CAL FIRE Firefighter Seriously Injured by Falling Tree Two Inmate Firefighters Minor Injuries #CAFire

Sunday, July 5, 2015

CAL FIRE Firefighter Seriously Injured by Falling Tree Two Inmate Firefighters Minor Injuries #CAFire

TULARE COUNTY FIREFIGHTER SUFFERS SERIOUS INJURES AFTER A TREE FELL ON HIM NEAR THREE RIVERS

Update 7-6-15 0700: CAL FIRE has identified 25-year-old Damien Pereira as one of three firefighters injured while fighting a small mountain fire Friday.

Firefighter Pereria Is out of Surgery
Damien Pereira, 25, had surgery to repair broken vertebrae, and a second surgery is planned to address broken ribs and bruised internal organs the father of one is in pain but has his family by his side.
Firefighter Pereira underwent the first of two major surgeries Saturday, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported.

Cal Fire spokesman Ryan Michaels said that Damien Pereira, 25, of San Luis Obispo County was in good spirits and surrounded by family and fellow firefighters while recovering at Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno. Doctors worked several hours Saturday morning to repair broken vertebrae, and a second surgery is planned for later in the week to address his broken ribs and bruised internal organs.

Firefighter suffers serious injures after a tree fell on him near Three Rivers

Damien Pereira, 25, is a husband and father -- now being treated for serious injuries.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Damien Pereira, 25, is a husband and father -- now being treated for serious injuries.

Cal Fire crews tell me Pereira has several broken ribs, bruised lungs and injuries to his spinal cord. They believe he's going to be okay but has a long road to recovery ahead of him.

A Lfeflight chopper rushed Friday afternoon to get a badly injured Damien Pereira to a hospital. He and two Mountain Home Inmate Firefighters were crushed while mopping up a small blaze sparked by lightning.

"The tree itself was about 36 inches in diameter it was a large oak tree. It was a substantial amount of weight and energy as that tree fell," said Cal Fire Captain Ryan Michaels.

The inmate firefighters had minor injuries but Pereira had to be disentangled from the massive tree. Michaels said the crews were fighting a relatively small wildfire in rural Tulare county. They don't know why the tree fell. But the drought is causing major complications he said making a dangerous job even tougher.

"There are certain areas of the sierra national forest that have seen an increase in dead trees and trees being impacted and stressed by the drought that number went from three-thousand in that area to about five-million," said Michaels.

The 25-year-old firefighter is a husband and father and has worked for Cal Fire for several years. Friday's fire was a routine call for the Tulare County unit.

"It's a sobering reality of the risks we take day in day out and we're just in the beginning of fire season and we have the potential of having a devastating year," said Michaels.

Cal fire crews said Pereira has another surgery scheduled for later this week and they hope to know more about the extent of his injuries in the coming days.

Source: http://abc30.com/news/firefighter-suffers-serious-injures-after-a-tree-fell-on-him-near-three-rivers/827474/

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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

Sunday, July 5, 2015