Incident Name: Big Windy Complex Watertender Fatallity; the Big Windy Fire was started by dry lightning on 7/26/2013
Date: 8/6/2013, 0720 hrs
Personnel: Jesse Trader
Age: 19
Agency/Organization: The Big Windy Fire was a Federally-managed fire in the Big Windy Complex on BLM land, under ODF jurisdiction; the water tender was owned by Ace Earthmoving and utilized by County Fire and Security, a private fire-suppression company which serves the Merlin, OR area
Position: firefighter, water tender driver/operator
Summary: On 8/6/2013, Jesse Trader, age 19, was working as a water tender operator — E-220 –on the Big Windy Complex about 25 mi NW of Grants Pass, Josephene County, Oregon. Night operational period resources had completed their fireline work assignments and were released to travel back to the Incident Command Post at approximately 0720. The route from the fireline to the highway is a narrow, winding, paved mountain road — Bear Camp Road — with a steep downhill grade for approximately 3 miles. Toward the bottom of the downgrade, the water tender impacted a cut bank next to the road and rolled onto its top. An advanced life support ambulance with a paramedic on board, was called and reached the scene within 7 minutes. The paramedic on scene pronounced the driver deceased.
First photo is from Jesse’s West Albany High School Yearbook; second is from his Facebook Memorial page.
Maps
about 25 mi NW of Grants Pass, OR; an embankment on the Bear Camp Road near Soldier Camp; approximately 5 mi W of Galice, Oregon; approx USNG: 10T DN 14 14
{mosmap lat=’42.57814’|lon=’-124.03646’|marker=’0’|text=’Approx Accident Location’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- FS/BLM/ODF: News Release 8/6/2013
- FS/BLM, 8/6/2013: Early Alert message regarding the accident (4 K pdf)
- BLM 8/7/2013: 24-hour Report (121 K pdf)
- BLM 8/9/2013: 72-hr Report (532 K pdf) Serious Accident Investigation begins
- FS/BLM/ODF: Serious Accident Report (2,119 K pdf)
Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
- Second Oregon wildland firefighter dies in line of duty08/08/2013 | Online Article
A 19-year-old firefighter died after the water tender he was driving rolled over an embankment near the Big Windy complex of fires in southwest Oregon. Jesse Trader, of Albany, was driving back from a night shift around 7:20 a.m. His water tender hit an embankment on the Bear Camp Road near Soldier Camp and rolled over, said Joel Brumm, a public information officer with the Bureau of Land Management. (More at the link…)
photo credit: SAI Report
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- Gov. John Kitzhaber’s statement on Facebook: “Jesse Trader was part of the emergency response to one of the more serious fires burning in Oregon. Even at such a young age, he was already contributing mightily to his community, and we owe him our gratitude for his commitment to helping protect his fellow citizens. My prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time, and my thoughts are with all emergency responders on the front lines during this severe wildfire season.“
- Jesse Trader was enrolled for the fall term at Chemeketa Community College to study fire science, said Greg Harris, a spokesman for the Salem-based college. He was a graduate of West Albany High School, where he played baseball for the Mid-Valley Rockets.
- Fire Crew member killed in truck crash at SW Oregon forest fire8/6/2013 | Online Article
The death of a 19-year-old water truck driver outside a rural Oregon wildfire came just months after he joined a community college firefighter training program and readied for his first fire season.
- Memorial for teenage firefighter who died on duty will be Saturday in Albany8/8/2013 |Online Article
A memorial for Jesse Trader, the firefighter who died Tuesday in the line of duty in southern Oregon, will be Saturday in his hometown of Albany. The service will be at 10 a.m. at the West Albany High School football stadium, 1130 S.W. Queen Ave., and is open to the public. After the memorial, Trader’s family will lead a procession from the stadium to the overpass on Old Salem Road. The family will continue to a graveside service, which will be closed to the public.
- USFA Memorial Database: Jesse Trader
- Hundreds gather in Albany to honor man who died at wildfire8/1o/2013 | Online Article and video
… “I think for him, it was more of trying to help people,” said Trader’s friend Jordan Rice. “He was always there, always helping people. And I think the greatest achievement for him and his life would be saving someone’s life, which is ironically what he ended up doing.” Trader’s death came just months after he joined a community college firefighter training program and readied for his first fire season. He had a baseball scholarship to Western Oregon University but chose to enroll at Chemeketa Community College for its fire protection program instead.
- photo credit: KATU
- Firefighter’s family sues over the death of Jesse Trader, killed in apparatus crash8/25/16 | Online Article
The family of Jesse Trader — an Albany wildland firefighter killed in a Southern Oregon truck crash in August 2013 — filed a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit last month against the federal government, two Grants Pass businesses and Trader’s uncle.
Trader, a 2012 West Albany High School graduate, was 19 when the water tanker he was driving went off a steep road and rolled down an embankment.
The lawsuit alleges… (more at the link)
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