Incident Name: Pine Fire
Date: July 13, 2004, 0715 hours
Personnel: Daniel Elkins
Age: 47
Agency/Organization: Los Angeles County Fire Department
Position: Captain
Summary: On 7/13/04 Captain Daniel Elkins, age 47, was killed in a single vehicle accident while driving to a Plans Meeting that was located at Fire Station 129 in Lancaster CA following a long night on the Pine Fire. He was assigned to the “Pine Fire”, a 17,418 acre fire located near the Three Points area. CHP officials said Elkins was driving east on Avenue I near 90th Street West, Lake Hughes CA about 7:15 a.m. when his Toyota pickup truck drifted onto the dirt shoulder, struck a berm/culvert, went airborne for approximately 94 feet, and overturned several times before coming to rest. Although he was wearing a seat belt, and airbags did deploy, Captain Elkins was killed in the crash.
Maps
The LAC Station 129 is in Lancaster. The Three Points area is about 28 miles WNW in the mountains. The accident location in Lake Hughes is inbetween.
{mosmap lat=’34.673172’|lon=’-118.438598’|marker=’0’|text=’Accident Location’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Press Release: It is with deep regret that I announce the line-of-duty death of Fire Captain Daniel Elkins, of Fire Station 117 in Lancaster. Captain Elkins, who was 47 years old, was en route to the Antelope Valley from the Pine Incident brushfire in the Lake Hughes area when he was involved in a single-vehicle accident. He was transported to Antelope Valley Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Captain Elkins, who lived in the Quartz Hill area of Los Angeles County, was a 20-year veteran of LACoFD, appointed to the Department in October, 1983. He is survived by his wife and his two adult children. This is a painful loss for our Department, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family. P. MICHAEL FREEMAN, FIRE CHIEF LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPT.
- USFA Memorial Database: Daniel Earl Elkins
Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports.
- A flag ceremony will take place on Friday, July 16, 2004, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Los Angeles County Fire Department, Fire Station 117, 44851 30th Street East Lancaster, CA 93535.
- The funeral service for Dan Elkins will be held on Monday, July 19, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. at Lancaster Baptist Church, 4020 East Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster, California 93535.
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- Submitted by the Elkins Family for the 2005 Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial:
Dan’s dream was to be a fire fighter and that dream was achieved when he was hired by Los Angeles County in 1984. He was so proud … all of us were. He worked hard to become a paramedic, engineer, USAR member and eventually a Captain. He loved his job and often bragged about having been blessed with the best job ever. While his career was the fire department, his life was God and his family and he was so good about putting those things first. He was my first love, my hero, my husband and my friend. He was best man at his sons wedding and king to his daughter. He was the best.
- Journey 21_Final (pdf download), Renee Elkins 2004 story shared on page 2 of The Journey, a publication of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
Contributors to this article: Gerald Meehan, Larry Tucker, LAC; Mellie
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