Report released for engine rollover on Anderson Butte Fire

Engine rollover Anderson Butte Fire
Engine rollover on Anderson Butte Fire. Photo from the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center report.

On October 2 one of three responding Type 6 engines rolled over while responding to the Anderson Butte Fire in Oregon. On the gravel road much dust was being kicked up compromising the visibility of the drivers. They were heading into the sun and the driver of the rollover engine said he was relying on the emergency lightbars of the engines ahead of him to find his way.

As he rounded a shaded corner, the sun hit the engine windshield and severely impacted his vision. He did not notice the curve in the road. Soon after, the Engine 241 driver—who was the vehicle’s sole occupant—noticed that the passenger side front tire was no longer contacting the ground. He attempted to steer back toward the road, but momentum caused the engine to tip. The engine then rolled more than two times before being stopped by a small grove of oak trees, finally coming to rest on the driver’s side, approximately 100 feet below the road.

The driver was able to climb out through the passenger window, walk up to the road, and radio for help.

Engine rollover Anderson Butte Fire
Engine rollover on Anderson Butte Fire. Photo from the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center report.

The driver indicated that he basically just had a laceration on his leg. He initially requested to continue to the fire, but was held back for further evaluation. A local ambulance crew arrived around 30 minutes later. The driver was evaluated for head trauma and his lacerated leg was treated. The ambulance was released, the driver was instructed to return to his home unit, and was driven there by his supervisor.

The engine, which was totaled beyond repair, was retrieved by a wrecker the following day.

Two of the lessons pointed out in the report were:

  • Continuously evaluate conditions, as dust and sun angle make for less visibility, travel at slower speeds, and allow for more space in between yourself and the vehicle in front of you.
  • If you can’t clearly see the road: STOP.

Two firefighters injured in Oklahoma engine rollover, one died a month later

Rollover of Balko FD Engine 5, Oklahoma
Rollover of Balko FD Engine 5 — Oklahoma, April 6, 2022. Photo courtesy of OK Forestry Services.

Updated at 8:30 p.m. CDT May 9, 2022

Just a few hours after we saw the notice from the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center and wrote the piece below about the rollover of an engine in Oklahoma on April 5, Mark informed us that one of the two injured firefighters, Jason Smith, passed away yesterday from his injuries.

Below is an excerpt from a Facebook post by Western Oklahoma Fire Coverage on May 8:

In memory of fallen Firefighter Jason Smith with the Balko Fire department. Just 33 days ago, while fighting the Beaver River Fire in Beaver County, two Balko firefighters were injured when their truck rolled over off of a 6’ embankment. They were flown to Lubbock, TX to the burn unit to receive treatment. Jason was finally able to come home at the end of last month, but today he lost the battle and succumbed to his injuries. Jason leaves behind his wife, 2 daughters and a 3 1/2 month old grandson Emmett that he was very proud of.

We send our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of Mr. Smith.


5:08 p.m. CDT May 9, 2022

Two firefighters were injured and later burned in a fire engine rollover in Oklahoma. It happened in the state’s panhandle April 5 on the Beaver River Fire during the initial attack on a vegetation fire 11 miles west of Beaver. (This information was contained in a “24-hour report” about the incident which was distributed by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center.)

Balko Volunteer Fire Department Engine 5 with two occupants veered slightly off the road onto a gravel shoulder that collapsed. As a result, the engine slid off an embankment approximately six feet in depth and rolled over on its top. Subsequently, an active area of the fire switched directions as it was impacted by strong variable winds. Prior to the fire arriving at the accident scene both occupants were able to self-extricate. However, they sustained 1st and 2nd degree burns to their arms and hands as the fire burned past. In addition, one victim possibly suffered a concussion during the vehicle rollover. 

Both firefighters were evacuated from the incident by law enforcement and later flown by air ambulance to a burn center in Lubbock, Texas. Initially the victims were listed in critical condition. When the 24-hour report was issued the next day on April 6, 2022 they were conscious and in ‘Yellow’ status at the burn center. 

Rollover of Balko FD Engine 5, Oklahoma
Rollover of Balko FD Engine 5 — Oklahoma, April 6, 2022. Photo courtesy of OK Forestry Services.

BLM begins to add badly needed rollover protection to their fire engines

Montezuma fire, fatality engine
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affair engine rollover fatality that occurred June 9, 2012 on the Montezuma Fire in Arizona. Killed in the accident was the BIA engine boss Anthony Polk, 31, of Yuma, Arizona. Two crewmembers were injured, one very seriously. Photo from the report.

In 2009 we started to notice that rollovers of fire apparatus was far too common, and too often resulted in death or serious injuries. By July 17, 2015 we had reported on 17 rollovers of fire vehicles responding to or working on wildland fires that resulted in 44 injuries or fatalities to firefighters working on or responding to a wildland fire. That does not include non-rollover vehicle accidents, rollovers of heavy equipment (of which there were quite a few), or accidents that occurred in Australia and Canada. By that date we had had enough, and wrote an article that strongly advocated rollover protection be added to wildland fire engines, Fire vehicle rollovers — how serious a problem is it?

Engine 492, left side
The rollover crash of USFS Engine 492 in Wyoming August 8, 2013. USFS photo.

To date we have written 69 articles tagged “rollovers.”

In the article below published Nov. 24, 2021, the Bureau of Land Management notes that after another fatal rollover that killed two more Department of the Interior firefighters in 2016, they decided that rollover protection was needed. Apparently the rollover that killed a BIA firefighter and seriously injured another in 2012 (see photo above) was not enough to prompt them to take action. The agency deserves praise for beginning this program to enhance the safety of their firefighters.


By Carrie Bilbao, BLM Fire Public Affairs Specialist

The BLM National Fire Equipment program (NFEP) located at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho provides standardized wildland fire engines, crew carriers, helitack support vehicles, command vehicles, bulldozers, and other specialized wildland fire apparatus to four agencies in the U.S. Department of Interior.

Following a fatal traffic accident in July 2016 that tragically took the lives of two BLM firefighters when their wildland fire engine was involved in a single-vehicle rollover, the national fire equipment and fire and aviation contracting programs began extensive research on rollover protection systems (ROPS). When they started working with private industry, there were no manufacturers developing ROPS for heavy trucks. Initially, NFEP and BLM Fire contracting educated the manufacturers and private industry that there is a need to invest in a ROPS to protect our field firefighters. Then they started working with private industry and truck manufacturers to design and test ROPS.

BLM rollover protection
Roll bar protection was installed in new BLM Fire engines at NIFC in August 2021. Photo by Carrie Bilbao, BLM.

The safety features of ROPS include seats with side impact airbags, seatbelt pre-tension system, and internal roll cage. The new seat system senses a rollover event and releases air from the seat and retracts the seatbelt to pull the occupants to the lowest seating position and secures them to the seat, all in fractions of a second. This increases the crush area above their heads and protects them from projecting forward. The airbag also deploys, which gives the occupants protection in the roll. The internal roll cage provides stability to the chassis to prevent it from collapsing, potentially crushing firefighters inside in the event of a rollover accident. A “superstructure” is also integrated into the fire body. It is designed to increase the cab crush angle, providing more survivable space for the occupants. The superstructure, new seats, and roll cage will provide the wildland fire community with the safest cab ever. The NFEP’s development and integration of this technology will benefit the entire wildland fire community.

BLM rollover protection
Seats equipped with side impact airbag and seatbelt pre-tension system will better protect firefighters. Photo by Carrie Bilbao, BLM.
BLM rollover protection testing
Tilt testing on a new Fort Apache Hotshots crew carrier. Photo by Mike Hislop, BLM.

“While firefighter safety is at the forefront of everything we do, it is inherently a dangerous job,” said Elden Alexander, the BLM National Fire Equipment program manager. “On a single fire dispatch, fire resources can respond 100 miles on the highway, traverse steep mountain roads, and then transition to using equipment off-road while suppressing fire. This new design adds an extra feature to keep firefighters safe. We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished and are already looking forward to the next phases of safety systems in the rest of our fire fleet. Simply said, we aren’t done yet.”

In 2021, the NFEP retrofitted 14 heavy engines with the newly developed ROPS. In the future, ROPS will be added to each contract and will be built by the manufacturer prior to being issued to the field. The outstanding work on ROPS will greatly improve the crashworthiness and survivability of our off-road wildland fire engines for all wildland fire engine personnel and will set a new industry standard. Integrating additional cab protection in all BLM Fire apparatus including crew carriers, water tenders, and dozer transports remains a priority for NFEP. The advancement in ROPS safety technology will benefit not only the U.S. Department of Interior fire programs, but well beyond them.

For the outstanding work done on research and development of this innovative safety feature, the NFEP and BLM FAD contracting recently received the DOI Safety and Health Award of Excellence. This award recognizes individuals or groups who have performed an outstanding service or have contributed unusual value to the occupational safety and health of employees, visitors, and volunteers.

Four wildland firefighters receive minor injuries in vehicle rollover

Working on the Skyline Ridge Complex 22 miles southeast of Roseburg, Oregon

1:53 p.m. PDT August 12, 2021

Map of the Skyline Ridge Complex accident injuries firefighters
Map of the Skyline Ridge Complex of fires at 8:22 p.m. PDT August 11, 2021

Four firefighters assigned to the Skyline Ridge Complex of fires in Oregon were transported by ambulance Wednesday morning August 11 after their vehicle rolled over.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported that a crew vehicle transporting fire personnel from their night shift assignment on the Skyline Ridge Complex east of Canyonville struck approximately 60 to 70 feet of guardrail before driving up a hillside and rolling over. The crash resulted in non-life threatening injuries to four firefighters who were transported by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Oregon where they were treated and later released.

The call came in to 9-1-1 at approximately 9:53 a.m. of a single vehicle rollover crash in the 15000-block of Tiller Trail Highway roughly 10 miles east of Canyonville and Interstate 5.

The injured personnel are part of a 20-person crew assigned to the fire. Additional crew members traveling in two other vehicles were not involved in the accident.

Deputies determined the driver, a 38-year-old wildland firefighter from Salem, Oregon fell asleep at the wheel while returning to fire camp after working the night shift on the fire. Alcohol and speed were not contributing factors in the crash and no citations or arrests were made.

The Skyline Ridge Complex is a group of fires started from lightning on August 1, 2021 about south-southeast of Roseburg, Oregon. Combined, the fires have burned 3,546 acres.

These firefighters were very lucky. From 1990 through 2014, 22 percent of the wildland firefighter fatalities were the result of vehicle accidents.

Wildland firefighter fatalities 1990-2014

Articles on Wildfire Today tagged “sleep”.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Kelly.

Firefighter injured in rollover in North Dakota

Elevated and critical fire weather predicted for large areas of the central U.S. on Thursday

fire in North Dakota near McVille
A fire in North Dakota March 31, 2021 near McVille. Photo by Megan Overby.

A North Dakota firefighter working on a grass fire was injured in a vehicle rollover Monday.

From the Bismark Tribune:

…Visibility in the area was near zero at times Monday and caused one firefighting truck to roll off the side of the road, Richardton Fire Chief Jason Kostelecky said.

One of the firefighters inside sought medical help for injuries suffered in the crash, but his scans did not indicate serious problems, said the chief of the all-volunteer fire department. The vehicle, a pickup with a pumping unit, was damaged but some components might be salvaged.

Like in Wyoming and South Dakota Monday where very strong winds caused a number of wildfires to grow large, the conditions were similar in North Dakota.

Due to the extreme fire danger that the area is still experiencing on Wednesday, the state is beefing up their firefighting resources due to drought. The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control has deployed two of their wildland fire engines to assist firefighters in North Dakota. The crews from Alamosa and Montrose are expecting to be on a two week assignment.

On Wednesday the South Dakota Governor declared a state of emergency to run through June 1 due to “severe drought and dangerous fire conditions,” a news release from the governor’s office said.

“This executive order is in response to the numerous fire incidents occurring throughout the state. The order will allow the state to provide greater assistance to the response efforts of local and volunteer firefighters,” the release said.

The Schroeder Fire that burned more than 2,100 acres Monday just west of Rapid City, SD prompted the evacuation of about 500 homes.

Elevated and Critical fire weather
Elevated and Critical fire weather is predicted for large areas of the central United States on April 1, 2021

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Dick and Dan.

Report issued for water tender rollover in Northern California

Mendocino National Forest, September 27, 2020

Water Tender rollover
The water tender after the rollover. September 27, 2020. IMT photo.

This is the 66th article on Wildfire Today about rollovers of wildland fire vehicles. But, it is the first we have heard about in 2020.

From the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center:


At approximately 0755 hours on September 27th, August Complex South Zone communications was notified of a Water Tender accident via radio by another Water Tender Operator who was also working in the area.

The Water Tender involved in the accident was full with approximately 4,000 gallons of water being utilized for road dust abatement.

Before experiencing radio challenges, the first Water Tender on scene was able to notify communications that there had been an accident and the Water Tender Operator had an injury to the shoulder, back and neck.

It is unknown if the driver was ejected from the vehicle during the accident, but the first water tender on scene did observe the driver climbing out from underneath the front bumper area of the wreckage.

Due to the accident’s location and lack of clarity of the nature of the accident/injuries, the Incident Management Team started a Life Flight response per the Medical and Incident Within an Incident (IWI) Plan. Upon activating the local Life Flight care provider, it was determined that the closest two helicopters were unavailable due to maintenance issues, leaving the third option of an ETA of 35 minutes. The decision was made to utilize the exclusive use Helicopter 514, staffed with an EMT, to transport the paitient with a 10 minute ETA.

A Safety Officer assigned to the incident arrived on scene, provided a size-up of the incident and assumed command of the IWI. When units arrived on scene, the Water Tender was upright, resting on its wheels against a tree with its tank separated from the chassis.

The area of the accident had a suitable landing spot. The patient was loaded into the helicopter and taken to the local trauma center for evaluation.

Water Tender rollover
Photo shows the divot in the road created by the upper passenger corner of the Water Tender’s tank during the rollover. September 27, 2020. IMT photo.

LESSONS

  • Always take the time to put on your seatbelt. This should be a given because it is a state law, but in a rush to accomplish a task or when a task is short duration, clicking a seatbelt can get skipped. A properly worn seatbelt can reduce injuries during an unintended outcome.
  • It is critical for any vehicle operator to keep vehicles at a reduced speed to the extent possible while vehicles are under heavy load driving on surfaces with increased stopping distances.
  • Beware of soft shoulders, narrow sections, blind corners, compromised visibility, and distractions— any combination of these conditions is especially dangerous.
  • Given the frequency with which water tenders roll on wildland fires, be very judicious about assigning work for tenders. Always ask: “Is this mission necessary?”

The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center has reports for 13 Water Tender Rollovers from 2015 to 2020.