NJFFSA16
01-14-2004, 08:15 AM
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The deaths of two men killed while battling
the Cramer fire last summer were partly caused by poor oversight
and significant safety lapses, a report by the U.S. Forest Service
shows.
Crew members were not warned of the area's potential for extreme
fire danger, they were confused about the availability of
helicopters and other firefighting resources and they were working
under inadequate leadership, the investigators said in the report
released Monday.
Jeff Allen, 24, and Shane Heath, 22, were both killed July 22,
2003 when they were overtaken by fire while cutting a helicopter
landing area in the Salmon-Challis National Forest.
Allen's family was relieved to receive the report, said family
spokesman Fred Snook, Jeff's uncle.
"It confirms what the family believed all along," he said.
"Shane and Jeff did nothing wrong, they just simply followed
instructions. The basic synopsis is that errors were made by
service personnel, and they did contribute to the accident."
"It's a big step the Forest Service admitted fault," Snook
said.
Father Bill Allen worked for the forest service in Indianola on
the Salmon River, where his son's crew was stationed.
Forest Service officials said the report, which was redacted to
remove names and other identifying information about crew members,
had agency-wide ramifications.
"I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of
Jeff Allen and Shane Heath," Intermountain Regional Forester Jack
Troyer said. "I am committed to leading the region in doing our
best to provide for firefighter safety. The Intermountain Region,
along with the rest of the Forest Service, will initiate the
changes identified in the accident prevention plan."
The investigators uncovered 44 findings, nine casual factors and
three contributing factors related to the deaths, according to the
report.
Some of the findings took aim at the Salmon-Challis National
Forest's firefighting plan. The team working the Cramer fire used
suppression tactics that are considered dangerous for the area
despite the extreme burning conditions, investigators found.
Additionally, the investigators said, the overall performance of
the Salmon-Challis National Forest's fire organization had become
"a source of increasing concern" before the deaths but limited
action was taken to address the problems.
Though there was good attention to safety in the early stages of
the fire, investigators cited significant safety lapses before the
men's deaths. For instance, the men were building the helicopter
landing area on a ridge they had rappelled to just above the fire,
where their visibility of the slopes - and the fire advancing
toward them - was obscured by the topography and vegetation.
No one else on the crew was watching for fire for the two men,
and no one was assigned to keep them informed about weather and
fire changes, the report claims. What weather information the crew
had received the morning of the deaths did not represent the site
where they were working, officials said.
On July 22, the fire behaved as it had the previous days - calm
in the morning and severe in the afternoon, the investigators said.
But though some crew members were aware that the conditions were
extreme, others did not expect the severe fire behavior, officials
said.
Heath and Allen, who had been dropped off by the helicopter
about 9:45 that morning, were contacted by crew members several
times to see how close they were to finishing the landing area.
By 3 p.m. that day, a crew member noticed the fire was spreading
and burning more intensely than he expected, but he thought the two
men were not at risk because of the light fuels and rocky areas in
the Cache Bar drainage, the investigators said.
Just five minutes later, the two rappellers radioed to the rest
of the crew, asking them to send a helicopter "in a hurry." At
3:09 p.m. they called again, telling crew members they needed the
helicopter immediately.
"Oh, God. We just got fire down below us," the men reportedly
told the radio dispatcher during the next few minutes. "The
smoke's coming right at us. Just make them hurry up."
The rappellers and radio operator spoke again at least four
times before their last contact at 3:24 p.m., according to the
report. Heath and Allen died just moments later, when flames
reaching up to 100 feet burned through the area. Neither one
deployed fire shelters designed to protect them from the flames.
It wasn't until 3:20 p.m. that a helicopter pilot reported he
was on his way to retrieve the men. The helicopter could not land
because of smoke.
A misconduct investigation is underway, said Troyer, and any
disciplinary actions will be taken before the next fire season.
Meanwhile, the agency is implementing a five-step plan to
prevent future fatalities, said Forest Service Associate Chief
Sally Collins.
Under the plan, the agency's decision-making and leadership
training programs will be reviewed and updated as needed. Certain
leadership positions will require certification and regular
testing, and staffing and structure of the Salmon-Challis National
Forest firefighting organization will be assessed to make sure the
organization is effective.
Finally, the agency will review the safety plan developed after
the Thirtymile fire in Washington claimed four lives in 2001.
Those four firefighters died in their emergency fire shelters
when they were trapped by an inferno with 10 other firefighters and
two campers in the Chewuch River canyon in the Okanogan National
Forest.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
the Cramer fire last summer were partly caused by poor oversight
and significant safety lapses, a report by the U.S. Forest Service
shows.
Crew members were not warned of the area's potential for extreme
fire danger, they were confused about the availability of
helicopters and other firefighting resources and they were working
under inadequate leadership, the investigators said in the report
released Monday.
Jeff Allen, 24, and Shane Heath, 22, were both killed July 22,
2003 when they were overtaken by fire while cutting a helicopter
landing area in the Salmon-Challis National Forest.
Allen's family was relieved to receive the report, said family
spokesman Fred Snook, Jeff's uncle.
"It confirms what the family believed all along," he said.
"Shane and Jeff did nothing wrong, they just simply followed
instructions. The basic synopsis is that errors were made by
service personnel, and they did contribute to the accident."
"It's a big step the Forest Service admitted fault," Snook
said.
Father Bill Allen worked for the forest service in Indianola on
the Salmon River, where his son's crew was stationed.
Forest Service officials said the report, which was redacted to
remove names and other identifying information about crew members,
had agency-wide ramifications.
"I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of
Jeff Allen and Shane Heath," Intermountain Regional Forester Jack
Troyer said. "I am committed to leading the region in doing our
best to provide for firefighter safety. The Intermountain Region,
along with the rest of the Forest Service, will initiate the
changes identified in the accident prevention plan."
The investigators uncovered 44 findings, nine casual factors and
three contributing factors related to the deaths, according to the
report.
Some of the findings took aim at the Salmon-Challis National
Forest's firefighting plan. The team working the Cramer fire used
suppression tactics that are considered dangerous for the area
despite the extreme burning conditions, investigators found.
Additionally, the investigators said, the overall performance of
the Salmon-Challis National Forest's fire organization had become
"a source of increasing concern" before the deaths but limited
action was taken to address the problems.
Though there was good attention to safety in the early stages of
the fire, investigators cited significant safety lapses before the
men's deaths. For instance, the men were building the helicopter
landing area on a ridge they had rappelled to just above the fire,
where their visibility of the slopes - and the fire advancing
toward them - was obscured by the topography and vegetation.
No one else on the crew was watching for fire for the two men,
and no one was assigned to keep them informed about weather and
fire changes, the report claims. What weather information the crew
had received the morning of the deaths did not represent the site
where they were working, officials said.
On July 22, the fire behaved as it had the previous days - calm
in the morning and severe in the afternoon, the investigators said.
But though some crew members were aware that the conditions were
extreme, others did not expect the severe fire behavior, officials
said.
Heath and Allen, who had been dropped off by the helicopter
about 9:45 that morning, were contacted by crew members several
times to see how close they were to finishing the landing area.
By 3 p.m. that day, a crew member noticed the fire was spreading
and burning more intensely than he expected, but he thought the two
men were not at risk because of the light fuels and rocky areas in
the Cache Bar drainage, the investigators said.
Just five minutes later, the two rappellers radioed to the rest
of the crew, asking them to send a helicopter "in a hurry." At
3:09 p.m. they called again, telling crew members they needed the
helicopter immediately.
"Oh, God. We just got fire down below us," the men reportedly
told the radio dispatcher during the next few minutes. "The
smoke's coming right at us. Just make them hurry up."
The rappellers and radio operator spoke again at least four
times before their last contact at 3:24 p.m., according to the
report. Heath and Allen died just moments later, when flames
reaching up to 100 feet burned through the area. Neither one
deployed fire shelters designed to protect them from the flames.
It wasn't until 3:20 p.m. that a helicopter pilot reported he
was on his way to retrieve the men. The helicopter could not land
because of smoke.
A misconduct investigation is underway, said Troyer, and any
disciplinary actions will be taken before the next fire season.
Meanwhile, the agency is implementing a five-step plan to
prevent future fatalities, said Forest Service Associate Chief
Sally Collins.
Under the plan, the agency's decision-making and leadership
training programs will be reviewed and updated as needed. Certain
leadership positions will require certification and regular
testing, and staffing and structure of the Salmon-Challis National
Forest firefighting organization will be assessed to make sure the
organization is effective.
Finally, the agency will review the safety plan developed after
the Thirtymile fire in Washington claimed four lives in 2001.
Those four firefighters died in their emergency fire shelters
when they were trapped by an inferno with 10 other firefighters and
two campers in the Chewuch River canyon in the Okanogan National
Forest.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)