The Website is a Work in Progress.

We are currently focused on entering the current incidents and filling in past incidents as time permits. We started with editing the original Always Remember database which was fairly complete before 2019. The formatting is still a work in progress and some incidents are more complete than others. Individual entries may be incomplete with respect to photos, location, or documents. We welcome any information and assistance. Read on to see how you can participate.

What kind of wildland firefighters are included on this Always Remember website?

Fallen firefighters are included if they meet the criteria below.

  • A Wildland Firefighter assigned to
    • A Wildland Fire: Fatal accident, injury or illness incurred in performance of duties assigned as part of a wildland firefighting assignment, and travel to or from the assignment. Camp crew members or others assigned to the incident are included (whether on- or off-shift). Deaths due to suicide, alcohol abuse or drug overdose are excluded.
    • A Prescribed Fire
    • An All-Risk Incident: Includes wildland firefighters assigned as part of an organized mission.
      or
  • A Wildland Firefighter conducting or undergoing mandated training or testing required by a Redcard position (NWCG or ICS)
    • Pack Test
    • Class A-, B- or C-Faller training
    • Other required training or testing: Mandated physical training (PT); Smokejumper training, qualification or requalification/currency jumps/accidents; Helirappeller qualification or currency training, etc.
      or
  • A Wildland firefighter involved in travel: Work-related accidents, illnesses, and injuries incurred while traveling to, from, or on an incident, or training, whether in employer, private, or rental vehicle; agency or contracted aircraft; public transportation (airline flight); boat, etc.

What if an incident or firefighter name is not on the list, but seems to meet the inclusion criteria?

Check to make sure the fallen firefighter (or the firefighters on a fatality incident) meet the inclusion criteria above. On some very old historical incidents, we may not be certain if criteria are met, but the story might still contain lessons we can learn from and facts of historical interest. If the criteria are met, look at the information that comprises an existing incident page. Some pages have more information and some have less. Scanty information can be amended later. Please Contact Us.

What other information do you need?

Information needed includes incident name (if available), date, firefighter’s name and age (if available), agency, summary of what happened and where, even lat/long, any reports or news articles, pictures, videos, memorials/monuments to the fallen in other locations, etc.

Gather as much of that info as possible. Keep a record of where you find it, whether USFA or state database or forest, park or other hard-copy record, photos from a memorial with GPS location if possible. Note the link if from the internet, but copy and paste the content to a file on your computer in case the info disappears from the internet. We’ll try to get permission to reprint it if necessary.

What are the steps for submitting information?

Send all available info to Always Remember Operations

You may not have much information, especially if the incident is a very old one, but someone else reading here may have other pieces or know someone that has another piece. Sometimes it is possible to cross check data with an old local newspaper or a historical society record.

How can I help?

There are lots of ways, from researching a whole incident or telling the story of a friend’s life and death, to researching a small part. From going out and GPSing a fatality or memorial site to researching old newspapers and looking for articles.

I have documents or news articles about a person or reports or research about an incident; can I get those posted?

Send a note to contact us at Always Remember Operations and you’ll get the email address where you can send documents. Be sure you note the date, state, incident and/or the fallen firefighter’s name if you know it.

I have a photo of a fallen firefighter; can I get it posted? What format should I send it in?

Portrait photos should generally be adjusted to a maximum height of 375 pixels. A landscape photo should be adjusted to a maximum width of 500 pixels. Any sized photo will be accepted and can be adjusted by by our staff.

If you can, name the photo, all lowercase letters, with year-date-firefighter (or incident) name.jpg, for example:

  • 2005-07-18-gerald-martinez.jpg or
  • 2008-08-05-iron-44-firstname-lastname.jpg

Send a note to contact us at Always Remember Operations. Be sure you note the date, state, incident and/or the fallen firefighter’s name if you know it. If you are not the photographer please let us know and we’ll try to get permission to post it.

I have a video; how can I share that?

If possible, upload it to YouTube. The staff here will embed it in the memorial page.

I have a location. What format should I use for the latitude/longitude?

Always Remember uses the format Decimal Degrees (DD) for the position on maps and in the incident details. You may know it as DDD.ddddd° Decimal Degrees (DD) are an alternative to using degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS). Before taking a position with a GPS, please set DD as the way to take the data. If you haven’t done that, it’s OK; you can send whatever you have directly to Always Remember Operations or you can convert it to DD using the link here: www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/DDDMMSS-decimal.html

Which artist created the Original Always Remember banner?

Marilynn Flynn did that great banner. She’s a space and aviation artist whose work has appeared in numerous books, magazines, TV programs, DVDs, science exhibits, art shows and websites. She always wanted to be an astronaut and loves to fly. She began painting aviation art as a way to pay tribute to aerial firefighters and the aircraft they fly. Her late husband, Mike Flynn, was an airtanker pilot whose plane went down enroute to fight the Four Mile Fire in New Mexico in 2009. She is a very fine collaborator. Several links to her work: her airtanker art: www.airtankerart.com ; her main website: www.tharsisartworks.com

What are donations and how are they used?

It was decided early in the planning stage that we did not want the costs of the Always Remember website to be covered by traditional advertising. Without the traditional commercial banners, images, and other advertising, the preferred alternative is through contributions or donations submitted from the viewing audience and others who believe in and want to support the mission of the Always Remember website.

100% of all donations received are applied directly to the Always Remember operating and administration costs. The estimated annual hosting and programming costs are $1,200. Our objective is to also have the ability to fund the equivalent of one full time manager/worker at 40 hours per week and one part time administrator at 20 hours per week. The costs for the two positons are based on the equivalent of the minimum (CA) hourly rate of $8.00 per hour. The total estimated annual cost for wages, website hosting, and programs is $26,160.

Please note that your donations are most likely NOT tax deductible as the Always Remember website is currently without ‘non-profit’ or 501c status.