Commander sentenced - thirty mile fire

[turnkey4099]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008127763_webthirthmilefire20.html

Commander sentenced in Thirtymile Fire
Ellreese Daniels, 47, the commander charged for the deaths of four central Washington firefighters at the Thirtymile Fire in 2001 has been sentenced by a federal judge to three months of work release and three years probation.

By The Associated Press

SPOKANE — The commander charged for the deaths of four central Washington firefighters at the Thirtymile Fire in 2001 has been sentenced by a federal judge to three months of work release and three years probation.

Ellreese Daniels, 47, faced a maximum of six months in prison after he reached a deal with prosecutors. That deal dropped the charges he faced from manslaughter to two counts of making false statements to investigators.

Investigations by the U.S. Forest Service found that a series of supervisors did not take steps they should have, including selection of a safe escape route.

Daniels was the only one charged in the deadly wildfire.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

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My local paper (spokane) had more details and IINM he did get some jail time. Sentenced on 2 counts of lying to invesstigators. The judges comment was they he did not think he was at fault for the deaths but he was only ruling on the "lying" charges.

Unfortunately, I seem to have used today's paper to start up the woodstove.

Finally found the article on-line.

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Spokesman Review Aug 21, 2008

Thirtymile fire commander gets three-month jail term
Bill Morlin
Staff writer
August 21, 2008


The incident commander on the Thirtymile fire that killed four young firefighters in 2001 will serve three months in jail under work-release supervision as one condition of three years of federal probation.

The sentence was imposed Wednesday on Ellreese N. Daniels, a 47-year-old U.S. Forest Service employee, four months after he struck a plea bargain to avoid going to trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.

The case has sparked nationwide attention. It's the first time an incident commander has faced federal criminal charges associated with decision-making leading to wildfire fatalities.

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Daniels pleaded guilty to two federal misdemeanors – making false statements during the Forest Service investigation into events surrounding the July 10, 2001, fire about 22 miles north of Winthrop in north-central Washington.
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He is still employed by the FS and workign in a warehouse. Barred for life from ever fighting fires.

Harry K



Harry K

 

[2dogs]

I'd guess a stress disability retirement is in his future.

 

[slowp]

This case is a victory for liability insurance sellers, but might have an effect on decision making, when decisions need to be made fast. When he was first arrested, or whatever, there was a lot of grumbling about making sure EVERY member of your crew was a good, seasoned, firefighter. Many crewbosses talked and refused fire assignments, and for good reason. Just another nail. The Kim adventure is another one. Because of lawsuits and criminal cases, the woods are slowly getting closed off. Lawsuits/closures are not just for timber sales anymore.

 

[Gologit]

This case is a victory for liability insurance sellers, but might have an effect on decision making, when decisions need to be made fast. When he was first arrested, or whatever, there was a lot of grumbling about making sure EVERY member of your crew was a good, seasoned, firefighter. Many crewbosses talked and refused fire assignments, and for good reason. Just another nail. The Kim adventure is another one. Because of lawsuits and criminal cases, the woods are slowly getting closed off. Lawsuits/closures are not just for timber sales anymore.

Well said.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Part of the plan, slowp, part of the plan.


Of course, this fella's mistake was lying to investigators.


If he did....

 

[turnkey4099]

Part of the plan, slowp, part of the plan.


Of course, this fella's mistake was lying to investigators.


If he did....

From what I saw in the paper (didn't post the whole article) there is no doubt that he lied. One of them was if he had ordered them down off the rocks. He said he had. Testimony from other crew members said no and he admitted he lied.

Harry K

 

[smokechase II]

how bad can it be?

This story gets worse.

In So Cal two falls ago five fire fighters died.
They were trying to save a home in a place they shouldn't have been.

Engine 57.

So how do those firefighters that were their supervisors deal with this?

Quiet. NO testimony is the professional strategy currently.

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Back to 30 mile.
Daniels did not want to be a crew boss, expressed a desire to work in the Cache. Supervisors needed an Affirmative Action (African American) in a leadership role and kept him in the place he didn't want to be. The upper management on the forest discontinued most of the training and all of the training record keeping.
Only one person on a 20 person crew had been through pump training and that was critical in letting the fire get away.

May I suggest that any short prison terms and any firings could have been handed out but not at the Daniels level?

Please read the book by John Maclean; "The Thirtymile Fire: A Chronicle of Bravery and Betrayal".

Best independent evaluation would be by comparing that book with the report.
Found at: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/safety/investigations/30mile/

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The report points out fire fighter mistakes. The report did have retractions, called errata as I recall. The corrections/options were necessary because they determined Daniels was untruthful.
The book points out both fire fighter and management mistakes. No retractions of any portion of the book.