Too Many Fire Fight Rookies?

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

July 11, 2001 / 12:16 PM EDT / CBS

In northern Washington state, where four firefighters died, investigators search for clues among the ashes. With horrifying speed the rocky canyon filled with smoke and flame so intense the air became too hot to breathe.

"We do have some temperatures that exceeded 1,000 degrees," said Jim Furnish of the U.S. Forest Service.

There's growing concern that it's not just the fire that's to blame but the decision to send young and inexperienced firefighters, reports CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone. Three of the four who died were barely out of training: Karen Fitzpatrick was 18, Jessica Johnson 19 and Devin Weaver 21.

"I sent my son up there and they killed him. I don't care if the fire is actually the cause of death, I don't care what you put as the cause of death, he was killed by whoever was managing that risk," said Devin's father Ken Weaver.

There were 21 firefighters in Weaver's crew, eight of them reported to be on their first big fire. Experienced firefighters say that's too many rookies together.

A five-member squad should not have more than one rookie on it, said Billy Terry, branch chief for fire training at the U.S. Forest Service.

Officials have noted for more than a year that a tight labor market has hampered efforts to recruit, train and retain seasonal firefighters in the nation's forests.

The wildfire began as a relatively small 10-acre fire on Tuesday, but then rising temperatures and winds quickly spread the flames. The wind-driven firestorm exploded out of control and overran the firefighters. The fire now covers 9,000 acres.

Deadly Wildfires

The deadliest single U.S. wildfires in the past 70 years, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho:

17 people die when they are overrun by fire near Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., 1937.

15 die when wind suddenly changes fire direction in Mendocino National Forest, Calif., 1953.

14 die on Storm King Mountain outside Glenwood Springs, Colo., 1994.

13 die in Mann Gulch, near Helena, Mont., 1949.

12 die in Angeles National Forest, near Arcadia, Calif., 1966.

11 die in Cleveland National Forest, near San Diego, 1956.

Eight die in Angeles National Forest, near Arcadia, Calif., 1968.

Seven die in Los Padres National Forest, Calif., 1972.

Six die in Tonto National Forest, Ariz., 1990.

Five die in four separate fires (19551959, 1970, 1974).

Four die in nine separate fires (1950-2001); includes four killed Tuesday evening near Winthrop, Wash.

(AP)

It's the worst loss of firefighter lives since 14 died in the Storm King, Colo. inferno in 1994, reports CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes. Like that fire, in this latest tragedy, trapped firefighters scrambled to save themselves with their fire shelters — cloth lined on the inside the outside is supposed to deflect the heat and poison gas.

The firefighters' emergency fire shelters, which take about 45 seconds to deploy, have been standard issue for the Forest Service since 1970 and are credited with saving at least 250 lives.

But since 1999, federal researchers have warned firefighters these shelters can become a firetrap. They discovered the glue in the shelter material breaks down when hit by direct flames. Putting the person inside at risk of death.

"We hope they can buy us some time by designing a shelter that can accept more heat, and last a little longer under those condition," said Los Angeles County fire inspector Ed Martinez.

A Forest Service spokesman says the bodies of the fallen firefighters have been removed from the scene.

"All of the firefighters were in a dire situation," said forest supervisor Sonny J. O'Neal. "The fire blew up as firefighters were trying to evacuate ... all of them were in serious threat of losing their lives."

As the flames roared toward them from a steep, rocky draw, the firefighters scrambled for the trucks. Those who couldn't make it grabbed their emergency shelters. One firefighter pulled two civilians into her one-person shelter, saving their lives.

Click here to learn more about wildfires.

"The winds came up and it sort of exploded. Some folks were trapped. A number of folks employed emergency fire shelters," said Forest Service spokesman Rex Holloway. Other firefighters survived by jumping in a nearby creek.

The U.S. Forest Service said a campfire is suspected as the cause of the blaze.

At a news conference near the site, Forest Service Fire Management Officer Pete Soderquist defended the agency's handling of the blaze.

"Thirteen lives were saved because of the actions that they took. That included some heroic efforts by some of the people on that crew who took in additional folks who did not have shelters," Soderquist said, his voice quaking. "We're very sorry that people died, but a lot of people made it."

Low humidity and dry underbrush made conditions in steep, heavily forested terrain especially dangerous, Kelly said. She said the crews thought they had the situation well in hand until the wind picked up and the fire began spreading fast.

"It's a very intense fire due to the dryness of the weather ad the fuels," Kelly said. "It's so dry it's going very quickly. We're getting weather and fuel conditions that we normally get in August."

The wildfire was one of at least three burning on the eastern side of the Cascade Range. Another wildfire near Grand Coulee Dam, about 100 miles southeast of Winthrop, grew overnight from 70 acres to 2,400 acres, said Dale Warner, fire information officer. A third fire, burning about 20 miles south of Winthrop, grew to 1,200 acres Tuesday night.

Last year was the worst U.S. wildfire season in 50 years, and a scorching hot summer and a devastating drought in the U.S. Northwest this year could lead to even greater damage, fire officials have said.