NJFFSA16
05-31-2002, 05:00 AM
Recommendations, but will the punishment be be administered?
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Eleven U.S. Forest Service employees should
be disciplined for their actions during a wildfire in the Cascades
last summer that killed four firefighters, a multi-agency review
team recommended Thursday.
The proposed punishments range from firing to letters of
reprimand, according to the Forest Service.
It would not identify the employees or specify why they were
singled out.
But the investigating team said it found that fire and safety
briefings were inadequate, that firefighters disregarded basic
safety rules and warning signs, and that they had inadequate
preparation for deploying their fire shelters.
"I assumed they would do nothing," said Ken Weaver of Yakima,
whose son died in the blaze. "I'm delighted they're doing
something that seems like the appropriate action."
The Thirty Mile fire, started by an abandoned campfire, blew up
on July 10, going from 25 acres to 2,500 acres in less than three
hours. Fourteen Forest Service firefighters and two campers were
trapped by the inferno in a canyon in Washington state's Okanogan
National Forest.
Some of the firefighters set up their emergency shelters in a
rock field. Others deployed their tent-like foil shelters in a
road.
When the flames had passed, four firefighters - Tom Craven, 30,
Devin Weaver, 21, Jessica Johnson, 19, and Karen FitzPatrick, 18 -
were dead. Another firefighter was seriously burned.
Last year, the Forest Service concluded that fire bosses had
failed to follow basic safety rules, repeatedly underestimated the
fire's danger and allowed the firefighters' only escape route from
the dead-end canyon to be cut off.
A Forest Service review earlier this month resulted in nine
firefighters and commanders being reassigned from active fire duty.
"The Forest Service takes the safety of its employees and the
public seriously, and when rules aren't followed, we must redeem
our responsibility and take appropriate personnel actions," said
Harv Forsgren, the regional forester in Portland, Ore.
The multi-agency team that released its finding Thursday
included a Forest Service employee, a Bureau of Land Management
employee and a member of a private investigation team.
Sonny J. O'Neal, the supervisor for the Okanogan and Wenatchee
national forests, was in a daylong meeting Thursday and not
available for comment. Marti Ames, an agency spokeswoman in
Wenatchee, said she could not comment.
---
On the Net:
www.fs.fed.us/r6/reviewsummary.pdf
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Eleven U.S. Forest Service employees should
be disciplined for their actions during a wildfire in the Cascades
last summer that killed four firefighters, a multi-agency review
team recommended Thursday.
The proposed punishments range from firing to letters of
reprimand, according to the Forest Service.
It would not identify the employees or specify why they were
singled out.
But the investigating team said it found that fire and safety
briefings were inadequate, that firefighters disregarded basic
safety rules and warning signs, and that they had inadequate
preparation for deploying their fire shelters.
"I assumed they would do nothing," said Ken Weaver of Yakima,
whose son died in the blaze. "I'm delighted they're doing
something that seems like the appropriate action."
The Thirty Mile fire, started by an abandoned campfire, blew up
on July 10, going from 25 acres to 2,500 acres in less than three
hours. Fourteen Forest Service firefighters and two campers were
trapped by the inferno in a canyon in Washington state's Okanogan
National Forest.
Some of the firefighters set up their emergency shelters in a
rock field. Others deployed their tent-like foil shelters in a
road.
When the flames had passed, four firefighters - Tom Craven, 30,
Devin Weaver, 21, Jessica Johnson, 19, and Karen FitzPatrick, 18 -
were dead. Another firefighter was seriously burned.
Last year, the Forest Service concluded that fire bosses had
failed to follow basic safety rules, repeatedly underestimated the
fire's danger and allowed the firefighters' only escape route from
the dead-end canyon to be cut off.
A Forest Service review earlier this month resulted in nine
firefighters and commanders being reassigned from active fire duty.
"The Forest Service takes the safety of its employees and the
public seriously, and when rules aren't followed, we must redeem
our responsibility and take appropriate personnel actions," said
Harv Forsgren, the regional forester in Portland, Ore.
The multi-agency team that released its finding Thursday
included a Forest Service employee, a Bureau of Land Management
employee and a member of a private investigation team.
Sonny J. O'Neal, the supervisor for the Okanogan and Wenatchee
national forests, was in a daylong meeting Thursday and not
available for comment. Marti Ames, an agency spokeswoman in
Wenatchee, said she could not comment.
---
On the Net:
www.fs.fed.us/r6/reviewsummary.pdf