Report details circumstances of fatal fire
By: SARAH WILKINS - Staff Writer | ∞
SAN DIEGO COUNTY ---- Four North County firefighters badly burned last month in the quick-moving Harris blaze were trying to help residents who went back to their southeast San Diego home despite orders to evacuate, according to a report released Thursday by state firefighting officials.
The report, by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, details the preliminary findings of an investigation into the "burnover" of Engine 3387, a San Marcos crew sent to fight the Harris fire, which started Oct. 21 near Potrero and was quickly spread by fierce Santa Ana winds.
The blaze, the first of several to ignite in the San Diego area last month, has so far claimed seven lives ---- including that of a Vista woman ---- and left several others severely injured.
The report, which CalFire spokesman Matt Streck said is "subject to revision" pending the continuing investigation, does not list the names of the firefighters or residents. It does, however, detail a firefight by Engine 3387, which came to the aid of Tecate residents Thomas Varshock and his teenage son, Richard, in the early hours of the blaze.
Thomas Varshock, 52, died in the fire. Richard was seriously burned and remained in critical condition on Thursday, according to the UCSD Burn Center.
All four firefighters were seriously burned, including two who suffered critical injuries. One firefighter was released this week, the other three remain hospitalized.
Because the investigation is ongoing, "CalFire will allow the report to speak for itself and will not comment on the specific issues addressed in the report," Streck said.
According to the report, the fire crew arrived about 11:30 a.m. and at first fought the fire south of Highway 94, but soon turned to protect structures near Potrero.
The engine proceeded to a dirt access road from Highway 94, where the crew met the strike team leader and encountered an adult resident in a white pickup truck, a juvenile resident on an all-terrain vehicle and a sheriff's deputy.
The adult asked the firefighters to check on his house, which was farther south down the access road, adding that there were other residents in a second home nearby.
"The fire captain and the (strike team leader) advised the adult and juvenile to evacuate out of the area and Engine 3387 drove in to check the property. Despite the commands to evacuate, the two civilians followed (Engine 3387) towards their structure on their ATV."
As firefighters headed south, they found already-burned vegetation on both sides of the road and increasingly dense smoke. The crew began to back out, but "suddenly, the adult and juvenile appeared at the side of the engine. They advised the crew their ATV had stopped running."
The crew took both residents into the engine's cab and continued down the road, where the adult said they could find a place to turn around and a water supply.
The fire captain stopped the engine east of the residence and told the residents to stay inside the vehicle for their safety. Firefighters at first tried to extinguish burning vegetation near the home, but were told to stop and get back in the engine after the residence was found to be on fire.
"Before the fire captain returned to the cab of the fire engine, he saw a small, rubber-tired tractor operated by a civilian in a clearing behind the engine," the report states. "The fire captain observed smoke and flame impacting the rear of the fire engine and could not back out due to the proximity of the tractor."
The captain moved the engine forward, but the winds were so strong that flames blew from the home onto the passenger side of the vehicle. One firefighter got out to spray the house with water; the vehicle's engine then stopped running because of the lack of oxygen.
"The fire captain directed the two remaining firefighters to cover the windows on the right side with fire shelters," the report states. "Before the fire shelters could be deployed, the passenger windows broke due to heat, immediately filling the cab with flame, heat and smoke."
The captain then ordered everyone out of the cab and toward a rocky clearing, the report states. The adult resident was later found dead near the front of the engine.
Meanwhile, according to the report, the firefighter who had gotten out of the engine earlier to spray the home became enveloped in fire and sought shelter in a sparsely vegetated pasture. The wind later blew his fire shelter away, but he survived by taking refuge behind large rocks.
Rescuers were called at 12:28 p.m., the report states. A helicopter crew subsequently found the four injured firefighters and the juvenile resident, all of whom were taken to the burn center.
Contact staff writer Sarah Wilkins at (760) 740-3524 or swilkins@nctimes.com.
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Paul wrote on Nov 9, 2007 6:31 AM:Brave, courageous men.
esteban wrote on Nov 9, 2007 7:42 AM:Ya see what happens when know it all citizens try to get involved in something they know nothing about? Now you have all these Ramona idiots wanting to stay the next time an evacuation order comes out.
Murrieta Mike wrote on Nov 9, 2007 8:49 AM:Our hearts and prayers go out to those firefighters and their families. I think that it should become policy that if you ignore an evacuation order, or go back in to an evacuated area before its been cleared, you're on your own, don't send rescue personel in to bring them back out, don't endanger any more lives because someone feels they know better than the experts.
former resident wrote on Nov 9, 2007 9:15 AM:I can understand the idea of protecting your home, but to do so by endangering your life is just plain stupid. To do so by also endangering the lives of others is criminal.
Fallbrooker wrote on Nov 9, 2007 10:15 AM:Agreed, this is WHY so many were evacuated. Blessings to the firefighters and their families. Stuff is not more important than your life.
No. County Reader wrote on Nov 9, 2007 10:40 AM:OMG...Reading this article brought tears to my eyes!!! These firefighters risked their lives for people that should have evacuated !!! A home is a structure and is not worth anyone's safety !!! I do feel badly for those who have lost their homes (some even for the second time) But you are alive and your friends abd family are extremely greatful for that. Everything else can be replaced!!!
Neighbor wrote on Nov 9, 2007 10:41 AM:Our local news devote hours upon hours on the people who stay behind and "save" their home. This article shows that the cost of doing so could be your life or great bodily injury. The next time we have a great fire, locals will remember the news reports about the people who stayed behind to save their homes instead of this lone report about death and great injury to people who did not evacuate.
Diane wrote on Nov 9, 2007 11:33 AM:Evacuate means evacuate - it doesn't mean 'just a couple more minutes'....however, as the son lies in the burn unit with the rumor that his health ins. isn't going to cover his treatment...there also lies 11 illegals or so that are getting free treatment. What's wrong with this picture??
shocking details wrote on Nov 9, 2007 11:46 AM:I had no idea this is what happened. Anyone that did not follow the evacuation orders needs to read every word of the report! It is one thing to put yourself in harms way, but to take others down with you, is just palin WRONG and unforgivable!
Thanks NC Times wrote on Nov 9, 2007 11:56 AM:Thanks for publicizing these details. I really feel for the firefighters and their families. I hope that they heal soon and well. I'm with "Neighbor" on this one; the stories of "heroes" on the local TV News stations have been appalling. No home is worth a human life!
No common sense wrote on Nov 9, 2007 12:48 PM:I read and saw on TV the story of the Ex SD Fire Chief who stayed at his house and saved it and critisized how the fire was fought. All he has done is signed the death warrant for alot of people who will stay behinf during the next fire because of what he did. Sure maybe a house or two will be saved but there will be more lives lost because of clowns like him and others and unfortunately the brave firefighters that will try and save them may be lost also. Maybe if the county and state fine anyone the cost of the rescue or loss of life because of their actions, people will realize it would be cheaper to rebuild a house then the cost of the judgement against them.
Otto ... wrote on Nov 9, 2007 12:50 PM:I'm in awe once again at people's (YOU people's in this case) blinding ignorance and perversely misplaced 'affections'. The guy whose house was BURNING DOWN somehow wasn't the 'victim', but the firefirghters, who WILLINGLY (foolishly?) put themselves into that situation were? Amazing! Have your modern-day values become so perverted that now only so-called 'FIRE FIGHTING HEROES' can be mourned, but a genuinely innocent bystander (stupid homeowner?) mocked and ridiculed for trying to do whatever he felt he had to do to SAVE HIS HOUSE from a fire he (most likely) had no hand in creating? Wow! I was under the impression, from the years of indoctrination from 'fire departments of the world', that only THEY KNOW 'fire' and the stupid public should just shut up and listen to them. YET, when a fire occurs, and then some tragedy because of it, the ONLY reason 'firefighters' were killed was because of some 'stupid homeowner'? The nature of fire itself(hot, burning, indiscriminate, impersonal blah blah) had nothing to do with it huh? The very things FIREMEN would supposedly know more about than the 'stupid homeowners'. Alright all you Fire Department Cheerleaders, next time there's a fire 20 feet from you and your house, make sure you just worry about the welfare of the FIREFIGHTERS and THEN, and only if time permits, worry about YOURSELF. I bet you'd hate to read some stupid newspaper story 3 days later and find out you were the real 'crimminal' for not putting their lives ahead of yours. I propose that we forever replace the term 'firefighter' with the term 'firehero', as that seems to be the only thing everybody wants to call them nowadays post 9/11. Hail to the fire heroes and phooey on you 'stupid homeowners'. And we wonder why the world is in the shape its in. Amazing, simply AMAZING!
Ramona wrote on Nov 9, 2007 1:14 PM:If the authorities (i.e. water district and sheriff/chp) had handled the evacuation properly (or re-population in this case), we wouldn't feel the need to take care of ourselves instead of depending on the incompetence of others. The sheriff supervisor and water authority lied to my face several times trying to come up with excuses not to let me back to my house. I will decide when it's time to leave. I won't let idiots decide for me. We won't talk about those that stayed and actually saved their houses and their neighbor's houses, will we?
To Diane wrote on Nov 9, 2007 1:39 PM:What's your point? If the son's insurance doesn't pay for his care, his homeowners insurance will, or the taxpayers will get his bill, either way he will be taken care of. Oh yeah, it's the illegal thing again. Well for my taxpayers dollar, I would rather pay for those illegal migrant WORKERS that got stuck in this fire than for all the citizen welfare reciepients who won't even bother to get a job.
no home worth... wrote on Nov 9, 2007 1:53 PM:TO Thanks NC Times: If no home is worth a human life, then we all should have evacuated the County to Arizona (including all fire and police) as Aguirre would have had us do, and let all of SO. Cal. burn down. Then we would risk no FF or civilan lives, and all be "safe."
Observation..... wrote on Nov 9, 2007 4:30 PM:Is really sad to read all this sad stories about the fires and my prayers go to the ones who lost their home or some loved one got hurt in the fires.. but as an observation. San Diego city should do something to prevent this fires,, it seems now that every three years San Diego city is willing to risk its citizens lifes and spend more than a BILLION dollars putting out those fires when they chould spend some 150 MILLION dollars a year cleaning up the death brushes that are a really good fuel to the fire.. i think is a really good deal .. plus,, if the Police was making sure no-one entered the evacutated areas.. can somebody explain to me why my bosses' house was empty when he got there and his giant plasma screen tv was on the driveway?......
Fire Prevention wrote on Nov 10, 2007 6:24 AM:If the enviros ... would let the forests be thinned, let people clear their house of fuel, etc etc etc, then we wouldn't have these fires get out of control like they do. These fires are natural in this area, but we're making them into these huge fire storms that should never happen. The green [people] are to blame for this.
Dianne wrote on Nov 15, 2007 1:33 PM:What's wrong with WHAT picture? It's all political at this point: The Democrats want your vote no matter what so they want you to be dependent on them for medical insurance, housing, education, etc. And they want the illegal's vote so they give them free medical, a driver's licenses, a get out of jail free card if they crash in to your car and kill you, education, food, tax exemption etc etc etc.
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