Firefighters gathered in Boise on July 14 to pay respect to Caleb Hamm, a member of the Utah-based Bonneville Hot Shot crew who died while fighting the 337 fire in Texas on June 7. The Idaho Statesman has a gallery of 17 photos of the funeral and some of the hundreds of firefighters that attended. Mr. Hamm collapsed and later died while he was being transported to a hospital. Early indications are that the extreme heat in Texas was a primary factor.
A memorial service was also held in Mineral Wells, Texas on July 8. The Mineral Wells Index reported that the Phoenix National Incident Management Organization team, Bob Housman Incident Commander, “is handling the fatality”.
A television station reported that a dozen hot shot crews were present to honor Mr. Hamm, who had been a wildland firefighter for six years. He was a Boise resident who attended Boise State University and the University of Idaho before transferring to Weber State University in Utah, where he was majoring in fire ecology.
In the video below which reports on the funeral in Boise, the correct name of the organization they are referring to is the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers that people make donations to the WFF which has been assisting the family since the fatality.
