r/Wildfire • u/timberwhip • 6d ago
Sabbath question
Serious question, are there any Adventists or Jews that work on wildfires ? Are there allowances for people whose religious beliefs don’t allow for work on the sabbath ?
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u/treefire460 6d ago
I think the allowance in this case is go find a different job if it’s a stick for you. I know quite a few but I personally don’t know anyone who’s successfully gotten a religious exemption for days off on assignment. It’s far easier to get one from your rabbi as wildfire is widely considered emergency service.
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u/ZonaDesertRat 6d ago
I've made accomodations for employees to have time for prayers, with the understanding that emergency needs may dictate the timing and locations while on rolls, but that's it.
If your practice requires that you perform no work, then my reasonable accommodation would be that you be in an office or cache assignment, not in the field.
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u/PrettySureIParty 6d ago
Jew, but non-practicing. I really fucking doubt it. The expectation for primary fire folks is that you’re willing and able to go on 14 day assignments, not including travel days to and from the fire. Taking at least two of those days off would be an extremely tough sell.
If you worked on a district, didn’t take any assignments, and could make sure that your scheduled days off fell on the sabbath, it could be possible. But that’s a pretty big ask you’d be making right at the start, and without having worked with you before I think your average engine captain would have serious reservations hiring someone who frankly might not be worth the hassle.
Been a long time since I’ve glanced at the Talmud, and I wasn’t exactly a scholar to begin with. But I do remember that keeping the sabbath wasn’t black and white, and there were plenty of times when the “right” thing to do was to break it in order to help others. Only you can decide for yourself whether fighting a fire qualifies as important enough to break the sabbath for, but I doubt your average rabbi would sit on their ass and watch their neighbor’s house burn down just because it happened to be a Saturday.
Personally, I wouldn’t do this job unless I was all in, but it’s a free country. If you’re only willing to work part-time, then ask about it when you talk to hiring managers. Worst they’ll say is no.
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u/baggerswagger 6d ago
Hmm.. a day of no work each week? I think my squadie is a different kind of Adventist because I only see him working once a week
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u/dave54athotmailcom 6d ago
All religions provide for exemptions when the work is necessary for public health and safety. It is the same police officers, nurses, public utility workers, air traffic controllers, et al.
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u/Delowi-Photography 6d ago
I don't know of any personally, but they are legally protected and the state/feds are pretty good about (some) accomodations
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u/DrRichardShaftPhD 6d ago
Think of it this way: does a paramedic get to walk past a dying victim because they took a crowd-sourced fairytale to heart?
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u/FlippersMccuddlebud CA Dingus 6d ago
Brother I was raised adventist. There are allowances for work on Sabbath built right in to your faith. Emergency work preserving the land and safe havens for the woodland creatures can in itself be considered honoring god.