The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) have released their factual report on the fatality of Dennis James Long, 65, the dozer operator who died while working on the Pardee Fire northwest of Kamiah, Idaho July 8, 2013. The fire was on BLM land under fire protection of the IDL.
Mr. Long was constructing fireline with a privately owned dozer on the fire. After noticing from a distance a period of inactivity by the dozer, his supervisor checked on him and found him unresponsive. Resuscitation efforts were not successful.
The report concluded the following:
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“No findings were directly attributable to the cause of death.
Cause of Death: The Idaho County Coroner identified the cause of this fatality as severe coronary artery disease.
Non Attributable Findings: (Non-Causal)
Finding 1: The dozer and transport were not inspected prior to use for the Pardee fire. Visible hazards would have found the dozer unserviceable (See Appendix C: Photographs). An agreement for the contracted dozer and transport was not in place prior to use on the fireline (See Appendix B: No Contract Agreement in Place). This factor is determined to be non-finding to the accident.
Finding 2: The Contract Dozer Operator was operating on the fireline without wearing his PPE. This factor is determined to be non-finding to the accident.
Finding 3: Command of the fire was not transferred to a more qualified and available person when the complexity exceeded Type 5 Incident Commander qualification levels. This factor is determined to be non-finding to the accident.
Finding 4: Not all resources on the fire had the appropriate Emergency Medical Services (EMS) frequencies. This factor is determined to be non-finding to the accident.
Finding 5: The local IDL fire protection district does not have a consistent approach to a medical plan. This factor is determined to be non-finding to the accident.”
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The incident was originally covered by Wildfire Today July 10, 2013.
What is the problem, Andy?
US LMA’s have been “outsourcing” (or is that newspeak for contracting) this for yeeeeaaaaars. So I, personally, do not see a problem in this
That is the beauty of outside contracting……not bound by the US Gov age 37-57 rule.
The USFS and BLM has their operators and when the Guv runs short on campaign fires or simple closest forces concept….
Well …. you are going to get a varying age group of operators including the ol scruffy, great old curmudgeons that refuse to quit and are not bound by some “guidelines” that OPM and Congress dreamed up years ago
Granted, fire is a young man’s game in SOME respects….not all
But in the same light tell me about all those deaths with guys doing the WCT preseason……….and this ol guy. Tell me how the WCT would have prevented his coronary heart disease?
The WCT does not prove anything about heart disease but merely is a simulation of what is potentially the weights carried on the firelines put against a certain time frame
The WCT is not an MRI,CAT Scan, heart scan, or any other type of “test” that can determine heart disease whatsoever……
It is a mere replacement for the Step Test and would not stopped any of these deaths to include the FFTR’s ( Guv, State,Cooperator) that have died taking the WCT itself.
So it is a liiiitle late now to compare BLM expectations over a guy that was serving IDL……
Bet he was a sharp and active or more so than some BLM employees….!!!!
Had Mr. Long been a BLM employee, he would not have been allowed to operate a bulldozer on the fire line unless he was less than 56 years old (he was 65) and had passed the work capacity test at a “moderate” fitness level. Instead, our government outsources its fire fatalities. What a way to run a war.
But if he had been a RETIRED Fed employee, he would be allowed to work as an AD in almost any capacity that he was qualified to fill. The “Age 57” rule is strictly a personnel issue for the 20-year retirement program that Fire and Law Enforcement folks have; it’s got nothing to do with the ability to do the job. Just look at the rosters in T1 & T2 IMTs and see how many OPS folks are retired from the BLM, NPS and USFS.
With that thinking, Andy…
Be nice to think or require all the dozer operators to be the picture of health and expect these folks to be “hotshot” material when in fact these folks bring a separate set of skills such a THSP in its own right.
I would imagine the taking of an WCT would also be a ” factor of non finding to the accident.”
Expect those costs of taking the time for a WCT to be passed on or folks just not that interested in strapping on a 25/35/45 pound pack just to prove to LMA’s that this needs to be done to sit in the cab of dozer
Most of the dozer operators I have met have been both civilian and Federal employees as operators…..neither one needs to pass a WCT for any reason as a dozer operator in the real operating “49er” world….
If that is the case, that in the future, dozer operators needing an WCT …
Be expecting larger increases in contract prices to passed on and incorporated when the Feds use folks on a CWN or temp
I would imagine that the WCT is not even considered in the dozer contract process, but I have not seen one lately. IF the WCT becomes part of the process of hiring contract dozer operators either see operators either raising rates, going onto more lucrative work that does not require additional hoops that these folks already go through to maintain their own qualifications by their own employer or even the folks working as independents.
Not all contract work in the dozer or aviation world require the WCT……because most of these operators also work the “other world” other than fire.
An avoidable tragedy, if only agencies used the same age/fitness criteria for hiring wildland fire contractors as they do employees. Did Mr. Long take and pass a work capacity fitness test in 2013? The fatality report does not ask or answer that question.
Seems like I read that the level of the WCT that you take should reflect the fire fine work that you have to do: regular “Pulaski motors” and OPS folks up thru the Division Supervisor level have to do the Pack Test, while Ops Chiefs and Safety Officers only need the moderat level, others only need the Walk Test, and many (like Plans) don’t need anything. Dozer Operators (except for those few Agency personnel) are usually contracted from logging companies and road building crews, so don’t have the need for the WCT. Let’s not have a single event keep us from looking big picture at fireline health risks thru an objective lens.