LODD: CAL FIRE units will fly flags at half staff

Thursday, July 23, 2009

LODD: CAL FIRE units will fly flags at half staff

Firefighter Thomas Marovich, 20

CAL FIRE units will fly flags at half staff in honor of USFS Firefighter Thomas (TJ) Marovich Jr, killed in the Line of Duty while training on the Backbone Fire.
Thomas Marovich, 20, was a 2nd year apprentice at the Modoc NF.

Firefighter Thomas Marovich, 20, had been taking part in required weekly rappelling training, in which people slide down a rope from a hovering helicopter when he fell about 200 feet to the ground, said Forest Service spokeswoman Robin Cole. FF. Marovich was a second year apprentice firefighter on the Modoc National Forest, she said. He was working with the Chester Helitack Crew from the Lassen National Forest that had been assigned to the Backbone Fire in the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

The training was a routine part of the ongoing battle to contain the Backbone Fire, a Forest Service spokesman said. The training is conducted at least every 14 days, he said. The death is being investigated by a Forest Service accident investigation team and the National Transportation Safety Board. Sparked by lightning on July 1, the Backbone Fire has charred 6,324 acres and was 80 percent contained as of today, Cole said. More than 500 firefighters are still working the fire, which is expected to be fully contained Friday.

Backbone fire personnel are deeply saddened by the accident and are having a small memorial as a tribute to Marovich’s life at 9:30 am today at the Backbone Fire Incident Command Post. Firefighters and local residents have been invited and are expected to attend.

Critical Incident Stress Debrief teams will be on hand to counsel those closest to the victim and the accident to make sure they have an opportunity to work through their grief.

The Forest Service mobilized a serious accident investigation team who is working with the National Transportation Safety Board. The investigation team will be in-briefed at 6pm this afternoon.

Our sincere condolences to all involved.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Thursday, July 23, 2009