LODD: CAL FIRE Engineer/Paramedic Christopher Douglas fatally injured while responding to a traffic collision along I-10 #CaFire

Friday, July 5, 2013

LODD: CAL FIRE Engineer/Paramedic Christopher Douglas fatally injured while responding to a traffic collision along I-10 #CaFire

CA-RRU-CALFIRE Engineer Fatality

Memorial Services: LODD Memorial for #CALFIRE Christopher Douglas is Friday at 3 p.m. in Murrieta, Riverside County. #CAFIRE

Please Check California Fire Foundation page for the latest information.

Riverside County Fire Apparatus Engineer/Paramedic Christopher Douglas was fatally injured this morning while responding to a traffic collision in the Riverside Unit on the I-10 freeway, Funeral arrangements are pending.

Cal Fire Engineer/Paramedic Christopher Douglas, of Temecula, was killed Friday, July 5, after being hit by a pickup truck in Palm Desert.

ACCIDENT DETAILS UPDATE: Engineer/Paramedic Christopher Douglas with Thousand Palms Engine Company 35 was hit by the truck while standing on the Monterey Avenue onramp about 9:40 a.m., according to officials.Douglas was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center where he died from his injuries.

The fire truck was parked on the right shoulder when the pickup struck the driver’s side and the fireman, California Highway Patrol Officer Stephanie Hamilton said. The fire truck sustained minor damage.
The driver, who stopped and was cooperative with authorities, has not been identified. Authorities said he is a disabled army veteran and Coachella Valley resident. He consented to a blood test, but drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor, Hamilton said.
The fire truck was responding to a crash on the freeway, but it’s unclear why it stopped on the onramp.
The CHP’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is investigating the crash.

UPDATE: CAL FIRE Fire Apparatus Engineer/Paramedic Christopher Douglas, 41, of Temecula was fatally injured in the Line of Duty while responding to a crash along Interstate 10 near the Thousand Palms area in Riverside County.

He was an 8 year member of CAL FIRE.

The CAL FIRE / Riverside County Fire Department fire engine was on Interstate 10 near Monterey Ave, when they received the run, when he was struck by a passing vehicle. Fire Engineer/Paramedic Douglas was transported to Desert Regional Hospital but sadly the injuries were fatal.

Please keep Christopher's wife Amy, who is pregnant, and his 2 year old son Sammy, his extended family and his CAL FIRE brothers and sisters in your thoughts and prayers deal with this horrible loss.

The CHP Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) will be handling the investigation into the accident.

Funeral arrangements are pending. RIP.

Riverside - CAL FIRE Fire Apparatus Engineer/Paramedic Christopher Douglas, 41, of Temecula was fatally injured while responding to a traffic collision along Interstate 10 near the Thousand Palms area in Riverside County. He was an eight year veteran of CAL FIRE. The CAL FIRE / Riverside County Fire Department fire engine was on Interstate 10 near Monterey Ave, when the employee was struck by a passing vehicle.

Douglas was transported to Desert Regional Hospital but sadly the injuries were fatal. “This tragic accident affects the entire CAL FIRE family and deeply saddens all of the firefighting community,” Chief John R. Hawkins, CAL FIRE / Riverside County Fire Department.The California Highway Patrol Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) will be handling the investigation into the accident.

Grief counselors have been made available to the department’s firefighters and family members to assist them through this difficult time.

Funeral arrangements are pending.
Region Chief Dale Hutchinson is at the scene and Riverside Unit Chief John Hawkins is at the hospital.

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued the following statement regarding the death of Engineer/Paramedic Christopher Douglas: “Anne and I were saddened to learn of the death of Engineer Christopher Douglas. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and fellow state firefighters.”

“Please keep Christopher, his family and his crew in your thoughts and prayers,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, CAL FIRE director.

I am saddened to report that one of our Fire Apparatus Engineers was fatally injured this morning while responding to a traffic collision in the Riverside Unit on the I-10 freeway. Region Chief Dale Hutchinson is at the scene and Riverside Unit Chief John Hawkins is at the hospital and both are in constant communication with me as they work to get the family all the support they will need in the wake of this tragedy. I will share further updates with you after all family notifications are made.

Please keep our employee, the family and the crew in your thoughts and prayers. It is critical that as we deal with this difficult news, we stay focused on the job at hand.

Ken Pimlott
Director
CAL FIRE
---------------------------------------------

CFN - California Fire News 2013

No comments:

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

Friday, July 5, 2013