2003 06/26 NM Ralph Dawdy

Incident Name: Jenny Incident, Gila National Forest
Date: 6/26/2003, 19:45 hrs
Personnel: Ralph Dwayne Dawdy
Age: 47
Agency/Organization: Animas Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Animas NM
Position: firefighter /EMT / SAR Coordinator

Summary: Assistant Chief Dawdy was the driver of a military surplus 2-1/2 ton 6 by 6 vehicle that had been converted to a fire department tanker. The water tank capacity was 1,200 gallons. State-wide mutual aid assistance had been requested for the Jenny wildland fire in the Gila National Forest.

Assistant Chief Dawdy drove the tanker; he was followed by another firefighter in a fire department SUV. The pair planned to spend a week on the fire shuttling water to brush trucks on the fireline. After traveling approximately 135 miles, Assistant Chief Dawdy was operating the tanker on a rough road within the forest. The road curved and sloped downhill. Assistant Chief Dawdy lost control of the tanker, it rolled over in the roadway, left the roadway and rolled over 3 more times before coming to rest on its wheels approximately 123 feet from the roadway in a canyon. Assistant Chief Dawdy was ejected during one of the early rolls and was crushed as the tanker rolled over him. The other firefighter following in the SUV came upon the crash and searched for Assistant Chief Dawdy. When he located him, the firefighter determined that Assistant Chief Dawdy was dead.

Inspections of the tanker after the crash revealed that the brakes were 100-percent ineffective due to leaks at the master cylinder and slave cylinder. The brake fluid reservoir was empty at the time of the crash and a number of brake fluid containers were found aboard the tanker. In addition, the tanker was not equipped with seatbelts.

Maps

Animas Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Animas NM
General area, Gila NF driving Terry Canyon

{mosmap lat=’33.013907’|lon=’-108.080969’|marker=’0’|text=’Terry Canyon’}

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Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned

NIOSH Report: Volunteer Assistant Chief Dies in Tanker Rollover – New MexicoNIOSH investigators concluded that, to minimize the risk of similar occurrences, fire departments should
- determine a safe operating weight for water tankers based on vehicle characteristics and remove overweight vehicles from service
- develop comprehensive apparatus maintenance programs and guidelines that include regularly scheduled inspections, documentation, and procedures for removing apparatus from service until major defects are repaired
- ensure that all fire apparatus are equipped with seat belts
Additionally, States should
- consider developing a vehicle inspection and maintenance program prior to distributing surplus military vehicles to the fire service

Vehicle - Ralph Dawdy