Fire Crew Had Safety Concerns Before Death
The Idaho Statesman is reporting that an elite fire fighting unit complained of chaos and poor communication and refused to join in fighting the Steep Corner fire that killed a 20 year old Moscow femail firefighter. The article states,
The Montana-based Flathead Hotshots team refused to engage the blaze on Aug. 11 after encountering what it described as poor communication among Idaho-based firefighters, some of whom had no protective clothing or shelters. That’s according to a report on SAFENET, an anonymous federal reporting system for wildland firefighters to document their concerns.
The report, dated Aug. 14, describes a chaotic scene, with a “hodge-podge” of firefighters that included a crew of Idaho state prison inmates forced to dodge trees and rocks hurtling down a mountainside.
The next day, Anne Vesseth, died near Orofino, while fighting the fire after she was struck by a falling tree. Read more here. (Photo KXLY)
Fire fighting is a dangerous job but this latest news adds a new dimenstion to an already tragic story.
