Incident Name: Road U; Moore County grass fire near the town of Dumas in the Texas Panhandle
Date: Incident date 04/09/11; Death date 04/20/11
Personnel: Elias Jaquez
Age: 49
Agency/Organization: Cactus Volunteer Fire Department
Position: Firefighter
Summary: Firefighter Jaquez, and three other firefighters were injured after Dumas Brush Truck 58 and then Cactus Brush Truck 51 became stuck in deep sand in the rough terrain while operating on a wildland fire on April 9, 2011. The Cactus truck tried to aid the firefighters on the stuck Dumas truck. They all left the trucks and ran. In escaping the flames, Firefighter Jaquez was separated from the others, somehow lost his turnout coat and the fire overran him. He suffered 3rd degree burns over 60% of his body and was rushed for treatment to the Lubbock Burn Center where he remained in critical condition until his passing on April 20, 2011.
Maps
Approximate Accident Location on Road U, Moore County, TX (USNG: 14S KE 40 61)
{mosmap lat=’35.76919’|lon=’-101.81263’|marker=’0’|text=’Approximate Accident Location’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Texas State Fire Marshall’s Office: Firefighter Fatality Investigation – Firefighter Elias Jaquez, Cactus TX
- NIOSH Report: Volunteer Fire Fighter Dies and Three Fire Fighters are Injured during Wildland Fire -Texas (406 K pdf) (Contributing Factors and Recommendations below; please read the entire report.)
- Contributing Factors
- Ineffective situational awareness
- Ineffective training on wildland fire-fighting
- Ineffective personnel accountability system
- Ineffective personal protective equipment
- A safety zone and escape route were not effectively communicated to all fire fighters
- Failure to use a fire shelter from the approaching fire.
- Key Recommendations
- Ensure that the Incident Commander conducts a continuous risk assessment of the incident in terms of savable lives, savable property, and fire fighter safety
- Fire fighters who engage in wildland fire-fighting should be trained to meet the minimum training requirements as required by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) or NFPA 1051, Standard for Wildland Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications
- Fire departments and fire service agencies should ensure that fire fighters fully comply with “The Standard Fire Orders “and are aware of the “18 Watchout Situations” and “Common Denominators of Fire Behavior on Tragedy Fires”
- Lookouts, communications, escape routes, and safety zones (LCES) should be established and communicated to all fire fighters
- Fire fighters who engage in wildland fire-fighting should use personal protective equipment that meets NFPA 1977, Standard on Protective Clothing and Equipment for Wildland Fire Fighting
- A personnel accountability system should be used to account for all fire fighters and first responders assigned to any incident
- Provide fire fighters with approved fire shelters and provide training on the proper deployment of the fire shelters
- Fire departments should ensure apparatus driver/operators are familiar with the operation of their apparatus, especially when driving off-road.
- Additionally, governing municipalities (federal, state, regional, and local) should: consider requiring mandatory training for wildland fire fighters.
- Contributing Factors
Wildlandfire.com Links:
- Hotlist: Thread, including condolences
Media Articles and Reports.
- Cactus TX Firefighter Has 3rd Degree Burns to 60% of His Body04/12/2011 | Online Article
Cactus, Texas – The fireman critically injured in Moore County over the weekend is expected to survive. 49-year-old Elias Jaquez is still listed in critical condition in the Lubbock Burn Unit… He’s undergone several surgeries and is currently on life support, but doctors told his wife they’re optimistic about his recovery.
- Details of how a Cactus firefighter was severely burned04/12/2011 | Online article
… Moore County Emergency Operations Center is now releasing details into what happened. During a press conference Tuesday, Dumas Fire Chief Paul Jenkins says Jaquez, and three other firefighters were injured after a Dumas and Cactus fire truck became stuck in the rough terrain. “They were going on to de-flank the fire. My truck got stuck in the sand and the Cactus truck came up beside them to pick my guys up and then they got stuck. From there the details are sketchy and this point,” said Chief Paul Jenkins, Dumas Fire Chief. “The type of terrain that they were in that particular day it’s out in the middle of pasture, very sandy,” said Chief Jenkins.
He says they’re still collecting reports from those involved and trying to piece together details of what exactly happened afterward. What they do know is more than 35,000 acres did burn. Chief Jenkins says the cause of the fire, two electrical wires touching in Saturday’s rough winds, causing them to spark.
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- USFA Memorial Database: Elias Jaquez
- Cactus Firefighter passes away04/20/2011 | Online article
Cactus, Texas … According to the Moore County Judge’s office, flags will be flown at half mast today and tomorrow. A fund has been set up for Jaquez at Happy State Bank.
- Elias’ Service will be held at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Dumas, Monday, April 26.
- Afterwards: Much of the service was in Spanish. Words shared by Jim Clements, a deacon at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church:
When Elias Jaquez got the call that a wildfire was burning nearby, when the call came for help, he didn’t ask who it was, where it was, if it was a neighbor of friend, he just went. That’s a lesson for all of us. That’s a strong lesson, that’s really the life that Elias lived as a firefighter.
- Obituary contributed by his daughter:Elias Macias-Jaquéz, 49, was very strong and a hard worker. He grew up in Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, Mexico. Then he migrated around the United States until he met our mother, Josephine, in a little town called Cimarron, New Mexico. They lived there for a few years, then decided to move to Texas where he raised his four daughters. He lived in Cactus, Texas, for 23 years and worked at JBS Swift & Co. for 23 years as well. Elias did a lot of hard work, including even helping out on a farm for just about his whole life.
He enjoyed being a volunteer firefighter for two years for the Cactus Fire Department. He enjoyed being able to help anyone in need. We remember back in 2011, about a week before his accident, he was very proud of himself because they had a call for a fire out in the country, and he was able to help an elderly man save his barn.
Elias was a very loving person, especially when it came to animals. He enjoyed feeding the cattle, the horses, the pigs, anything that came across the farm.
One thing he sure did enjoy besides working was being with his family. He was able to spend time not only with his wife and four girls, but also with his three grandchildren. He never was able to experience having a son, but he did get to have two grandsons that he loved very much and showed them as much as he could. Even though they were too little to learn, he would still do so. He spoiled his grandchildren like there was no tomorrow.
All we have left is the wonderful memories he shared with us. He is a grand hero not only to his family, but to his community where everyone knew him.
Contributors to this article: Mellie, RJM
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