By Bill Carey
9 August 2023
Wildfires currently have our attention especially with the helicopter crash in Cabazon, California and the evacuations from Lahaina, Maui as a wildfire burns through the resort area. Wildfire seasons are no more. There are now wildfire years due to the climate, urban interface and other contributing factors.
Line-of-duty deaths related to wildfires this year are quite low when compared to previous years and to date there have been no firefighter fatalities due to a burnover. The United States Fire Administration (USFA) reports that in 2020 there were a total of 13 firefighter fatalities related to wildland firefighting. The lowest number in 10 years was seven in 2019. As with all USFA report numbers, or lump sum data, these numbers may not be correct.
USFA reports for 2022 and 2021 are still unpublished.
Seven wildfire fatalities are listed as of 6 August 2023. With the exception of three killed in the helicopter crash this month, the remaining four are listed under the activity type “Advancing Hoselines.” It is important to remember that nearly every wildland firefighting task is listed as Advancing Hoselines.
(cause of death | nature of death | activity type)
Forest Technician Rocky S. Wood, Va.
ATV rollover while scouting an area to create a containment line.
Vehicle Collision | Trauma | Advancing Hoseline
Service Forester Cody J. Mullens, W.Va.
Struck by a falling tree
Struck By | Trauma | Advancing Hoseline
Deputy Chief Chester Taylor Lauck, Va.
Heart attack after operating an ATV, manning a hoseline, working on a fire break.
Stress/Overexertion | Heart Attack | Advancing Hoselines
Wildland Firefighter Shaun Luke Daniel, Ga.
Heart attack while walking a fire break
Stress/Overexertion | Heart Attack | Advancing Hoselines
Assistant Chief Josh Bischof
Captain Timothy “Tim” Rodriguez
Contract Pilot Tony Sousa, Calif.
Vehicle Collision | Trauma | Riding Vehicle/Driving Vehicle
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The number of on-duty deaths for 2023 currently is 49.
Go here to read the number of interior line of duty deaths for 2023.
Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.
For more information about on-duty deaths as recorded by the United States Fire Administration go to “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.”
Photograph courtesy of Taya Gray/The Desert Sun/Associated Press.
Data Not Drama 