Incident Name: 39-acre Springboard Fire on DNR land south of Springdale in Stevens County, Washington
Date: 10/17/2013
Personnel: Daniel Hall
Age: 47
Agency/Organization: Washington Department of Corrections handcrew under contract with Washington DNR
Position: wildland firefighter
Summary:
Firefighter Hall and other firefighters were cutting a fire line to contain a wildland fire. As Firefighter Hall worked, a section of tree collapsed and struck him. Other firefighters began CPR and requested medical assistance. Firefighters performed CPR for over an hour until Firefighter Hall was pronounced dead by arriving EMS responders. USFA
Report from eyewitness says Dan was working with his crew on suppressing a fire when he was was hit and killed by a falling tree near the fireline. We’ll post more of a formal summary when the WA DNR and DOC releases one.
Maps
DNR land south of Springdale in Stevens County, Washington
{mosmap lat=’48.050’|lon=’-118.011’|marker=’0’|text=’Springboard Fire’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- The 24-hour report or its press release equivalent was not made available
Wildlandfire.com Links:
- Hotlist: Daniel Hall died from a falling tree in NE WA
- Theysaid: beginning on 10/20/2013
Media Articles and Reports
- Inmates Death Marks Second Fatality in DNR Prison Work Program10/18/2013 | Online Article (Inlander) with photo
After suffering a citation and fines over safety issues last fall, the state Department of Natural Resources has confirmed a second DNR work crew inmate from the Airway Heights Corrections Center has died while working in the woods of Stevens County — almost exactly one year after the program’s first fatality.
Officials say 47-year-old Daniel J. Hall died Thursday afternoon while working to clear DNR-owned land south of Springdale following a recent timber harvest. Peter Lavallee, communications director for DNR, says several agencies are investigating the fatal incident.
“We’re looking into exactly what happened,” Lavallee says. “The crew was working on an area where there had been a timber harvest and sale. … The crew was preparing the land for an eventual replanting.” (more at the link…)
- In brief: Airway Heights inmate dies while clearing state property
10/18/2013 | Online Article (Spokesman Review)
An Airway Heights prison inmate died Thursday while clearing land for the state Department of Natural Resources.
Daniel J. Hall, 47, had been serving a sentence for drug and auto theft convictions since January 2011, the state Department of Corrections said in a news release. He was due to be released in September 2014.
The minimum-security inmate was clearing debris after a timber harvest in Stevens County, said DNR spokesman Peter Lavallee. The agency hasn’t disclosed what happened to Hall to cause his death.
It’s the second such accident in as many years. Last October, 22-year-old Airway Heights inmate Danny R. Bergeson was electrocuted cutting a tree near a power line on DNR land in Stevens County.
Lavallee said it’s common for prison crews to work on DNR property.
DNR and Washington’s Labor and Industries Department are investigating Hall’s death. (more at the link…)
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- USFA Memorial Database: Daniel J Hall
Contributors to this article: Sparkey1, Tom J, WC Advocate
Please support the Wildland Firefighter Foundation
