Print Page - Official: 19 firefighters dead in Arizona Yarnell Hill fire

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57591707/18-firefighters-died-battling-arizona-wildfire/

CBS/AP/ June 30, 2013, 10:52 PM

18 firefighters killed battling Arizona wildfire

YARNELL, Ariz. At least 18 firefighters were killed while battling the Yarnell Hill Fire in a central Arizona community, Prescott Fire Department officials confirmed.

CBS News affiliate KPHO reports that earlier Sunday, 19 firefighters battling a blaze in Yavapai County had not been heard from. Around 6 p.m. local time, authorities said they were unable to establish communications with them, although they had been seen from a helicopter.

The fast-moving fire had prompted evacuations of 50 homes in the Buckhorn, Model Creek and Double A Bar Ranch areas about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix.

In the afternoon, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office expanded the evacuations to include residents in the Peeples Valley area and in the town of Yarnell.

The wildfire also forced the closure of parts of state Route 89, the Arizona Department of Transportation announced. The department did not have an estimate of how long the closure would last but advised drivers to use U.S. 93 or Interstate 17 as alternate routes.

The Red Cross has opened a shelter at Yavapai College in Prescott, the sheriff's office said.

The Yarnell Hill Fire now covers over 1,000 acres, officials confirmed

The fire started Friday but picked up momentum Sunday as the area experienced high temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions.

About two hundred firefighters are now working at the fire, but an additional 130 firefighters and more water- and retardant-dropping helicopters and aircraft are on their way.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-arizona-firefighters-killed-20130630,0,7589629.story
Nineteen firefighters killed battling Arizona blaze
July 1, 2013

Nineteen firefighters were killed on Sunday battling a fast-moving wildfire in central Arizona that forced the evacuation of two small towns, fire officials said.
The firefighters perished in the so-called Yarnell Hill Fire, near the small town of Yarnell about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, the U.S. Wildland Fire Aviation service said in a Facebook post.

"It has been confirmed that 19 wildland firefighters have lost their lives on the Yarnell Hill fire Arizona," the post said, adding that the agency was asking "for prayers for the families and friends of these brave men and women."

The toll marks the worst firefighter loss of life since 1933, when a blaze in L.A.'s Griffith Park killed at least 25.

Art Morrison of the Arizona State Forestry Commission told CNN the firefighters, members of an elite "hot shot" team, lost their lives Sunday afternoon when they were overtaken by swiftly moving flames.

"It was a hand crew, a hot shot crew. In normal circumstances, when you're digging fire lines, you make sure you have a good escape route, and you have a safety zone set up. Evidently, their safety zone wasn't big enough, and the fire just overtook them. By the time the other firefighters got in, they didn't survive," Morrison said.

Morrison said there are normally 20 firefighters in a “hot shot” unit, and couldn’t explain why there were 19 victims.

“Hopefully they went out with one short,” an emotional Morrison said. “I started as a firefighter in 1968, and I’ve never seen anything like this.

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Video at Link

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865582492/LDS-man-among-the-19-firefighters-killed-in-Arizona-fire.html
LDS man among the 19 firefighters killed in Arizona fire
July 1, 2013

(http://i.imgur.com/I4aNKZ7.jpg)
Andrew Ashcraft, a member of the Prescott Arizona Stake of the LDS Church, was among 19 firefighters killed during a wind shift in the Yanell Hill Fire in Arizona. (Courtesy Ashcraft Family)

(http://i.imgur.com/SqZPilg.jpg)
Andrew and Juliann Ashcraft and three of their four children. Andrew was among the 19 firefighters killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. (Double Scoop Photography) (http://Andrew and Juliann Ashcraft and three of their four children. Andrew was among the 19 firefighters killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. (Double Scoop Photography))

YARNELL, Ariz. — The fire that swept through Yarnell, Ariz., on Sunday claimed the life of Andrew Ashcraft of Prescott, Ariz., a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and one of 19 firefighters who died fighting the blaze.

Ashcraft was part of the 20-member "Granite Mountain Hotshot" crew, an elite group of firefighters who were tasked with digging the fire line and cutting brush to make a fuel break for the Yarnell Hill Fire, which by Monday afternoon had consumed more than 8,300 acres in an area about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix.
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Ashcraft leaves behind his wife, Juliann, and their four children. Funeral services for the firefighters are pending.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ff-yarnell-firefighters-afternoon-20130701,0,6877537.story
19 fallen firefighters plunge Prescott, Ariz., into grief
July 1, 2013

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The hotshot crew victims were all men, most in their 20s.

"It’s a younger man’s game. These people keep themselves in exceptional condition," said Fraijo, who added, “I never heard them complain.... They always showed a great deal of respect. They always seemed to be playing pranks on each other, and a few on me."

The deceased were Andrew Ashcraft, 29; Robert Caldwell, 23; Travis Carder, 31; Dustin Deford, 24; Christopher MacKenzie, 30; Eric Marsh, 43; Grant McKee, 21; Sean Misner, 26; Scott Norris, 28; Wade Parker, 22; John Percin, 24; Anthony Rose, 23; Jesse Steed, 36; Joe Thurston, 32; Travis Turbyfill, 27; William Warneke, 25; Clayton Whitted, 28; Kevin Woyjeck, 21; and Garret Zuppiger, 27.

At least three hailed from Southern California: Woyjeck from Seal Beach and Warneke and MacKenzie from Hemet.

The identity of the crew member who survived has not been released.

"He’s well; he had been assigned to do a function and he wasn’t with them when they had deployed to shelter,” Fraijo said. “He feels terribly, and we all feel terribly, and we have very few words that express that sort of sorry. When you take a person in your arms and hug 'em, you know, you don’t have to say too much.”

Dennis Godfrey, a spokesman with the federal Bureau of Land Management, said officials had expected that 400 firefighters would be on duty Monday, but only 280 were on the lines by afternoon.

Godfrey said officials were hoping for more but didn't know when, or whether, they would arrive. “There are fires elsewhere,” Godfrey said. “We only have so many resources to deal with.”
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Kathy Bryan of Williamson Valley said the members of the fire crew who perished helped save her home from the Doce blaze after it flared up June 18 in the Granite Mountain Wilderness, northwest of Prescott. That’s roughly 20 miles north of the Yarnell Hill fire.

“These hotshots were on our properties, saving them … saving my house,” Bryan said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Bryan and her dogs fled her home before the blaze approached. Soon Bryan’s cousin called, letting her know that the wife of one of the hotshots fighting the blaze had offered Bryan a place to stay. That woman is now a widow, Bryan said.

Now Bryan believes it’s her turn to help. “I need to find out what she needs,” Bryan said she told her cousin. “What can I do for her?”
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Another dead firefighter, Anthony Rose, was expecting his first child with his fiancee, according to family friend Phyllis Barney of Glendale, Ariz.

Barney's family met Rose in the small Arizona town of Crown King, southeast of Prescott, when Rose moved there at age 16. In Crown King, Rose earned his GED online and went to work for the local fire department.

“Just getting notifications that an entire crew is killed … is a little difficult to handle when they’re your own and whatnot,” Barney said. “But when you’ve got one that really was kind of your own … it’s even tougher.”

The firefighters' bodies were taken to the Maricopa County medical examiner's office in Phoenix on Monday, and it was not clear when they would be returned to Prescott. Officials were still deciding when to hold a formal memorial service.

Some of the cirumstances of the crew's plight came into slightly sharper focus Monday, although officials cautioned that it could be a couple of days before more preliminary information was available while investigators picked through the disaster area.

Before the flames overtook the firefighters, a thunderstorm cell had moved into their location west of state Highway 89 between Yarnell and Peeples Valley, fire officials said.

The storm created strong and erratic winds in an area described as extremely rocky, with rough terrain and deep canyons. The gusts pushed the flames toward the hotshots, who were trying to create a firebreak in hopes of stopping the flames’ advance, said Wade Ward, a spokesman for the Prescott Fire Department.

As the winds shifted and fire approached, the men were probably trying to get to safety -- usually a clearing, Ward said.

“It had to be a perfect storm" for them to have deployed their fire shelters -- a last-ditch effort made in desperate situations, he said. Officials lost contact with the crew about 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

“Obviously wherever they deployed their shelters, they were too close to heavy fuels, so they got overrun,” said Art Morrison, a fire spokesman with the Arizona State Forestry Division.
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Wade Parker, 22, of Chino Valley, about 30 miles north of Prescott, was another of the victims.

Parker’s 14-year-old cousin, Hailey McMains, viewed him as a big brother. “After church, we would find a place to sit and talk about life,” Hailey said. Wade would ask her: “'Anything we need to pray for, Hailey?' If I was having a bad week, we’d pray about that.”

Hailey said Wade and his high school sweetheart planned to marry in October. They had been together six years, she said.

She was at the home of an aunt and uncle Sunday evening when she heard on the news that some firefighters had died. “I asked my aunt, ‘Is Wade OK?’” Hailey said.

Her aunt put her fingers to her lips and said: “Sssssshhhhhhh,” pointing to one of Wade’s young nephews.

“A little while later, as I was leaving, she whispered, ‘Wade didn’t make it, Hailey,’ ” the girl recalled. “I cried all night long.”

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Hotshot-who-survived-Ariz-fire-served-as-lookout-4643775.php
Hotshot who survived Ariz. fire served as lookout
July 2, 2013

(http://i.imgur.com/gdRt0FA.jpg)
In this photo shot by firefighter Andrew Ashcraft, members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots watch a growing wildfire that later swept over and killed the crew of 19 firefighters near Yarnell, Ariz., Sunday, June 30, 2013. Ashcraft texted the photo to his wife, Juliann, but died later that day battling the out-of-control blaze. The 29-year-old father of four added the message, "This is my lunch spot...too bad lunch was an MRE." Photo: Courtesy Of Juliann Ashcraft

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — The lone survivor on an elite Arizona firefighting crew was serving as a lookout and relaying key information to his colleagues when a raging wildfire trapped and killed them, officials said Tuesday.

Brendan McDonough, 21, was in his third season with the 20-member, Prescott-based Granite Mountain Hotshots.

He was assigned to be a "heads-up on the hillside" for the team on that fateful afternoon two days ago, said Wade Ward, a Prescott Fire Department spokesman who relayed McDonough's story at an afternoon news conference.

Ward said McDonough "did exactly what he was supposed to" when conditions changed as his team fought the mountain blaze near the town of Yarn ell, about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix.

He notified the other Hotshots that the weather was changing rapidly and told them the fire had switched direction because of the wind. He also told them he was leaving the area and to contact him on the radio if they needed anything, Ward said.

Ward received a standing ovation as he implored the media: "Please leave him alone."
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Slide show at link.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/214250361.html
Ariz. town honoring fallen firefighters with all-day July Fourth celebration
July 4, 2013

PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Prescott officials are working to retool the over-the-top celebration that has made this Old West town the place to be on Independence Day in the wake of the deaths over the weekend of 19 hometown firefighters.

One thing is for certain: There will be fireworks.

The booming red and white bursts may remind some of the wildfire, still burning, that claimed all but one of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew on Sunday, but the hilltop community of 40,000 is determined to mourn its dead without compromising its traditions or shying away from overt celebration. The mantra for days has been, "celebration, not grief."

Though much of the southwest remains a tinderbox, fire officials say they will be able to deploy the pyrotechnics safely, pouring water on the detonation area if necessary.

Festivities are expected to last at least 10 hours and include an all-day carnival, live music and a nighttime dance at the town's outdoor rodeo.

Hotels have long since run out of room for out-of-towners hoping to attend the celebration at Pioneer Park, a 10-minute drive from the makeshift memorial residents have built outside the Hotshot headquarters.
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Sunday's tragedy raised questions of whether the Hotshot crew should have been pulled out much earlier and whether all the usual precautions would have made any difference in the face of triple-digit temperatures, erratic winds and dry conditions that caused the fire to explode.

A team of forest managers and safety experts is charged with finding out what went wrong. In addition to examining radio logs, the fire site and weather reports, they'll also talk to the crew's sole survivor, a 21-year-old lookout who warned his fellow firefighters and friends that the wildfire was switching directions and heading straight for them.

Nearly 600 firefighters continue to fight the blaze, which has burned about 13 square miles. Hundreds remain evacuated and at least 129 homes have been destroyed, according to a tally released Wednesday by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office.

Many of the evacuees are staying with friends and relatives in Prescott, where they have been frequenting public meetings and memorial services in town.

The fire was 45 percent contained Wednesday night, up from 8 percent earlier in the day, and authorities said the figure could change on the Fourth of July as they compile a more complete picture with sophisticated mapping techniques.

Evacuees, families of the fallen men, and firefighters from across the state are expected to attend the town's holiday celebrations.
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http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/04/19285742-investigators-return-to-arizona-burn-zone-in-search-for-clues-to-firefighter-deaths?lite
Investigators return to Arizona burn zone in search for clues to firefighter deaths
July 4, 2013

Investigators on Thursday planned to comb the charred Arizona mountainside to learn more about how 19 highly trained firefighters lost their lives in the deadliest American wildfire in 80 years.
Besides examining the landscape, the investigators planned to use radio logs, including a mayday call, to recreate the men’s final moments before they were overcome by windswept flames on Sunday.
Investigators want to know whether the men established an escape route and took other precautions. They say they hope firefighters can apply lessons from the disaster in future fires.
“We’re really looking at and piecing together all aspects of the incident,” Jim Karels, who is leading the investigation team, told reporters Wednesday. “We’ll look at fire behavior. We’ll look at fuels.”
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Authorities also plan to examine the more than 100 homes and businesses destroyed by the fire to make sure no one besides the 19 firefighters was killed. The blaze devastated the town of Yarnell, which has a population of about 700.
The nearby hilltop city of Prescott plans to press on with its well-known July Fourth celebration — hotels have long since been booked — but will remember the fallen firefighters in a ceremony before the fireworks.
Evacuees and relatives of the 19 killed planned to attend. Earlier this week, thousands of people poured into the Prescott High School football stadium for a memorial ceremony.
Almost $1 million has been raised for relatives of the victims.

Video at Link

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/01/19238581-arizona-firefighters-young-dedicated-beloved?lite
Arizona firefighters young, dedicated, beloved
July 1, 2013
(http://i.imgur.com/sasMoXQ.jpg)
Jakob Schiller / Wired
Christopher MacKenzie (right) and members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew from Prescott, Arizona scout a piece of terrain before starting a burnout operation. MacKenzie along with 18 other Hotshots died Sunday while battling a wildfire north of Phoenix.

The 19 firefighters killed Sunday in an Arizona wildfire were young, brave family men.
Many followed in family footsteps when they decided to dedicate their lives to battling deadly blazes. And a number of those lost were in the beginning stages of starting their own families before they were trapped by a fast moving fire in central Arizona on Sunday.
They were a group known for being tough as nails, but with a lighter side that was needed to cope with the demands of the job.
But now, many leave behind wives and children who now understand all too well the sacrifices their loved ones made when they became firefighters. Here are their stories.
More....

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/05/photo-of-fallen-firefighters-stirs-controversy/2491043/
Photo of fallen firefighters stirs controversy
July 5, 2013

PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- A photograph of 19 flags, apparently draped over body bags on a patch of charred earth, was published Thursday on a social-media page devoted to the Granite Mountain Hotshots, the firefighters who died in the Yarnell Hill Fire on Sunday.

The image appears to show the scene of where the 19 firefighters died, after an honor guard draped the body bags with flags while preparing to remove them from the hill the day after the fire.

The image turned up on a Facebook page at midafternoon Thursday with no comment, no credit and no explanation about its source. Within a few hours, almost 1,000 people had shared it on their own Facebook pages.

The picture immediately triggered a debate on the page over the sensitivity of posting the photo. It drew a claim from at least one family member that the image was intended to stay private, though it was unclear who would have made that commitment. It also elicited outrage from a fire department official.

The bodies of the 19 members of the hotshot crew were removed Monday and taken to Phoenix to undergo autopsies.

The photo was posted on a page devoted to the team, although under the "about" section, it is described as "a community, news, and donation page (that) is not directly related to the Granite Mountain Hotshots personally."
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-arizona-firefighters-prescott-crowds-20130707,0,5775918.story
Arizona wildfire: Prescott welcomes Granite Mountain hotshots home
July 7, 2013

PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- They waited hours in 100-degree heat, waving American flags, purple balloons and signs with messages from a community that vowed never to forget the Granite Mountain hotshots and their sacrifice.

The bodies of 19 firefighters killed combating the Yarnell Hill blaze that burned through nearly 8,400 acres in central-west Arizona had been released from the Maricopa County medical examiner's office in Phoenix on Sunday. Crowds gathered to honor them along the way and welcome them home.

Spectators who had been talking, sitting on rocks and licking ice cream cones began pushing their way to the edge of the sidewalk as a stream of police cars and motorcycles materialized around a bend. Then came 19 white hearses, each with the name of the firefighter it carried printed on a placard in a window.
Some clapped as the procession made its way through. Others held signs: "God Bless Our Firefighters." "They will never be forgotten." "Thank you. We love you."

On one corner, someone had placed 19 white crosses shrouded in a gauzy purple fabric. Down the street, someone released 19 purple balloons.

"Here, everyone feels the pain in the loss of these lives," said Rayna Yoss, a native of San Pedro who retired to Prescott in 2010.

The procession cut through scrubby desert terrain and small towns. It stopped close to the place in Yarnell where the fast-moving blaze overran the firefighters on June 30.

In Prescott, where the Granite Mountain hotshots were based, hundreds of people lined the route. Many arrived hours early.
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Photo Gallery of Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona. (38 images)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-arizona-yarnell-wildfire-pictures,0,4416681.photogallery

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/07/arizona-hotshot-firefighters-return-home/2497433/
Fallen Arizona firefighters return home
July 7, 2013

(http://i.imgur.com/D1bht3K.jpg)
(Photo: Michael Chow, The Arizona Republic)

PHOENIX -- After a solemn procession that took more than four hours, traveling from downtown Phoenix through Wickenburg, Congress and Yarnell, Ariz., the bodies of the 19 firefighters killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30 have been returned home to Prescott, Ariz.

The closely watched, slow-moving caravan of 20 white hearses reached the outskirts of Prescott, where the doomed Granite Mountain Hotshots crew was based, at 4 p.m. PT on Sunday.

What appeared to be thousands of people lined the streets to welcome their firefighters home. As the procession entered downtown, some held their hands over their hearts while others cheered, saluted and wept.

The 19 members of the hotshot squad perished June 30 in the worst wildfire tragedy in Arizona history and the worst in the nation since 1933. Their bodies, which had been in the custody of the Maricopa County (Ariz.) Medical Examiner's office for most of last week, arrived at the entrance of the Yavapai County Fairgrounds on the way to the nearby Medical Examiner's Office in Prescott Valley around 4:40 p.m. Sunday.

A plane circling the fairgrounds dropped two sets of 19 purple streamers in the distance to herald the return of the bodies. The crowd was silent except for the sound of people taking pictures.
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The fallen firefighters' Phoenix colleagues had been taking care of the bodies since early last week. An honor guard and crossed ladders received the bodies Monday when they arrived for autopsies.

Large crowds gathered along Phoenix streets for the emotional send-off. An ensemble bagpipe band played as the vehicles emerged from a parking garage. Firetrucks from Phoenix extended their ladders as a salute, with a large American flag hung between them. Trucks from other Valley fire departments also lined the street.

The procession met a similar outpouring of support at every turn along its journey.
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In Yarnell, the procession passed by rows of fire trucks, emergency vehicles and a string of 19 Arizona Public Service Co. utility vehicles, many of which displayed American and Arizona flags.

Firefighters in full dress lined up along the street.

The hearses, each of which bore the name of the firefighter inside, were escorted Sunday by two dozen motorcycle officers, including five from the Prescott Police Department. There also were four trucks from the Prescott Hotshots and two from the Granite Mountain Hotshots.
More...

Video at Link

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/07/widow-fallen-arizona-hotshot-firefighter-seeks-death-benefits/
Widow of fallen Arizona Hotshot firefighter seeks death benefits
August 7, 2013

The young widow of a firefighter who died with 18 others while battling an Arizona wildfire in June has reportedly been denied the lifetime benefits she sought to raise the couple’s four children.

Juliann Ashcraft, 28, said she will receive workers’ compensations and a one-time federal payment of $328,000 in the death of her 29-year-old husband Andrew, who was among the Granite Mountain Hotshots who were killed on June 30 while fighting a wildfire near Yarnell, CBS reports.

“I want to be able to just be mourning my husband, be supporting my children, be figuring out what our new normal is,” Ashcraft told CBS. “As shocked as I was that my husband went to work and never came home, I’m equally shocked in how the city has treated our family since then.”

But Ashcraft was told that her husband and 12 others among the group were seasonal employees whose relatives are not entitled to the millions in lifetime salaries and health benefits, even though he worked 40 hours a week. Just six families of the 19 firefighters killed will receive the benefit packages, CBS reports.

“I said to them, ‘My husband was a full-time employee, he went to work full-time for you,’” she said. “And their response to me was, ‘Perhaps there was a communication issue in your marriage.’”

Ashcraft, who may sue the city of Prescott, said she had been counting on those funds to raise the couple’s four children, the youngest of whom is 18 months old.
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Ashcraft’s mother, Deborah Pfingston, has planned a news conference Wednesday in Prescott. It was originally scheduled for Tuesday.

Pfingston said city officials promised they would retroactively reclassify the seasonal, temporary employees as permanent so the families could receive additional survivor benefits.

City officials have countered that they cannot legally and posthumously reclassify the men as full-time employees so their families can receive additional benefits, including health insurance.

City spokesman Pete Wertheim told The Associated Press that six of the firefighters were permanent employees. Thirteen, including Ashcraft, were seasonal.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/13/officials-firefighters-not-promised-full-time-jobs/2650963/
Officials: Firefighters not promised permanent jobs
August 13, 2013

The city of Prescott, Ariz., looked into whether any of the firefighters who were considered seasonal employees were told that a permanent job was forthcoming before they were killed on June 30.

PHOENIX -- Officials in Prescott, Ariz., have found no evidence that part-time firefighters working on the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew were promised full-time positions, city officials announced Tuesday.

The announcement was the result of an internal inquiry by city officials to determine whether any of the wildland firefighters who were considered seasonal employees were told that a permanent job was forthcoming before they were killed while battling a wildfire on June 30 near Yarnell.

Of the 19 who died, six were classified as permanent employees by the city, which employed the crew as part of the fire department. The other 13, the city has said, were seasonal employees.

That status — whether each man was classified as a permanent or seasonal worker — is the key factor in benefits paid to their survivors. Families of the six permanent members are eligible for benefits that include health insurance, life insurance and pension payments that could be worth millions of dollars more than those allotted to the other 13.

Firefighters Andrew Ashcraft's widow, Juliann, and the father of firefighter Christopher MacKenzie have both asserted that they believe their relatives merited the benefits of a permanent job. Juliann Ashcraft has said her husband worked full-time hours and was recently given a promotion to a job she says merited full benefits; Mackenzie's father has said his son was promoted earlier this year and was in his probationary period for a full-time job.

City personnel files reviewed by The Arizona Republic list the men as seasonal workers.

According to a city statement issued Tuesday afternoon, "no improper promises were made to promote Granite Mountain Hotshots seasonal employees to permanent positions."

The statement quoted Darrell Willis, a division chief who oversaw the crew, saying he never promised to promote any of the seasonal members.
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MacKenzie and Ashcraft had both applied for job openings for permanent spots on the crew, which went to other candidates. According to records of their test scores, MacKenzie had been next in line for the most recent position, followed by Ashcraft.

The fire department had requested two additional permanent positions in this year's budget process, but city management, facing a tight budget, decided not to include them in the final plan submitted to the City Council.

Payroll records also show that MacKenzie was given a pay raise for additional duties, though they classify him as a temporary or seasonal employee.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Battle-Over-Firefighter-Benefits-219500141.html
Battle over firefighter benefits in Prescott
August 13, 2013

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As it stands now, the families of those seasonal employees killed get:

1. $2,700/month (tax free) workman's compensation death benefit (monthly, paid for by the city's insurer, the Arizona Municipal Risk Retention Pool (http://www.amrrp.com)
2. $328,612.73 - Federal Department of Justice Death Benefit (one-time, paid for by the federal government)
3. Free in-state tuition for herself and her kids. And, the federal college stipend for the kids.
4. Education Assistance from the feds $987 a month for room and board
5. Arizona tuition waivers for spouse and children
6. Social security
The families of those permanent employee also get:
1. Life Insurance Payment: $100,000 (one time, paid by the insurance company)
2. Access to health insurance at the employee rate: Benefits vary depending on plan chosen, etc., but the estimated cost to the City of Prescott is $750/month
3. Lifetime pension benefits paid monthly by the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System of the State of Arizona (PSPRS). This benefit depends on compensation at the time of death, and earnings in previous years.
Seasonal employees do not pay into the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. Still, Speaker Andy Tobin would have all benefits extended to all firefighters killed fighting a fire on state land.
“At the end of the day, they work hand in hand and use the same shovel so in the end I think they should be treated the same,” said Tobin. “I think they should all be treated the same, either have a pension based on what they paid in or a life policy or health benefits something proportionate and respectful.”

It's been a really hard year for fire fighters and their families. ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://www.kvue.com/news/national/225617292.html
Report to detail blaze, deaths of 19 firefighters
September 28, 2013

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — A highly anticipated report examining weather conditions, radio traffic and fire behavior, among other things, is expected to help explain how 19 members of an elite firefighting crew died while battling an Arizona wildfire. Officials, however, said it won't assign blame.
The Arizona State Forestry Division was set to present the roughly 120-page report to the men's families ahead of a news conference planned for Saturday morning in Prescott.
All but one member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew died June 30 while protecting the small former gold rush town of Yarnell, about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, from an erratic lightning-sparked wildfire.
Early reports showed the fire caused little immediate concern because of its remote location and small size when it began June 28. But the blaze quickly grew into an inferno, burning swiftly across pine, juniper and scrub oak and through an area that hadn't experienced a significant wildfire in nearly 50 years.
The 20-member Granite Mountain Hotshots team arrived early on the morning of June 30 and headed into the boulder-strewn mountains. About nine hours later, the crew radioed that they were trapped by flames and deploying emergency shelters. Only one crew member who was assigned as the lookout survived.
The fire ended up destroying more than 100 homes and burned 13 square miles before it was fully contained on July 10.
No other wildfire had claimed more firefighters in 80 years, and it was the deadliest single day for fire crews since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Granite Mountain team was unique among the nation's roughly 110 Hotshot crews as the first and only such unit attached to a municipal fire department.
It wasn't clear why the firefighters left the relative safety of a ridge top or if they had received warnings of the erratically changing weather that whipped the blaze into an unpredictable inferno when they dropped down into a bowl surrounded by mountains on three sides.
At one point, officials asked for half of the available western U.S. heavy air tanker fleet — six planes — to try to control the blaze. Five weren't deployed because of the limited number in the nation's aerial firefighting fleet and the dangerous weather conditions at the time. One plane was heading to Arizona from California but engine problems forced it to turn back.
Forestry officials have said that even if the planes had been available, winds were so strong they couldn't have been used to save the firefighters' lives.
Some family members hope the investigation will explain why their loved ones died. Others say it will do nothing to ease their pain.
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http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-yarnell-fire-report-20130928,0,6593973.story
No negligence in deaths of 19 Arizona firefighters, report says
September 28, 2103

(http://i.imgur.com/K5HTTPd.jpg)
Prescott, Ariz., firefighter Wade Ward stands alone in July at the fenced-in site where 19 firefighters died battling an wildfire on June 30. (Matt York / Associated Press / July 23, 2013)

PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- Investigators found no evidence of recklessness or negligence in the Yarnell Hill wildfire that killed 19 Prescott, Ariz., firefighters in June, raising questions about how similar tragedies could be prevented in the future.
“The judgments and decisions of the incident management organizations managing this fire were reasonable,” concluded a report commissioned by the state of Arizona that was released Saturday. “Firefighters performed within their scope of duty, as defined by their respective organizations.”

The report, produced by a team of local, state and federal investigators convened from around the country, “found no indication of negligence, reckless actions, or violations of policy or protocol,” though it did note some problems with radio communication.
The crew of 20 “hotshot” firefighters from the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew were found to be appropriately rested and trained when the blaze near Yarnell, a rural community in central Arizona, rapidly expanded with the help of high winds.

The area around Yarnell, thick with chaparral, was “primed to burn” after not experiencing a wildfire for more than 45 years, and the flames overtook 19 of the firefighters, as well as more than 100 buildings in Yarnell. The report called many of the Yarnell buildings “not defendable.”

The 20th crew member was separated from his comrades and survived.

According to the report, the 19 firefighters all died huddling next to one another, sheltering in a 24-by-30-foot area as temperatures reached 2,000 degrees.

But the report delivered little insight into what, exactly, the crew members were thinking or their actions in the half-hour before their deaths.

“There is much that cannot be known about the crew’s decisions and actions prior to their entrapment and fire shelter deployment at around [4:42 p.m.],” the report said, noting that heavy radio traffic had caused some confusion and that “some radios were not programmed with appropriate tone guards.”
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Officials planned to hold a news conference to discuss the findings Saturday morning.

The full report and a video explaining the report are embedded in bottom of article at above link.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/report-detail-blaze-deaths-19-firefighters-20404776
Radio Problems Cited in Deaths of 19 Firefighters
September 28, 2013

A three-month investigation into the June deaths of 19 firefighters killed while battling an Arizona blaze cites poor communication between the men and support staff, and reveals that an airtanker carrying flame retardant was hovering overhead as the firefighters died.

The 120-page report released Saturday found that proper procedure was followed and assigned little of blame for the worst firefighting tragedy since Sept. 11, 2001.

All but one member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew died June 30 while protecting the small former gold rush town of Yarnell, about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, from an erratic, lightning-sparked wildfire.

While maintaining a neutral tone, the investigation found badly programmed radios, vague updates, and a 33-minute communication blackout just before the flames engulfed the men. Investigators did not consider whether better communication might have saved the men.

The report provides the first minute-to-minute account of the fatal afternoon. The day went according to routine in the boulder-strewn mountains until the wind shifted around 4 p.m., pushing a wall of fire that had been receding from the hotshots all day back toward them.

After that, the command center lost track of the 19 men. The firefighters either ignored or did not receive weather warnings. They left the safety of a burned ridge and dropped into a densely vegetated valley surrounded by mountains, heading toward a ranch. The report states that they failed to perceive the "excessive risk" of repositioning to continue fighting the fire.

The command center believed the hotshots had decided to wait out the weather change in the safety zone. They did not find out the men were surrounded by flames and fighting for their lives until five minutes before they deployed their emergency shelters, which was more than a half hour after the weather warning was issued.

Without the guidance of the command center, the men bushwhacked into a location that soon turned into a bowl of fire. The topography fostered long flames that bent parallel and licked the ground, producing 2,000 degree heat. Fire shelters, always a dreaded last resort, begin to melt at 1,200 degrees.

As the flames whipped over the men, a large air tanker was hovering above. But perhaps because of an early miscommunication about where the hotshots were headed, the command center did not know where to drop the flame retardant, the report said.

"Nobody will ever know how the crew actually saw their situation, the options they considered or what motivated their actions," investigators wrote.

Though the report points to multiple failures, investigators approached the incident "from the perspective that risk is inherent in firefighting." They recommend that Arizona official review their communications procedures and look into new technologies, including GPS, that might help track firefighters during chaotic situations.

The Arizona State Forestry Division presented the roughly 120-page report to the men's families ahead of a news conference Saturday morning in Prescott.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57606220/ariz-fire-chief-of-19-dead-hotshots-says-hes-being-forced-out/
Ariz. fire chief of 19 dead Hotshots says he's being forced out
October 6, 2013

PRESCOTT, ARIZ. The chief of the Arizona fire department that lost 19 wildland firefighters in June says he is being forced out of his job.

Prescott City Manager Craig McConnell told The Daily Courier that Chief Dan Fraijo is leaving by "mutual agreement" effective Nov. 15.

Fraijo disagreed.

"Mutual? No," he said. "There's an agreement that when I was hired that said, at any given time, either side could give 30 days' notice and I would leave or could leave."
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McConnell said he met with Fraijo on Thursday and they discussed how Fraijo stepped in on an interim basis in May 2012 and the changes that followed, including his appointment as Prescott fire chief in February.

McConnell added that he and Fraijo "knew the time would come when the city would be seeking a more permanent fire chief."

Fraijo said that was news to him.

"That may be his intention," Fraijo told the Courier. "He did not have to tell me the reason, and I don't want to come across as angry, (but) permanent? Permanent to me was I had the job."

City officials didn't say why the decision was made. In the months since the tragedy, however, the Arizona Republic noted a rift between some city officials and the Fire Department had become apparent. In an earlier interview, Prescott Mayor Marlin Kuykendall alluded to tension between city officials and the area's fire union.

Kuykendall would not answer detailed questions about Fraijo's exit Friday night, saying city officials would release information about it Monday.

Dan Bates, a Prescott firefighter who is also vice president of the Prescott chapter of the United Yavapai Firefighters Association, told the Republic the news was "horrific" and left the department "shell-shocked."

"The magnitude of losing 25 percent of our guys ... and a blow at this time for a chief that was so well supported and putting us in a direction ... it's awful."

Bates said city officials "looked at getting rid" of Fraijo last year.

"We made an appeal across the floor and all the guys wanted his leadership to continue. We talked with the council and they reversed that decision."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/arizona/articles/20131004prescott-fire-chief-departure-reasons-unclear.html
Reasons behind departure of Prescott fire chief unclear
October 6, 2013

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It is unclear what is prompting the departure of Fraijo, a familiar face around town. An investigative report released a week ago on the wildfire found “no indication of negligence, reckless actions, or violations of policy or protocol” on the part of the firefighters, and concluded the fire that overtook the men was not survivable.

In the months since the tragedy, however, a rift between some city officials and the Fire Department became increasingly evident. In an earlier interview with The Republic, the mayor alluded to tension between city officials and the area’s fire union.

On Friday night, Prescott Mayor Marlin Kuykendall would not answer detailed questions about Fraijo’s exit, saying city officials would release information about it on Monday.

“As a matter of fact, this was finally, this afternoon (Friday), agreed on,” the mayor said.

Asked if Fraijo was fired, he responded, “Not at all. It was a mutual agreement between he and the city manager.”

Fraijo reports to City Manager Craig McConnell.

Kuykendall said Fraijo’s departure is not tied to the investigative report. “Not at all. There’s circumstances and they will be totally explained and it’s very amicable on everybody’s part.”

Not according to Fraijo, who when reached Friday night said, “It was not my idea.”

He said when he agreed to take the position permanently in February, part of his agreement was that either he or the city, through a “separation agreement,” could end his employment with 30 days’ notice.

“That part has been exercised,” he said. “I am honoring the agreement that I made. The city manager made a decision that he could make, and that’s where we left it.”

Fraijo said the city manager did not explain why the city wanted him to leave.

“We didn’t talk about that,” Fraijo, 70, said from his home in Prescott. “His feeling was that I guess it was time for me to go.”

Asked how his department would take the news, Fraijo said, “I don’t think they’re going to particularly like it. I don’t think the timing’s good, but … that’s what he wanted and I had to respect that.”

He said it was his view that he was running the department well.

Fraijo said he did not believe the decision was a response to the investigative report. Asked if it could be tied to the department’s relationship with the unions, he said, “That’s something the city manager would have to address.”

Fraijo began his firefighting career with the Phoenix Fire Department in 1965. His tenure with Prescott dates to May 2012, when he was hired as interim fire chief. He became fire chief in February.

Dan Bates, a Prescott firefighter who is also vice president of the Prescott chapter of the United Yavapai Firefighters Association, said the news is “horrific.”

“The magnitude of losing 25 percent of our guys … and a blow at this time for a chief that was so well supported and putting us in a direction … it’s awful.”

Bates said the department is “shell-shocked,” adding, “to have this happen now is one of the worst things we can see.”

Bates said that last fall, city officials “looked at getting rid” of Fraijo.

“We made an appeal across the floor and all the guys wanted his leadership to continue. We talked with the council and they reversed that decision.”

Bates said the news comes as city officials are expected to ask the International City/County Management Association to closely review Prescott police, fire and dispatch operations.

Such reviews are common at cities nationwide, city spokesman Pete Wertheim said, and it has been under consideration by Prescott for several years.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ff-yarnell-fire-settlement-20150629-story.html
Families of Yarnell Hill firefighters settle legal claims with state
June 30, 2015

Te families of 12 men killed in one of the deadliest wildfires in the nation’s history have reached a settlement with the state of Arizona, ending a strained yearlong negotiation that divided the town of Prescott and raised questions about training and how the state fights fires.

The families of 12 of the 19 Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew members settled for $50,000 each, according to a copy of the settlement agreement. The agreement was announced Monday, one day before the second anniversary of the deaths.

A workplace lawsuit also announced Monday will ensure the families of the other seven firefighters killed on June 28, 2013, will receive $10,000 each from the Arizona State Forestry Division.

In addition to the financial settlements, the Forestry Division also agreed to make improvements in how it manages fires, including overhauling its radio communication efforts.

The Forestry Division also pledged to encourage the National Wildfire Coordination Group, a federal interagency firefighting group, to create a course that addresses “the reality of death,” and instructs firefighters to make estate planning and custody arrangements.
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Current Events and Musings => News of the Day => Topic started by: texasmom on June 30, 2013, 11:36:32 PM