Lost crew was like family: Firefighter deaths in crash hit hard at Roseburg headquarters

registerguard,com ^ | August 26, 2003 | By Jeff Wright

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ROSEBURG - The phone call was at once awful and familiar for Dale and Carol Ransdell, who learned that their 23-year-old son, Mark, was among the eight firefighters killed when their van smashed into a tractor-trailer and exploded in flames on a remote stretch of Eastern Oregon highway Sunday.

Six of the eight victims were from Douglas County, and all eight worked for Roseburg-based First Strike Environmental, a contract firefighting and environmental cleanup company. The news of their deaths stunned co-workers and families - certainly none more so than the Ransdells, whose other son, Michael, died nine years ago when he was the passenger in a car in a drunken-driving accident.

	Kathryn Roles, an employee of First Strike Environmental, pauses before picking up a memorial flower arrangement knocked over by the wind. Roles said, "They all called me Mom. You read things like this in the paper, but when it happens to you, it's just not real." Photo: Kevin Clark / The Register-Guard

"The only thing you can think is, they're together now," said Carol Ransdell, sitting in the TV room of her home south of Myrtle Creek. "You've got to believe they're together."

"You live through this, but you don't get over it," added Dale Ransdell, a semiretired deputy with the Douglas County sheriff's office. "It dulls over time, but it never goes away."

Another Myrtle Creek man, 25-year-old Paul Gibson, was also killed in the accident, as were Ricardo "Ricky" Ruiz, 19, Jeff Hengle, 21, Jesse James, 22, and Leland Price Jr., 27, all of Roseburg; and Richard Moore II, 21, and David Hammer, 38, both of Portland.

The eight were members of First Strike's Crew 3 - reflecting their experience level among the company's six crews - with all but Price in at least their third summer of firefighting with First Strike.

Company President Bob Krueger, whose tasks Monday included talking to all the victims' families and fielding questions from regional and national media, said the emotional impact has been devastating to him and others in the 20-year-old company, which until Sunday had never suffered a work-related fatality.

"These were people who loved their work, and it brought out the best in them," he said.

The eight died late Sunday morning as they were returning home following two weeks of 12-hour days fighting the South Fork wildfire in Idaho. The 19-member crew had been flown in via helicopter to a remote "spike camp" to help battle the Boise National Forest blaze.

	Mark Ransdell Ricardo "Ricky" Ruiz Jeff Hengle Paul Gibson Jesse James Leland Price Jr. Richard Moore II David Hammer

The accident happened about 15 miles west of Vale on Highway 20 when the van's driver apparently tried to pass another truck on a curve, crossing a double-yellow line and colliding with the oncoming tractor-trailer, the Malheur County sheriff's office reported. The driver and passenger of the truck were able to pull themselves from the wreckage. They were taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Who among the eight firefighters was driving has not been disclosed. The van had a "designated driver," but others were also certified to drive the van, First Strike spokeswoman Leslie Hableter said.

Last summer, another Roseburg-based contract crew, Grayback Forestry, lost five people when a van rolled over and crashed in Colorado. In response to that incident, First Strike had its employees take special driver training this spring, involving lots of videotape and review of safe driving rules, said Wade Osborne, a company crew boss who helped oversee the training.

"We reminded people: Don't bug the driver, and swap out (with another certified driver) if you're tired," he said.

Krueger said his company's policies include limiting the number of passengers in its 12-person vans to 10 people, and using 1-ton vehicles to guard against rollovers.

The van that crashed - a 1994 Dodge - had been traveling with another First Strike van and truck, but those vehicles were about six miles ahead and those aboard did not see the crash, Hableter said. The two lead vehicles came back to discover the crash after losing radio contact, she said.

Crew members finished their last shift at 6 p.m. Saturday, then showered, ate dinner and went to bed before leaving for Roseburg at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Hableter said. The crew abided by "work rest rules" limiting how much they may drive, she said.

The rules, part of the standards enforced by the Pacific Northwest Wildfire Coordinating Group, are intended to protect firefighters against accidents caused by fatigue. For example, if a van has one driver, that driver must take an 8-hour break after 10 hours on the road. If two or more drivers are sharing duties, the group must stop for an 8-hour break after 16 hours on the road.

Rod Nichols, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Forestry, said First Strike "has been a company in good standing" in following the rules.

Monday morning, the walkway to First Strike's offices was lined with eight American flags and yellow roses - one for each man who died. A parade of other flowers made their way into the building through the day.

Company officials brought in counselors and a fire department chaplain to meet with employees and family members. All other First Strike crews were notified and pulled off fire lines, and telephone cards were passed out so that employees could call loved ones.

The rest of Crew 3 pulled in at midafternoon and were quickly ushered in for a meeting with Krueger and the chaplain. The company plans to meet today at a private location with all the victims' families, to offer support and information.

Company officials also met Monday with State Accident Insurance Fund representatives and learned that death premiums for younger single men are modest, Hableter said. Donations are being solicited to help surviving families with funeral and other costs, with the Oregon Firefighter Contractors Association already kicking in $10,000, she said.

Krueger, a general contractor by training, started First Strike after moving to Roseburg in 1976. The company initially focused on hazardous materials cleanup, and in 1999 was hired to help clean up the New Carissa's spilled fuel. Contract firefighting was added in 1987 and now accounts for about 40 percent of company business.

The company has 22 year-round employees and adds 200 seasonal workers during firefighting season. Krueger said the company has been something of a pioneer in the business, helping to develop a class for engine and crew bosses, for example. It takes a minimum of five years for a new employee to move up the ranks to crew boss.

"We're a hard company that way," he said. "We demand that our employees take classes, get in physical shape and be mentally prepared."

But there's also a deep sense of family within the company, said Krueger, whose three adult children all work there. He said the company has intentionally limited its growth because it doesn't want more crews than it can manage or get to know.

For Mark Ransdell, working there seemed to be just what he needed. Deeply affected by his brother's death, Mark was a hyperactive youth who struggled with school and had a lot of inner hostility, his parents said.

But three summers ago, he got hired on at First Strike, and appeared to thrive. "He enjoyed really hard work and getting physically tired," Carol Ransdell said. "He didn't have to worry about `quiet time.' "

In April, he traveled to Texas with a First Strike team that helped recover pieces of the Columbia space shuttle that exploded during re-entry. And he recently shocked his parents by bringing home his first "serious" girlfriend, a firefighter with the Umpqua National Forest.

He liked to spend his earnings on her, as well as on two other passions, skateboarding and music.

"It was like he was just finally getting his life together," said his older sister, Kim, now Dale and Carol Ransdell's only surviving child. "He had a lot to do."

Reporter Scott Maben contributed to this report.

HOW TO HELP

• Donations will assist victims' families with funeral, other costs.

• Visit the Wildland Firefighter Foundation's Web site at www.wffoundation.org and click on the "First Strike Fallen" icon.

Related:

Wildfire keeps grip on Highway 20

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Copyright 2003 The Register-Guard
unless labeled as being from the Associated Press (AP),
in which case Copyright 2003 Associated Press

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ping

[Sabatier]

This is really heartbreaking for the families of these young men. I've driven those back roads in Oregon and I know how frustrating it can be when you get stuck behind someone who won't pull over, but it ain't worth it to pass on a turn. If you get somebody coming the other way when you're passing you've got very little maneuver room, if any, and it sounds like that's what happened. Very sad.

[bicycle thug]

In the accident recently near Mapleton friends of mine - I am a former wildlands firefighter too - say that they should have had a firecamp near the fire they had been working on.

The State of Oregon is possibly endangering and costing lives by forcing firefighters to drive too long when they are too tired.

I will be watching this tragety very very closely.

[beelzepug]

I've ridden my motorcycle over many of these same roads and you are right. Also, traffic is often so light that you can get lulled into not watching as closely as you should for other cars, bad in a car or truck, deadly on a bike. My prayers go out to the families of all these fine young people. It is a tragic loss, particularly for the folks who already lost one son in an earlier crash.