fatality Archives - Page 34 of 43

Washington fire chief dies at brush fire

Bill GabbertJune 24, 2010August 25, 2019Uncategorizedfatality, lodd

Chet Bauermeister, chief of the Franklin Fire District 4 in Basin City, Washington, was killed on June 23 when his snow cat that had been converted to a fire apparatus rolled about 100 feet down a hill while he was working on a vegetation fire.

Here is an excerpt from an article at the Yakima Herald:

Fire District 4 was among fire agencies that responded to a wildland fire in Adams County near the border with Franklin County in the Wahluke Slope area of the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.

Bauermeister was killed when an ATV he was on flipped over backward on a steep slope, said Pasco Fire Chief Bob Gear.

Another firefighter was riding with Bauermeister. He was taken to a hospital, apparently with minor injuries, said Sgt. Jim Dickenson of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials with Adams Fire District 5, the lead agency on the fire, were reported to be still at the scene of the accident at 9 p.m. and few details were available. The fire was out Wednesday evening.

The Washington state Department of Natural Resources is expected to investigate the cause of the fire, which was on private land. Firefighters from Hanford and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also helped fight the fire to prevent it from spreading to the wildlife refuge.

Bauermeister was the third chief for Fire District 4, taking over the job from his dad, Don Bauermeister, the district’s second chief, near the end of 2003.

Our condolences go out to Chief Bauermeister’s family and co-workers.

UPDATE @ 10:25 a.m., June 25

From an article at the Bellingham Herald:

Bauermeister’s family said Chet didn’t want a formal funeral service as typically is held for firefighters killed in the line of duty and officials said his wishes will be honored.

They will, however, use the community parade July 3 to honor Bauermeister. Fire departments from around the state will be invited to participate.

A celebration of life is planned from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Don Bauermeister’s farm, and a memorial is set for 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Basin City Fire Hall.

Bauermeister’s father said his son wanted people to have a party and remember the good times instead of grieving. His family said his favorite saying was, “Live your life so no one has to tell lies at your funeral.”

A memorial fund in Chet Bauermeister’s name has been established at the Bank of Whitman.

Families of Iron 44 helicopter crash victims reportedly settle suits

Bill GabbertJune 5, 2010August 25, 2019UncategorizedCarson, fatality, helicopter, Iron 44, Iron Complex, lodd

The Oregonian newspaper reports that seven of the families of the firefighters that were killed and three that were injured in the crash of the helicopter on the Iron 44 fire in 2008 have reached a tentative settlement in various lawsuits.

On August 5, 2008, a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter crashed as it was taking off from a helispot on the fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in northern California. Nine were killed, including a pilot, a check pilot, and seven contract firefighters with Grayback Forestry.

An attorney representing some of the families said a tentative agreement has been reached with Carson Helicopters, Columbia Helicopters, and the U.S. Forest Service, but the dollar amount is still being finalized. No agreement has yet been reached with Sikorsky, the manufacturer of the helicopter, or General Electric, which built the engines.

The Oregonian reports that the families of Roark Schwanenberg, the pilot who died, and Jim Ramage, a Forest Service check pilot, as well as surviving pilot William Coultas, did not reach settlements with any of the five defendants.

A contributing factor in the crash may have been the weight of the helicopter as it attempted to take off from the helispot with the ten firefighters, tools, two pilots, and one check pilot. In their report, the National Transportation Safety Board estimated that the actual empty weight of the helicopter was 13,845 pounds, while Carson Helicopters stated in their contract proposal that the weight was 12,013 pounds. For the purpose of load calculations on the day of the crash, the pilot assumed the weight to be 12,408 pounds, which was 1,437 pounds less than the actual weight estimated by the NTSB. In addition, the manifest for that fatal flight calculated that the payload was 2,355 pounds, while the NTSB report estimated that the actual payload was 3,005, a difference of 650 pounds. So the actual total weight of the loaded helicopter as it attempted to take off from the helispot may have been 2,087 pounds heavier than anyone at the fire realized, according to data in the report.

After the crash, the U.S. Forest Service weighed the 10 Carson helicopters that were under contract. They found that seven of them were heavier than Carson had stated in their contract proposals, by an average of 490 pounds. The USFS later canceled their contract with Carson.

In 2009 Carson obtained a contract to supply seven Sikorsky S-61 helicopters to haul supplies for the U. S. military in Afghanistan. The company is partnering with a subsidiary of Blackwater Worldwide, which recently changed their name to “Xe”.

Killed on the Iron 44 incident were pilot Roark Schwanenberg, check pilot Jim Ramage, Shawn Blazer, Scott Charlson, Matthew Hammer, Edrik Gomez, Bryan Rich, David Steele, and Steven “Caleb” Renno. Injured were William Coultas, Richard Schroeder Jr., Jonathan Frohreich, and Michael Brown.

The Wildland Firefighter Foundation has a tribute page online [HERE] and CALFIRE has one [HERE].

Station fire fatality report released

Bill GabbertMay 2, 2010August 25, 2019Uncategorizedfatality, lodd, Station Fire

The Los Angeles County Fire Department has released the Factual Report about the August 29, 2009 burnover of Camp 16 on the Station fire near Los Angeles. During that burnover, two firefighters were killed, Fire Captain Ted Hall, Superintendent 16, and Fire Fighter Specialist Arnie Quinones, Foreman Crew 16-3. Hall and Quinones were implementing a planned burnout below Camp 16 when their vehicle left the road. It was found 800 feet below the road with the two deceased firefighters inside.

The images are from the report; click on them to see larger versions. Below are the causal and contributing factors from the report.

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Causal and Contributing Factors

Causal Factors

Causal Factors are any behavior, omission, or deficiency that if corrected, eliminated, or avoided, probably would have prevented the incident.

1. The decision to protect Camp 16 and shelter in place and allow the firing operation was made at the Battalion Chief’s management level without contact with the Station IMT.

2. The lack of contact with the Station Incident prevented Camp 16 leadership from knowing about predicted fire behavior and available resources.

3. The firing operation on the Mt Gleason road was not successful due to the extreme fire behavior which exceeded the prediction of the plan.

Contributing Factors

Contributing Factors are any behavior, omission, or deficiency that sets the stage for an accident, or increases the severity of injuries.

1. The organizational culture allows firefighters to accept a notably higher risk to protect structures on wildland fires. A sense of ownership may have also influenced the decision to defend the facility.

2. The south winds aloft and prevailing up-canyon winds aligned with the topography of the North Fork of the Mill Creek drainage resulting in rapid fire progression toward Camp 16 and the firing team on the mid-slope road.

3. The fire burned in rugged terrain and the burnover occurred in the upper end of a steep drainage with fuel loads at seasonal low fuel moisture levels.

4. Resources assigned to Camp 16 were utilizing two different frequencies for tactical discussions and reports. Effective communication controls were not in effect prior to the incident.

5. There was no lookout dedicated to the firing operation.

6. The Station Fire IMT was either unaware of the threat to Camp 16 or understaffed to provide any assistance.

7. The ninety-year period of no fires in the vicinity of Camp 16 provided no historic baseline for reference.

Pilot dies in air tanker crash in Canada

Bill GabbertApril 24, 2010Uncategorizedair tanker, fatality, lodd

The Telegraph-Journal and other news outlets are reporting that a pilot died in the crash of an air tanker in New Brunswick, Canada. Here is an excerpt from the article.

Ron Clowes, a pilot from Grand Falls with Forest Protection Ltd., was conducting a practice flight in a water bomber when the plane crashed shortly after taking off from the airport, just before 2 p.m.

The engine of a downed Forest Protection Limited aircraft sits several metres away from the crash site near the Miramichi Airport on Friday. Pilot Ron Clowes, 62, died in the crash. Photo: KRIS MCDAVID/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

He was the only person in the plane, and no other injuries were reported.

The plane reportedly clipped the tops of some trees before crashing close to a building at Envirem Technologies, a peat moss facility near the airport.

The Miramichi police, fire department, and airport emergency crews quickly descended on the scene, which was littered with debris from the downed aircraft.

David Davies, managing director for Forest Protection Ltd., said in an interview Friday evening he had no information on what might have caused the plane to go down.

He said Clowe was an experienced pilot who had worked with the company for a decade putting out forest fires, and had 13,000-plus hours in the air.

“He was a very well-liked, well-respected person,” Davies said.

“The ground crew, the maintenance crew, everyone liked him.”

He said Clowes was flying a TBM Avenger aircraft, an American torpedo bomber first used in the Second World War, which the company had converted for forest fire service.

The company once held the largest civilian fleet of Avengers in the world, but has gradually sold them over the years, and now owns only three, Davies said.

Cpl. Todd Chadwick of the Miramichi police said in an interview late Friday that it will take time to determine the cause of the crash.

He said the Transportation Safety Board of Canada is scheduled to arrive this morning to begin their investigation, and that police will continue to secure the site until all the evidence has been gathered.

“It will be a lengthy investigation,” he said. “And of course, once (the evidence) is collected, they will need to analyze it before they can determine what happened.”

Forest Protection Ltd. is a joint government-industry company that conducts aerial fire protection, insect control and herbicide programs, with offices in both Fredericton and Miramichi.

Davies said everyone at the company is still reeling from the crash, and that Clowes’ family had been contacted.

“I spoke to a family member, a sister, and I think everybody now is in a state of shock,” he said.

“Our concern is for the family at this time. This has all been a very big shock for all of us.”

Davies said Clowes had battled countless fires during his years with the company and was a brave a pilot.

Our sincere condolences to the family and coworkers.

NIOSH releases report on the two Colorado volunteer firefighter fatalities in April, 2008

Bill GabbertApril 21, 2010Uncategorizedfatality

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has released their report on the fatalities of the two volunteer firefighters that died in Colorado in April, 2008 when, while responding to a fire, drove onto a bridge that had burned in the fire and had collapsed. Here is the report summary. The entire document is at cdc.gov.

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Volunteer Fire Chief and Fire Fighter Killed When a Wildland Engine Plummeted From a Fire-Damaged Wooden Bridge Into a Dry Creek Bed – Colorado

SUMMARY

On April 15, 2008, at approximately 1535 hours, a 30-year-old volunteer chief and a 38-year-old volunteer fire fighter died while driving their apparatus through thick black smoke onto a bridge that had collapsed from fire damage caused by a wildfire. They were responding as mutual aid to the wildfire in a neighboring community. Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include: excessive speed for reduced visibility/smoke conditions, lack of traffic control, lack of coordination between responding agencies and departments, and inadequate driver and multi-agency response training.

NIOSH investigators concluded that, to minimize the risk of similar occurrences, fire departments should:

ensure that fire fighters receive essential training on the emergencies that they will respond to and how to respond safely

Additionally, fire departments, municipalities, and authorities having jurisdiction should:

establish pre-incident plans regarding traffic control for emergency service incidents and pre-incident agreements with public safety agencies, traffic management organizations, and private sector responders
train on utilizing the national incident management system to effectively respond to and manage multi-agency incidents
be aware of programs that provide assistance in obtaining alternative funding, such as grant funding, to replace or purchase fire fighting equipment

Colorado bridge — The bridge, in 2004. Photo: Colorado Department of Transportation

Thanks Dick

Ohio man dies while burning brush pile

Bill GabbertApril 14, 2010August 25, 2019Uncategorizedfatality

A man in Darke County, Ohio died while attempting to burn a pile of brush on Tuesday, April 13. Investigators believe he was using an accelerant to ignite the pile and accidently set his clothing on fire. He fell into a nearby corn field, setting it on fire, eventually burning 20 acres.

A Sheriff’s department spokesman said they believe they know the identity of the man, but had not released it as of Wednesday morning.