Near miss on the Route Fire, firefighters trapped

[Music] on september 11 2021 firefighters from the angeles national forest and los angeles county fire department were dispatched to a report of a brush fire on forest service land near the boundary with alley county jurisdiction just after initial attack resources arrived on scene the fire spotted across old highway 99 and established quickly on the adjacent slope operations [Music] cruz initially used a direct attack strategy to flank the fire but after spot fires quickly became established the flank of the fire quickly then became the head of the fire watch the left in the resulting confusion the fire behavior forced the nellie county fire department hand crew into two forest service engine companies to avoid entrapment two firefighters sustained serious burn injuries one firefighter from l.a county fire department and one firefighter from the angelus national forest these events occurred within the first 30 minutes of the initial attack during the moments of this erratic fire behavior the engine boss from angelus national forest engine company 317 tom guzman took decisive action encouraging and assisting 13 la county fire department firefighters to load into the already full a f engine companies the last two firefighters to enter the engine received burn injuries the flames from the fire began impacting the right side of the engine and tom ran to the left side he could already feel himself burning and began looking for a place to deploy his fire shelter the engine operator pleaded with the engine boss to seek shelter in the engine that's the fire burned around [Music] them on the left [Music] during this near miss event firefighter guzman's acts of courage to put the safety and well-being of others demonstrates exceptional character that reflects an uncommon degree of concern for the well-being of others firefighter guzman ensured that all the firefighters not only those under his command but also those agency partners that he did not even know were safely sheltered in the engine before he took the last space available in the engine for himself and his own safety

Channel: Wildfire Today

Views: 1,222,288

Keywords: fire, wildfire, wildland fire, firefighters, Route Fire, California, near miss, brush fire

Id: d4lus6ePx8U

Length: 3min 18sec (198 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 11 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/Plantasaurus]

god damn that fire moved fast! Brings new meaning to the term 'wild fires'

[u/rondeline]

Fuck. That.

Those guys are brave AF.

[u/adamhanson]

That’s wild.

Also who noticed the giant monster in the fire at 2:50?

[u/Shoeshin]

Fire fighters are going to get busier and busier with every year that goes by. Would be an interesting profession to get into for the next few decades.

[u/[deleted]]

That was intense. Cool under pressure.

[u/needpla]

at 2:21 he bangs his head on that tool. Why is that tool in there at all?

[u/MinotaurGod]

'Pleaded with the engine boss to take shelter in the engine." What, was the guy seriously just going to let the guy roast outside? Sorry, not enough room in this massive cabin?

[u/mynewnameonhere]

There would have been plenty of room if they dropped those giant backpacks they’re wearing. I can’t imagine there’s anything in there worth more than someone’s life.

[u/tauoverpi]

This is a hero.