LODD:FFs Gonzales,Greeno,Edgar, U.S.Forest Serv.- Heli Crash

[Guest]

Edgar, Charles Lynn 

Age: 54 

Cause of Death: Struck By/Contact with Object 

Rank: Fire Management Officer 

Nature of Death: Internal Trauma 

Status: Career 

Emergency Duty: No 

Incident Date: 03/10/2005 

Duty Type: Fireground Operations 

Incident Time: 13:55 

Activity Type: Riding Vehicle/Apparatus 

Death Date: 03/10/2005 

Fixed Prop. Use: Outdoor Property 

Fire Dept. Info: United States Forest Service, Sabine National Fore

National Forests in Texas

415 S. First Street, Suite 110

Lufkin , Texas  75901

Chief: Forest Supervisor Fred Salinas 

Initial Summary:    Jose Victor Gonzales, John Greeno and Charles Edgar all died as a result of a helicopter crash while working a prescribed burn, dropping fire pellets to start fires in the forest below, near Shelbyville, TX. The cause of the helicopter crash is still to be determined. 

Source: U.S. Fire Administration

[Guest]

Forest Service workers died doing important job, officials say

By APRIL BARBE, Cox East Texas

Monday, March 14, 2005

Charles Edgar, John Greeno and Jose Victor Gonzalez had an important job to do for the U.S. Forest Service Thursday – a prescribed burn in the Sabine National Forest. 

It was a job that cost them their lives.

The helicopter in which they were flying crashed near Shelbyville. Their loss, a Forest Service official said, was "felt nationwide within the Forest Service, and beyond." 

"As a Forest Service family we are all very saddened about this tragedy," said Gay Ippolito, public affairs officer for the U.S. Forest Service in Lufkin. "Our sympathy is with the families, friends and co-workers of these outstanding gentlemen." 

Prescribed burning is done as a protective measure to reduce undergrowth and "fuel accommodations" on the forest floor that could create a severe wildfire, she said. Reducing undergrowth protects the forest and landowners living nearby and provides new vegetation for wildlife. 

"If a prescribed burn is not done, a fire can burn much hotter, cause more damage and move faster, causing nearby landowners to be at risk," Ippolito said. 

The burns are conducted throughout the fall, winter and spring months, when weather conditions permit, she said. 

"Safety is our most important and highest priority on everything that we do. Sometimes certain aspects of our jobs are dangerous. During prescribed burns, we are especially careful to keep safeguards in place to protect folks," Ippolito said. 

Officials are unsure of the cause of Thursday's crash. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the accident scene, a wooded area approximately 11 miles southeast of Center, to investigate, Ippolito said. 

The burn was discontinued after the crash, and as a precaution, all aviation operations on the national forests and grasslands in Texas have also been discontinued until further notice, according to a press release. 

Edgar, 54, had worked with the Forest Service for more than 25 years. He was a fire management officer for the Sabine National Forest. 

Greeno, 51, had been a Bald Mountain base manager with the Mi-Wok Ranger District on the Stanislaus National Forest in California since 1984. He was from Soulsbyville, Calif. 

Gonzalez, 45, of Rockwall, was the pilot employed by the Brainerd Company in Brainerd, Minn. 

Edgar was not only a co-worker but a friend to Ippolito and those working with the Sabine National Forest. 

"He was a hard-working person who loved his job and the job that he was doing at the time of the accident. We deeply feel this loss," she said. 

Edgar was the second employee of the local Forest Service office to die in a helicopter crash in the past two years. 

Charles Krenek, 48, was assisting in the search for space shuttle Columbia debris in March 2003 when the helicopter in which he was flying crashed in the Angelina National Forest near Broaddus.