Ohio firefighter killed in UTV accident on prescribed burn

Selinde Roosenburg, ODNR photo
Selinde Roosenburg, ODNR photo, ODNR photo.

A firefighter in Ohio was killed as a result of an accident on a Utility Task Vehicle (UTV).

Selinde Roosenburg, an employee with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, was working on a prescribed burn at Richland Furnace State Forest when the accident occurred, and died March 23, 2021.

She was a student at Ohio State University and had been granted acceptance into the Fire Science program at Idaho State University. She had dreams of pursuing a career in wildland fire and forestry and was looking forward to pursuing her passion and bringing her knowledge back to southeast Ohio. Selinde’s desire and eagerness to learn about prescribed fire’s role in forest conservation was evident  while working for the Division of Forestry.

Selinde’s obituary:

Selinde Downey Roosenburg, age 20, passed away as a result of injuries sustained as a passenger in a UTV rollover. She was working on a prescribed fire at the Richland Furnace State Forest. We may be comforted to know that she died doing what she loved; and that she surely wore a beaming, tired smile in the moments before the accident. Her last gift to this world was to give life through the donation of her organs. Our sparkling, vibrant daughter, sister, cousin and partner would have wanted this tragedy to bring life and joy to others.

Lindy was born in Lancaster, Ohio on 10 April 2000, but grew up a barefoot explorer in the woods outside Amesville. From birth, she was a spirited child who confronted the world on her own terms. She attended West Elementary, Athens Middle School, and Athens High School and was a member of the Athens Marching Green and Gold and the Athens Swim Team.

Selinde settled on Forestry after two years at Ohio State University, but when learning changed she decided to experience life rather than merely imagining it from the classroom. In the fall Selinde attended an All-Women Wildland Firefighting Course in Washington State. Working at Zaleski State Forest reinforced her decision to become a Wildland Fire Fighter and Forester. She had been accepted into the best Fire Science program in the country, with a generous scholarship, to finish her training at University of Idaho. Lindy was looking forward to learning all she could about fire and bringing her knowledge back to the woods of SE Ohio.

Lindy was beautiful without knowing it, strong-willed yet vulnerable, bursting with energy and enthusiasm, but also quiet and introspective. She was a fiercely loyal and loving young woman, with a humor so quick and dry that the unsuspecting only caught the pun or barb if they saw the twinkle in her eye. She lived her life with an inspiring liberation, like wearing white shrimper boots on OSU campus in defiance of the standard attire. She rejected pretension and would not tolerate drama. For her, the days were for experiencing life to the fullest, making other people laugh, and becoming a hero to her community.

Lindy loved animals of all shapes and sizes, filling our lives with rabbits, ducks, dead bluebirds, and wiggling snakes, while spoiling the family dogs at every opportunity. She played guitar, fiddle, and trumpet; but mostly she sang, announcing her presence before she arrived and gracing quiet moments with her joyful voice.

Selinde is survived by her parents Willem Roosenburg and Kate Kelley, brother Dirk Roosenburg, grandmother Carol Kelley (Bryn Mawr PA), aunts (Alex Woodard, London England; Eleanne Roosenburg, Acton MA), uncles (Brendan Kelley, Seattle WA; Ian Kelley, San Diego, CA), cousins (Esme and Phoebe Wessel, Asheville NC; Jordan Kelley, Ocean City NJ), her partner Kees Van Dijk (Lancaster OH), and many, many dear friends.

Learn more about Selinde at, https://www.forevermissed.com/lindyofthewildlands/lifestory

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Cary and Matt.

Wildfire briefing, November 5, 2015

Deceased man found in vegetation fire

Firefighters found the body of a 90-year-old man in a brushfire on November 3 near Bainbridge, Ohio. Preliminary indications are that Melvin B. Elliott was raking leaves during the early stages of the fire, but the cause of death has not been determined.

California city bans drones during emergencies

The city council of Poway, California passed a new ordinance this week that prohibits launching, operating or landing drones in any part of the city where an emergency has been declared. The objective is to eliminate conflicts between unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters or fixed wing aircraft responding to the incident. Several times this year hobby drones flown near wildfires have required firefighting helicopters and air tankers to be grounded for safety reasons.

Efforts to wrest control of federal lands can’t be ignored

The movement to grab federal lands, such as national forests, BLM land, and national parks, and turn it over to states or private landowners can’t be ignored. The efforts are real and are not going away. At least 37 land transfer bills have been introduced in state legislatures with six of them passing; another four have been finalized as “study” legislation.

Below is an excerpt from an article in Wyofile written by Angus M. Thuermer Jr., in which the view is expressed that one of the tactics is to starve federal agencies by reducing their funding, then accuse them of mismanagement, and arguing that states, individuals, or large companies would be better land managers.

[The views of Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership] illuminate the seriousness with which some in the conservation community are now viewing the renewed Sagebrush Rebellion. The movement is supported by a strategy that’s decades old — starving land management agencies — transfer critics say. Launched under the guise of deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility, budget cutting is also a cynical ploy to sow dissatisfaction of federal western land management at the grassroots level, Fosburgh contends.

Wildland firefighter LODDs, 2010

At Wildfire Today we try to keep track of the line of duty deaths (LODD) of firefighters working on wildland fires. The past year, 2010, again produced a lengthy list of firefighters who passed away while doing their job. We make no claim that it is a complete or official tally. If you are aware of any that we missed, let us know. Some of the dates are approximate and may be the date of the report of the fatality. The last three incidents are gray areas, in that the victims were not all firefighters, or were not necessarily actively involved in fire suppression at the time of the incident. They were included because they were very significant incidents.

At the end of the list is a report from the U.S. Fire Administration providing their statistics on the number of LODDs for 2010.

January 11. Australia. A firefighter was killed and four others were injured when their fire truck rolled over while they were responding to a grass fire at Lake Mokoan near Benalla in northeast Victoria, Australia. (map)

April 11. Kansas.  A firefighter was overcome by smoke and died while working on a fire west of Peru.

April 24. New Brunswick, Canada. 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.

June 23. Washington. The chief of the Franklin Fire District 4 in Basin City, Washington, was killed when a 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.

July 30. Russia. Wildfires in Russia killed at least 25 people including 2 firefighters, and destroyed over 1,000 homes. Some reports say three firefighters died in the fires.

July 31. Canada. An air tanker crashed while working on a fire in British Columbia. The Convair 580, operated by Conair, went down in central B.C. The two pilots were killed.

August 2. Arkansas. A firefighter was operating an Arkansas Forestry Commission 2002 International tractor trailer, and was en route to check on the status of an earlier fire. The tractor trailer load reportedly shifted causing the vehicle to cross the roadway center line, go into a ditch and then overturn.

August 11. Portugal. Civil protection officials said a female firefighter died, one fireman was badly burned and their team had to be evacuated when they found themselves surrounded by flames after a sudden change in the direction of the wind in Gondomar region. On Monday, a fireman was killed and another seriously injured when their truck fell into a burning ravine in the mountainous Sao Pedro do Sul area.

August 13. Spain. Two firefighters were been killed in wildfires. The blazes hit near the village of Fornelos de Montes in the country’s northwestern Galicia region, close to the border with Portugal, where several forest fires are still raging.

September 21. Spain. A 46-year old firefighter died while extinguishing a wildfire in Senes.

September 24. Ohio. A firefighter was killed when a pressurized tank failed and he was struck by debris.

September 24. Virginia. A firefighter collapsed and later died while working on a fire in New Church, Virginia off Route 13.

November 16. South Carolina. A firefighter was suppressing a grass fire in the median of Interstate 20 when a van rear-ended a sedan as they approached the fire scene. The sedan was pushed into two parked fire trucks causing them to crash into a firefighter, causing his death.

November 23. California. One inmate was killed and 12 were injured when their crew carrier vehicle was involved in a head-on accident. Three of the injured were in critical condition. The elderly driver of the other vehicle was also killed. As far as we know the inmate crew was not assigned to a fire at the time of the crash.

December 5. China. A massive wildfire in Tibet’s Sichuan province killed 22 people, including Chinese soldiers during a rescue operation. Of the 22 killed, 15 were soldiers, two were workers with the grassland administration, and five others were local civilians.

December 6. Israel. At least one of the 43 government employees that were killed in the Carmel Mountain fire in Israel was a police officer. The Police Chief in Haifa (Israel) died in the Line of Duty from her burn injuries after 4 days of hospitalization. She was the first ever woman police chief there, and was gravely injured in the Carmel forest fire, while driving along with the bus full of Prison Service cadets that burned and killed the cadets as well.

Below is the The U.S. Fire Administration’s report of the on-duty firefighter fatalities in 2010. Click on FullScreen to see a larger version.

Continue reading “Wildland firefighter LODDs, 2010”

Wayne National Forest Coal Refuse Fire

I have seen coal seam fires in Alaska that were started by lightning, but until today I had never heard of a “coal refuse fire”. Apparently they are pretty common in southeast Ohio where the Wayne National Forest has been dealing with this mostly underground, one-acre “Coal Dale” fire since October 29. Now they are saying it is out.

According to the Logan Daily News:

“Using heavy equipment, D.J. Group, Inc. from Beverly spread the burning coal debris out onto a previously stripped mined area where it was extinguished. Once the material cooled, the entire area was graded to its original condition. This spring the area will be reseeded and planted with trees native to the area.”