3 Had Passion For Firefighting

The men who died Thursday fighting a fire near Twisp were a college physics student who had a passion for theater, an outdoorsman who recently hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and the son of a firefighter who yearned for a career in the Forest Service. The three men, Tom Zbyszewski, 20; Andrew Zajac, 26; and Richard Wheeler, 31, were killed after the vehicle they were in crashed and was enveloped by flames. Another firefighter, Daniel Lyon, 25, was critically injured and is being treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He arrived at the hospital Wednesday night with burns to about 60 percent of his body, the hospital said in a statement. Fire officials gave few new details of the incident Thursday but said the deaths were caused not by the accident itself but by the fire. Three other firefighters injured in the incident have been released from the hospital, Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Carrie McCausland said/ SR & Associated Press . More here.