The tragic death of the 19 Arizona
wildfire specialists on Sunday underscores the oft-time dangers and
difficulties their profession encounters.
Even Ohio wildfire/forest fire fighters
have died in efforts to subdue what some Plains Indian tribes called
“the Red Buffalo.”
In fact, statistics provided by the
Ohio Department of Natural Resources and compiled by the federal
government, shows that from at least 1910, some 1,043 volunteer and
professional firefighters have died battling wildfire/forest fire
blazes.
This figures also does not include the 19 persons killed
Sunday battling the Yarnell, Arizona wildfire.
However, the 1,043 figures does include
seven such wildfire-related fatalities in Ohio. Among this second
figure were two separate deaths occurring in 2010; both representing
the latest such incidents in the state.
Far and away the state experiencing the
highest number of firefighter deaths related to battling
wildfire/forest fires is California. In that state since 1928 a total
of 327 fatalities involving people fighting wild fires has been
documented.
This figure includes 33 persons killed
in one 1933 incident, the documentation notes.
The greatest number of firefighters to
die while handling a wildfire was the 78 persons killed in Cor d'
Alene, Idaho in 1910.
Tragically the 19 deaths on Sunday
represented only the ninth time since statistics have been kept and
are available when fatalities numbered 10 or more in a single
wildfire/forest fire incident.
On Sunday, 19 members of the
Arizona-based 20-member Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed as they
battled a wildfire in Yarnell, Ariz. The blaze was sparked by
lightening and the crew was caught when the fire rapidly changed
direction.
An initial on-site investigation
revealed that while some of the 19 members managed to deploy their
fire-resistant shelters – described as a last-ditch life-saving
tool – the remains of other members were found outside of their
specially fabricated safety bags.
Such a scenario has led investigators
to speculate on how quickly the fire overcame and killed the crew.
Only Granite Mountain Hotshot member
Brendan McDonough, 21, survived, and this owing to the fact he was
assigned the job of lookout and communicator.
Ohio Division of Forestry forester
Aaron Kloss annually performs drills with these fire shelters,
practicing to deploy them and get sealed up as quickly as possible,
saying the devices do work.
The 10-year-Forestry Division
specialist also says the one-time-use-only shelters work best with
radiant-type heat, reflecting up to 90 percent of this form of heat.
However, the shelters are much less
effective against direct heat: Flame and hot gases, Kloss says.
“The shelters are engineered and made
to provide as much protection as possible,” Kloss says.
That such a tragedy could happen
reverberates throughout the forestry community and those persons
designated to fight blazes.
Which helps explain why Ohio's forestry
division has since the 1980s sent crews and equipment out West on
two-week rotational shifts to battle wildfire and forest fires.
Kloss himself has gone out on
fire-fighting missions in all but one of the 10 years he's been with
the Forestry division along with each of the three years he worked
for the U.S. Forest Service.
Presently Ohio's forestry division has
one employee assisting wildfire-fighting iniatives in Colorado in a
logistical capacity.
“At this time our thoughts are with
the families and friends of the 19 brave firefighters who lost their
lives battling the Arizona wildfire,” said Natural Resources
Department spokesman Matt Eiselstein on behalf of the entire agency.
“This tragedy will hopefully serve as a reminder to everyone of the
dangers these brave men and women face protecting all of us.”
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
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