Falling trees, rolling rocks among top 5 for deaths in wildland firefighting
Falling trees, rolling rocks among top 5 for deaths in wildland firefighting
17 August 2018
Published by https://kutv.com/
USA – (KUTV) — According to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group or NWCG, 170 firefighters died between 2007 and 2016.
The leading cause – heart attacks. Also a danger over that time – falling trees or rocks, which killed 12 firefighters.
It was a falling tree that killed Battalion Chief Matt Burchett. In firefighting circles, one of the terms they are known as is “widow makers.”
“There’s definitely a lot of inherent dangers,” said Matthew McFarland with Unified Fire Authority.
It’s a high-risk job, leaving their families for sometimes months at a time.
“We don’t sit around and think about the mortality of the career choice, or the specific dangers even though its discussed day in and day out,” said McFarland.
Earlier in the week, a tree fell on Draper Battalion Chief Matt Burchett, killing him. He was fighting the Mendocino wildfire in Northern California. Chief Burchett was with Unified Fire Authority for two decades.
McFarland with UFA was also a wildland firefighter who served with him.
“Every environment, every different region has its own hazards, trees are always high on the list,” said McFarland.
McFarland said trees are hazardous in more ways than one.
“That bottom area [of the tree] if bark is compromised that is going to be more susceptible to burning out in an irregular pattern, hallowing out,” McFarland said. “The entire integrity of the tree is going to be compromised.”
The pressure from water drops also jar lose hazards for ground crews.
“A widow maker is a tree that has entirely died or is a dead standing tree, could have broken pieces up top,” said McFarland.
McFarland said sometimes no matter how much training and safety messages they go through, accidents happen, this time hitting close to home.
“I don’t know many, if any, individuals that were more highly trained and more competent and more vigilant then Chief Burchett,” McFarland said. “So, it’s thought provoking to think that it happened to the best person that I know.”
The other leading causes of deaths for wildland firefighters are vehicle accidents, aircraft accidents and entrapments.
