduct training that will
enable all smokejumpers at all FS smokejumper bases to use ram-air parachutes.
Will all FS smokejumper bases transition to ram-air parachutes or will some bases still
operate with the round parachutes or a combination of round and ram-air parachutes?
This has not yet been determined.
How many FS smokejumpers are currently trained and able to jump using ram-air
parachutes?
At this time, there are approximately 82 FS ram-air parachute smokejumpers in the Northern
Region (R1): 7 in Grangeville; 24 in West Yellowstone; and 51 in Missoula.
What will happen to FS smokejumpers that are currently using round parachutes and do
not successfully transition to ram-air parachutes?
Smokejumpers that do not successfully transition to ram-air parachutes will be given appropriate
employment assistance within the agency.
What did the pilot program in the FS Northern Region (R1) entail?
Since 2008, the Missoula Smokejumper Base in the Northern Region (R1) has trained
approximately 82 smokejumpers on the BLM ram-air parachute system with BLM assistance (52
were active during the 2014 season), resulting in approximately 6,500 jumps (about 5,400
training jumps and 1,100 operational jumps). The focus of the program was to gain operational
capability and experience to manage and evaluate a ram-air parachute delivery system. The
program included loft, training, and management.
What evidence does the FS have that using ram-air parachutes will increase operational
effectiveness?
A FS MTDC study conducted during 2011 and 2012 found that 12% of fire jumps required flight
characteristic of a specific canopy type and on 5% of the fires jumped, ram-air parachutes were
used due to high winds. The study also found that 1.6% of the time only round parachutes could
deliver smokejumpers to fires due to jump spot size and/or ram-air parachute considerations.
Neither ram-air nor round parachutes could deliver smokejumpers to fires 5.1% of the time.
Why does the FS believe that transitioning to ram-air technology will reduce injury rates?
Ram-air parachutes increase the capability to jump in higher wind conditions when the jump
does not exceed the system’s capability and wind speed limits. Due to ram-air parachute
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technology allowing for slower vertical and horizontal landing speeds it is expected that the FS
will see a reduction in injuries during parachute landings. Analysis of information from 2001
through 2014 in MTDC’s parachute landing data base shows the overall likelihood of injury on
any given jump is 0.33% using round parachutes and 0.21% using ram-air parachutes. The
overall minor injury rate is 0.22% using round parachutes and 0.15% using ram-air parachutes.
The overall serious injury rate is 0.10% for round parachutes compared to 0.06% for ram-air
parachutes.
BLM smokejumpers are primarily used in Alaska and the Great Basin in more open jump
country whereas FS smokejumpers are used in more timbered areas of the west, southwest, and
northwest. When BLM smokejumpers are used in areas that are more typical of FS jump
country, their injury rates increase when compared to their Alaska and Great Basin jump country.
The FS will closely monitor the change in injury rate to see if jumping in more timbered and
confined jump spots with ram-air parachutes increases or decreases the FS’s overall injury rate
over time, exposure, and experience. There may be a short term increase in the accident rate as
FS smokejumpers learn to manage a ram-air parachute delivery system.
What is a serious injury and what is a minor injury?
Serious injuries are defined as any injury which: requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours;
results in a bone fracture except simple fractures of toes or fingers; causes severe hemorrhage,
nerve, muscle, or tendon damage; involves an internal organ; and/or second or third degree burns
or burns over more than 5% of the body. Minor injuries are defined as any injury less severe than
a serious injury.
Some smokejumpers say that MTDC statistics show that jumpers on a ram-air parachute
in R1 are more likely to sustain an injury on a jump and that major injuries that can affect
jumpers for the rest of their lives have been on the rise with the evaluation of the ram-air
parachute. They also believe the 2013 fire season reinforced the validity of this data with
multiple major and minor injuries on both practice jumps and fire jumps. There were five
ram-air season ending injuries this summer in FS jump country, three of which were in R1.
The FS does not consider any injuries acceptable. In the last year there have been several major
injuries on ram-air canopies. At this time, it is not possible to identify those injuries as indicating
a trend. Injury statistics have been gathered since 1992. Spikes in injury rates have occurred
since smokejumping began and are examined to determine whether or not interventions or
adjustments are needed. Throughout the transition to ram-air parachute delivery systems, FS
managers and the Change Management Action Team (CMAT) will closely monitor injury rates,
causes, and findings.
Are round parachutes or ram-air parachutes safer when forced to land in timber?
There are no accident statistics on this landing scenario. Many believe that, based on the design
of each parachute and their flight characteristics, round parachutes are more likely to hang up
than ram-air parachutes when smokejumpers are forced to land in timber. Tree landing
procedures in the BLM stress situational awareness to capitalize on the parachute’s
maneuverability, land safely in a tree, and perform a let-down similar to FS smokejumper letdowns.
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How many smokejumpers total have died using ram-air parachutes?
There have been three fatalities on the BLM ram-air system. All occurred in the absence of an
AAD. FS policy will require that smokejumpers on a drogue-deployed system have a live AAD
incorporated in their system.
How many smokejumpers total have died using round parachutes?
There has been one fatality directly related to the deployment of the round parachute.
How much will it cost for the FS to transition to ram-air parachute technology?
The cost for the transition is estimated at $12 million total over the next ten years. This increases
the ten-year FS smokejumper program costs from $113 million to $119.4 million for the 20142023 period. The cost estimates include the acquisition of new equipment, ram-air parachute
training, and time to successfully transition personnel skills between parachute delivery systems.
This transition has a high potential for return on investment in the form of delivery system
innovation; improvements in smokejumper operational effectiveness; and enhanced safety for
smokejumpers, wildland firefighters and the public. Preventing a single fire from developing into
a large fire could easily save enough suppression money and sufficiently reduce damages to
justify any added smokejumper program costs associated with a delivery system transition over
the next ten years.
Some smokejumpers say that ram-air systems cost two to three times as much as the cost of
round parachutes, have much higher training costs, require more practice jumps, and take
longer to train on. They also say that only a handful of times ram-air jumpers have
bumped around round parachutes due to high winds on fire jumps (in other words, the
costs of transitioning outweigh the benefits).
At this time, initial investment in a ram-air parachute delivery system is estimated at
approximately twice the cost of the current FS-14 system. However, procurement efficiencies on
the scale of the entire program have not yet been explored. Procurement strategies will be
monitored and adjusted to capitalize on costs-savings opportunities, but not at the expense of
quality or safety. The handful of times that ram-air jumpers have been able to jump when others
couldn’t, and may have been able to suppress wildfires while they were still small, may have
translated to savings equal to the cost of the entire FS smokejumper program.
What type of innovation is expected to occur in the future in ram-air technology?
Many niches in the parachute industry promise further innovation in ram-air technology, such as
competitive accuracy, base jumping, and military special operations parachutes. Future
innovations may include:
• More accurate, stable canopies as a result of collaboration with industry experts from the
competitive accuracy arena.
• Improved training techniques as a result of increased industry collaboration.
• Improvements in AAD technology as more drop zones require its use and industry
responds.
Is the FS considering any other system than drogue-deployed ram-air and FS-14?
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The FS MTDC evaluated static line-deployed ram-air systems utilizing both FS and BLM
smokejumpers. The FS determined that the current static line-deployed ram-air parachute
systems are not a viable system, however new developments will be analyzed in the future.
What is a smokejumper?
A smokejumper is a specifically trained and certified firefighter who travels to wildland fires by
aircraft and parachutes to the fire. Smokejumpers have served as highly effective wildfire
management assets for 75 years. They parachute in to approximately 400 wildfires per year
throughout the western U.S. and Alaska.
What do smokejumpers do?
Smokejumpers perform three primary roles in wildfire management. First, they parachute in to
wildfires throughout the western U.S. and Alaska to suppress wildfires while they are still small
during “initial attack,” or the first response after a wildfire is detected, to prevent them from
becoming large, costly, and dangerous to other firefighters and the public. Second,
smokejumpers provide leadership on the fireline and manage “emerging fires,” or those that
cannot be easily suppressed during initial attack. During the 48 hours it typically takes to
mobilize an incident management team, smokejumpers often serve as Incident Commanders and
other overhead positions (approximately 250 smokejumpers are qualified to serve in various
overhead positions). Third, smokejumpers perform specific short duration missions on large
wildfires that require aerial delivery of firefighters or paracargo, such as building fireline using
Fire Line Explosives; containing a remote division of a large wildfire; constructing helispots;
serving as Fire Effect Monitors; paracargo delivery of supplies, etc. In addition, FS
smokejumpers perform a host of other duties in addition to their wildfire operations focus, such
as arborist tree climbing, writing burn plans for prescribed fires, and providing training for
international wildland firefighters and emergency responders.
How many smokejumpers work for the FS?
The FS employs about 320 smokejumpers, which represents about 3% of the approximately
10,000 professional firefighters that work for the agency.
How many FS smokejumper bases are there and where are they located?
The FS has seven smokejumper bases located in Redding, California; Redmond, Oregon;
Winthrop, Washington; McCall, Idaho; Grangeville, Idaho; West Yellowstone, Montana; and
Missoula, Montana.
Why does the FS need smokejumpers?
The smokejumper program provides the unique capability to deliver large numbers of highly
skilled, qualified firefighters over large distances in a short amount of time. Smokejumpers are
often used to supplement local firefighting resources, such as engines, handcrews, and
helicopters during lightning busts when there are more fires than can be staffed with local
resources because it is often the fastest way to get additional help. Smokejumpers provide a
highly trained, quickly mobile firefighting force. In areas where road access is limited or roads
are in poor condition, smokejumpers can reach a fire more quickly than ground-based resources.
Helicopters have a much shorter range (50-75 miles) compared to airplanes (100-300 miles) and
carry fewer people (2-8 for helicopters, 8-20 for smokejumper aircraft), so smokejumpers are
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more efficient for missions that require more than just 2 or 4 firefighters and/or cargo to be
transported quickly to an area that is far away.
What kinds of aircraft do FS smokejumpers use?
FS smokejumpers parachute from the following types of airplanes: DeHavilland Twin Otter,
Casa 212, Bassler Turbine DC-3, Shorts C23A (Sherpa), and Dornier 228. However, the FS is in
the process of replacing some of these aircraft with C23B+/SD3-60s that are being transferred to
the agency from the Department of Defense as required by the 2013 National Defense
Authorization Act.
Is smokejumping risky?
The most critical safety considerations are wind and terrain. FS smokejumpers using round
parachutes do not parachute in ground winds over 15 miles per hour. They avoid rocks, logs,
power lines, fences, and other objects on the ground by parachute maneuvering or jump spot
selection. While the parachuting aspect of the job gains the most attention, the most dangerous
part of the job is fighting the fire due to the risks posed by extreme fire behavior, rolling rocks,
falling trees, and other hazards.
When did the FS begin using smokejumpers?
Smokejumping was first proposed in 1934 by T.V. Pearson, Regional Forester in the FS
Intermountain Region (R4), as a means to quickly provide initial attack on forest fires. By
parachuting in, self-sufficient firefighters could arrive fresh and ready for the strenuous work of
fighting fires in rugged terrain. The smokejumper program began in 1939 as an experiment in the
Pacific Northwest Region (R6), and the first fire jump was made in 1940 on Idaho’s Nez Perce
National Forest in the Northern Region (R1).
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