Firefighter Deaths

[PBishop]

Prayers to the families of the eight firefighters killed west of Vail, Oregon today. Head on collision with semi-truck. They were returning from the South Fork fire in Idaho, returning to Roseburg, Oregon. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.

[NJFFSA16]

On behalf of myself and the entire New Jersey Forest Fire Service, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the family and friends of these fine young firefighters. May God bless and comfort those who have been touched by this tragedy.

Ed Seifert
NJFFS16
New Jersey Forest Fire Service
Engine A16

[NJFFSA16]

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Firefighters battling blazes
across a wide swath of the Western United States were shaken by
the deaths of eight comrades in one of the worst highway
crashes in recent memory, officials said Monday.
Hundreds of people deployed across the arid, rugged region
were given the option of taking a day off to recover from the
shock by talking with counselors and reflecting on their roles
and safety in the hills and forests -- and on the way home.
"It makes everybody's heart sink. It's a real hard time for
wildland firefighters all across the country when they hear
about these tragedies," said Susan Emley, a fire information
officer working with several state and federal agencies.
Eight Oregon men headed home from fighting fires in Idaho
were killed Sunday when their van tried to pass a
tractor-trailer rig on a twisting, two-lane Oregon highway and
crashed head-on into another rig, bursting into flames.
The victims, ranging in age from 19 to 37, worked for a
private fire-fighting contractor, First Strike Environmental,
based in Roseburg, Oregon.
"I've seen some terrible (wrecks). I've never been to one
where we've had eight fatalities," Malheur County Under Sheriff
Brian Wolfe said. "It's always difficult any time you have any
fatality or even serious injury, and then you just multiply
that by eight times or even nine times or 10 times, because you
have to deal with the people that were injured as well."
The Sheriff's office said four of the men were from
Roseburg. They were: Ricardo Ruiz, 19; Jesse James, 22; Leland
Price, 27; and Jeff Hengel, 21.
The others included Paul Gibson, 25, and Mark Ransdell, 23,
both of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, and David Hammer, 38, and Richard
Moore, 21, both of Portland.

CLOSE GROUP
First Strike, which provides services ranging from drug lab
decontamination to underground storage tank removal, also
offered counseling to its employees.
"These were all fine young men who had worked together for
two years. They were closer than most and the hole they leave
is enormous," First Strike President Robert Krueger said in a
prepared statement.
Contractors supply a large portion of the crews fighting
wildfires, Emley said, and safety training is a key part of
preparation for all crew members.
But fatalities occur nearly every year, ranging from front
line "microbursts" of flames, to air tanker crashes and roadway
accidents.
Last year five firefighters who worked out of La Grande,
Oregon, were killed when the van they were driving in rolled
over in Colorado, on the road to the front lines of a
wildfire.
"Firefighting is inherently dangerous. Everybody goes
through a ton or training to be as safe as we can," Emley
said.
Some 18,736 people were fighting fires in the West covering
a total of 434,000 acres stretching from
Alaska to Texas. Another 110,000 acres were
being allowed to burn under forest management programs.
Across the border in Canada's British Columbia, fires have
destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to
flee the approaching flames.
REUTERS