Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Re: [californiadisasters] Inmate Firefighter Fatality - Gorman Area

We should probably explain this situation for our newer members or those who
don't know all about CA firefighting.

We utilize "hand crews" to fight vegetation fires. These are crews of about
a dozen members whose work together as kind of the "mud Marines", digging
firelines, cutting "snags" (trees or branches that are paths of fire
spread), and other such "manual labor".

The US Forest Service has such crews which are made up of seasonal
employees; other agencies also have employee crews. Los Angeles County FD
has crews composed of low-security criminals. These crews are housed in a
number of "camps" which are in remote places. (One such camp was overrun in
the Station Fire, and was the location of the two firefighter deaths.) Use
of inmates provides both low-cost labor and an opportunity for the inmates
to do good and see there are other ways to go in life.

Crews travel in specialized "buses" (jargon=crew buggies) which because of
the terrain they must travel in are necessarily trucks with high clearance
with a box on the back to carry the crew. (The "inmate" crews also require a
bit of security; their buses are pretty difficult to escape, at least while
traveling.) Crews also have a firefighter (I don't know the rank) as
Foreman, who drives the buggy.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kim Noyes" <kimnoyes@gmail.com>
To: <californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 12:38 AM
Subject: Re: [californiadisasters] Inmate Firefighter Fatality - Gorman Area


> This was a crew out of Camp 14 in Santa Clarita which was hit by an SUV
> which veered into the crew bus' path.
>
> One inmate was killed as well as the elderly driver of the errant SUV.
> Several inmates were critically-injured.
>
>
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/vehicle-apparently-veered-into
-oncoming-traffic-before-hitting-fire-truck-in-deadly-crash-investigat.html

>
>
>
> On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 10:12 PM, ~~ Gretchen ~~
<Gretchen316@yahoo.com>wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > That's awful! How are the rest doing?
> >
> > G
> >
> >
> > On Tue Nov 23rd, 2010 8:41 PM EST Kim Noyes wrote:
> >
> > >I have been following this since it broke earlier today but have held
off
> > >until more information was disseminated and the story was officially in
> > the
> > >news.
> > >
> > >An LACo.FD crew buggy head-on-ed with a passenger car near Gorman today
> > >killing one inmate firefighter aboard the fire apparatus and one person
in
> > >the passener car.
> > >
> > >There were a number of injuries including critical injuries.
> > >
> > >Read more here:
> > >
> >
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2010/11/23/2-dead-8-injured-in-collision-betw
een-fire-truck-and-passenger-vehicle/

> >
> >
> >
> >
>

------------------------------------

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