Dan Parker, right, the father of Wade Parker, who died fighting the
Yarnell Hill Fire, receives a hug following an Industrial Commission of
Arizona hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013, in Phoenix. The commission
approved a nearly $560,000 fine on Wednesday against the state Forestry
Division in the deaths of 19 firefighters after the Arizona Division of
Occupational Safety and Health agency found that officials put
protection of property ahead of safety and should have pulled out crews
earlier. MARICOPA COUNTY OUT; MAGS OUT;
Photo: David Wallace, AP
PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona commission linked the state's Forestry Division
to the deaths last summer of 19 wild land firefighters, issuing the
ruling after its investigative agency reported on its probe and
recommended financial penalties.
The state Industrial Commission, which oversees workplace safety, said Wednesday that state fire officials knowingly put protection of property ahead of safety and should have pulled crews out earlier.
The report by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health was a stinging rebuke of an earlier investigation commissioned by the Forestry Division, which found that state fire officials communicated poorly but followed proper procedures when 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed in a blaze near the small community of Yarnell northwest of Phoenix.
The Hotshots were trapped as the flames they were battling changed direction in a fierce thunderstorm June 30. All but one member of the crew died. The Arizona State Forestry Division oversaw the fight against the blaze that sparked on state land.
The state Industrial Commission, which oversees workplace safety, said Wednesday that state fire officials knowingly put protection of property ahead of safety and should have pulled crews out earlier.
The report by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health was a stinging rebuke of an earlier investigation commissioned by the Forestry Division, which found that state fire officials communicated poorly but followed proper procedures when 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed in a blaze near the small community of Yarnell northwest of Phoenix.
The Hotshots were trapped as the flames they were battling changed direction in a fierce thunderstorm June 30. All but one member of the crew died. The Arizona State Forestry Division oversaw the fight against the blaze that sparked on state land.
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