Employee - Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is my uniform provided? 

    • Yes. Mountain Medics outfits each employee with a pair of nomex pants and a nomex shirt, along with company t-shirts. We also provide all the necessary safety equipment including gloves, helmet, goggles, fire shelter and fire tools. It is the responsibility of the employee to supply their own NFPA fire boots. 

  • When does the fire season start and end? 

    • It’s a common question, but very difficult to nail down. In years past, we have started as early as May and worked as late as December/January. We have employees that work the early fire season, some that come for the later part of the season, and many that are available the entire season. What matters most to us is your level of dedication for the months that you commit to being available. 

  • What length of commitment do you need to consider me for employment? 

    • We give preference to applicants that can commit to at least 90 days of availability. Our employees typically work anywhere from 30-100+ days in one season. We pride ourselves on having a competent, well-seasoned team and put a lot of time and effort into training pre-season and on the job. We will consider shorter durations of availability depending on experience. As our EMT positions are extremely competitive, these exceptions are usually reserved for paramedics and nurses. 

  • Are my travel costs covered? 

    • We will cover this in your interview

  • Do you hire employees from outside of California? 

    • We hire employees from all over the US, although it does tend to work out better if you live within a day or two drive of our HQ as opposed to a cross country trek. Many of our out-of-state employees “migrate” to the area and camp or explore on days off. Others do a hybrid approach where they stay and work for a month or two and then head home for a week or so. If you are a dedicated employee, we can work with you on this. 

  • What are the licensing requirements to work for Mountain Medics?

    • We require all of our employees to have their CA licenses (requirements of each license vary) so they can work under our protocols and our medical director. See below links for details on getting that going:

      • EMTs

        • If you have your NREMT it’s very easy to apply with our CA LEMSA (Sierra-Sacramento Valley). S-SV will provide you with a CA EMT card (there is no state agency to go through). If you do not have your NREMT, you can still apply to S-SV if you have a CA license in another LEMSA.

      • Paramedics

        • You will need to obtain your CA Paramedic license and then apply for accreditation with our CA LEMSA (Sierra-Sacramento Valley)

          • We created a detailed guide to help: Paramedic Licensing Guide

          • You can check the S-SV calendar for the required protocol class, otherwise we do offer it at our HQ around the time of our refresher weekend.

      • Nurses

        • You just need to obtain your CA RN license (S-SV accreditation does not apply for RNs)

          • https://www.rn.ca.gov/applicants/lic-end.shtml

          • Note: We recommend getting your fingerprints done while in CA for our refresher weekend instead of doing them in your home state; we find this makes a big difference in license wait times.

  • How often am I paid? 

    • We pay our employees every two weeks via direct deposit. 

  • How much am I paid? 

    • We will cover this in your interview

  • Am I an employee or contractor and how does that affect my taxes? 

    • All of our employees are paid as W2 employees. This is a huge benefit when compared to being paid as a contractor even though the pay rate might seem higher at other companies that pay you as a contractor. Here are some very important differences: 

      • Pay and Taxes: When you are a W2 employee, your employer splits taxes with you (15%/15%) and taxes are deducted from your paycheck as you go. Since we work so many days in a row during fire season, more taxes are taken out then you will actually pay at the end of the year when your gross income is applied to the entire year, therefore you will most likely get a good sized tax refund. On the other hand, when you are paid as a contractor, like at many of the other fire related companies, you are solely responsible for your taxes (30%) and nothing is taken out of your paycheck as you go; so come April you will be hit with a huge tax bill. So many times we have seen seasonal employees be totally blindsided by this having already spent the majority of their fire money before paying their taxes. 

But taxes aren’t the only benefit to being a W2 employee, especially for medical personnel. Here are some more benefits to consider: 

  • Workman’s Comp: As a W2 employee you are covered under our workmans comp insurance, so if you are injured out on a fire, you can submit a claim. On the other hand, if you are a contractor at another company, you are not entitled to workmans comp and you are on your own for any work related injuries. 

  • Malpractice Insurance: As a W2 employee you are covered under our malpractice insurance. As a medical provider, this is a huge consideration. What happens if you make a mistake out there, what happens if you end up in court after caring for a patient, what if your patient dies? As a contractor, you have no coverage from your employer. In fact, the reason your employer chose to hire you as a contractor is for this very reason- they are not liable for your care. In the event that a case does go to court and you are the contracted care provider, the company’s legal team will do everything in their power to place the blame on you and remove the company from any liability for damages. 

If you are interviewing with other companies, we highly recommend bringing these topics up and making sure all your bases are covered before starting work. 

Still have questions? Reach out to careers@mountainmedics.com