The possibility of being held personally liable for actions during wildland fires has loomed over firefighters ever since four local firefighters died in the Thirtymile Fire.
The prospect became reality Wednesday when federal manslaughter charges were filed against former crew boss Ellreese Daniels.
U.S. Forest Service veterans believe it was the first time criminal charges had ever been filed in connection with wildland fire deaths, and said it could worsen a growing sense among firefighters that their homes, jobs and pensions aren't worth the seasonal thrill of knocking down flames.
"I would think this is going to have a real chilling effect on the folks that are out there, the boots on the ground," said Jim Furnish, a retired headquarters official who led the Thirtymile fatality investigation for the Forest Service.
Furnish said after leaving the agency several years ago that he believed some Thirtymile supervisors and managers should have faced more severe discipline. None was ever fired.
Even so, the announcement of criminal charges so many years after the fire surprised Furnish and others.
"I have to admit I'm kind of flabbergasted," he said.
Furnish suggested that allegations that Daniels lied about his role might have spurred prosecutors to take a tougher approach.
Earlier, some of his statements prompted Furnish's investigative team to revise their report that Daniels had surely ordered the firefighters off the slope where they died.
In the past, it's more likely a crew boss would have faced administrative discipline, said John Obst, former president of the Forest Service Council, which represents agency employees.
"That's not to say they're not accountable for doing their jobs. There's no free ride," said Obst, who served on the council at the time of Thirtymile.
Retired Forest Service fire investigator Dick Mangan is even more blunt, suggesting that federal prosecutors took their sweet time examining every one of Daniels' actions -- a luxury he didn't have in the midst of a 9,300-acre blaze.
"Sometimes we have a decision space of 30 seconds, a minute, two minutes -- and you don't always get it right," said Mangan, a three-decade Forest Service veteran who has since served in active operations and safety posts.
He questioned whether the charges were motivated by publicity or politics.
"Five and a half years later, they have perfect 20-20 hindsight and they can find things wrong? I don't find that very beneficial to the fire service," Mangan said.
Jim Boynton, current supervisor of the Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest, also questioned the timing of the charges in a message he sent to Forest Service employees Wednesday.
"My immediate reaction to this news is a profound feeling of disappointment that it has all come to this," Boynton said. "The announcement more than five years after the event and just days before Christmas is especially disturbing to me. Thirtymile was a tragic, extraordinary fire. Still, I have never seen any indication that anyone intentionally put firefighters at risk."
Industry observers say a good number of firefighters -- it's hard to get an accurate count -- have opted out of the dangerous duty, especially for supervisory roles.
Others have purchased personal liability insurance. Lawyers and some firefighters say it's a requirement in today's litigious climate.
Firefighters once openly discussed deadly fires in hopes of passing lessons down the line. Now they're holding back to protect themselves because of a new law that requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture's inspector general to investigate all burnover deaths within the Forest Service, said Mangan, who is still called to consult on fire investigations.
Mangan, the outgoing president of the International Association of Wildland Fire, said the very accountability for which the burnover investigation law was designed could be thwarted if firefighters believe they're talking too soon.
"The firefighting community is going to suffer ɠbecause we are not going to find out the story about what went on. The Fifth Amendment is out there for a reason," he said.
Boynton said the agency has continued to focus on safety. In general, officials say wildland firefighting has improved since Thirtymile.
Fire remains a dangerous master, though.
Five firefighters died on the Esperanza fire in California this past summer -- the greatest death toll since Colorado's South Canyon fire in 1994 claimed 14 lives.
Federal officials pledged then, as now, that they would do everything possible to prevent more deaths.
Families of the Thirtymile victims have repeatedly stressed that better safety goes hand in hand with more accountability.
Federal agencies have resisted or been neutral on sweeping changes, saying the current system provides as much protection as possible in a risk-prone environment.The Yakima Herald Republic
