Incident Name: Buchanan Prescribed Fire
Date: 04/22/1993
Personnel: Frankie Toledo
Age: 44
Agency/Organization: US Forest Service
Position: Firefighter
Summary: The Buchanan Prescribed Burn project was developed over a period of 18 months by the Santa Fe National Forest. The burn was conducted April 20-23 on the Jemez Ranger District, as well as Zia and Pueblo Lands. It had proceeded without incident until 1540 on Thursday April 22, when a rapid unexpected, short-duration increase and shift in the wind caused the fire below Pajarito Peak Road where the cresw were working, to crown and move across the road. The general area is dominated by pinyon-juniper which is a fuel type that normally, except under extreme conditions, does not support sustained, high intensity fire behavior. 16 people were entrapped and deployed fire shelters; 5 people suffered minor burn injuries, but Frankie Toledo, a member of the Jemez Pueblo, was not able to escape the flame front or deploy his shelter in time.
Maps
Accident Site (approximate)
{mosmap lat=’35.689645’| lon=’-106.855401’|text=’Approximate Burnover location for the Buchanan Prescribed Fire’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Accident Investigation: Final Report (12.5 MB pdf)
- Additional Documentation, including OSHA Citations: Buchanan Prescribed Fire (3.36 MB pdf)
- Frankie’s’ name and death date are included in the USFA Firefighter Fatality Retrospective Study, published April 2002 (2,888 K pdf)
- USFA Database: Frankie Toledo
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