Incident Name: Buck Fire, Riverside Ranger Unit, Hemet, CA
Date: August 19, 2012
Personnel: Jimmy Randolph
Age: 44
Agency/Organization: CAL FIRE
Position: firefighter, on the Fenner Canyon Conservation Camp crew
Summary: Firefighter Jimmy Randolph was assigned to the Buck Fire as a part of a strike team. At approximately 1800 hours on August 18, 2012, Firefighter Randolph advised a correctional officer that he had a headache. He was escorted to a medical team, evaluated, and given a three-day no-work note. At approximately 0530 hours the next morning, Fire fighter Randolph could not be awakened. He was treated and transported to the Desert Regional Hospital in Palm Springs. With his family by his side., he was pronounced dead at 1230 hours on August 19, 2012. The cause of death was listed as anoxic encephalopathy combined with complications of heat stroke.
Maps
CA-RRU-Buck Fire origin: Buck x San Ignacio (Sage Area)
{mosmap lat=’33.838783’|lon=’-116.923795’|marker=’0’|text=’Buck Fire Origin’}
Desert Regional Hospital, Palm Springs, CA
{mosmap lat=’33.552661’|lon=’-116.542943’|marker=’0’|text=’Desert Regional Hospital, Palm Springs, CA’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- CAL FIRE Press Release:
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and CAL FIRE officials are investigating the illness and subsequent death of a conservation camp inmate.
Prior to becoming ill on Saturday morning, August 18, 2012, Randolph had been assigned to the Buck Fire in Hemet, California. Randolph’s family was at his bedside when he died about 12:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at Desert Regional Hospital in Palm Springs.
The announcement of an official cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy.
- CAL FIRE: Blue Sheet, 24-hour Report
- CAL FIRE: Green Sheet, 72-hour Report
Wildlandfire.com Links:
- Hotlist: CA- Riverside Ranger Unit -Buck Fire
Media Articles and Reports
- Inmate Dies After Fighting Buck FireThe inmate, 44-year-old Jimmy Randolph, had been on firefighting duties.
8/20/12 | Online article
A Fenner Canyon Conservation Camp inmate died at Desert Regional Hospital Sunday, and his death is under investigation by Cal Fire and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The inmate, 44-year-old Jimmy Randolph, had been on firefighting duties.
“Prior to becoming ill on Saturday morning, Randolph had been assigned to the Buck fire in Hemet,” according to a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation statement. He died with his family at his bedside. (More at the link…)
- Inmate Firefighter on Buck Fire Dies8/20/12 | Online article
Jimmy Randolph, 44, became ill Saturday Aug. 18 and died Sunday Aug. 19 at Desert Regional Hospital in Palm Springs, according to the California Department of Corrections. (snip)
Randolph entered the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on July 20, 2005, from Los Angeles County to serve an 8 year sentence for petty theft with priors, Savoye said. He was scheduled to parole in October 2012.
Fenner Canyon Conservation Camp’s primary mission is to provide inmate fire crews to CAL FIRE for fire suppression, pre-fire and hazardous fuel reduction projects in Los Angeles, Kern and San Bernardino Counties, Savoye said.
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- USFA Memorial Database: Jimmy Randolph
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