By ROBERT JABLON, The Associated Press 3:51 PM Friday, April 30, 2010

LOS ANGELES — Poor communication and unexpected fire conditions probably caused the deaths of two firefighters whose truck plunged off a mountain road during last year's huge wildfire in the mountains above Los Angeles, a government report concluded.

Los Angeles County fire Capt. Tedmund Hall and Firefighter Specialist Arnaldo Quinones died on Aug. 30 while setting backfires in a failed attempt to keep walls of flame from overrunning an inmate firefighting camp in Angeles National Forest.

Their truck plunged 800 feet from the dirt road on Mount Gleason, struck a rock and flipped onto its roof.

The county Fire Department report, prepared with assistance of other agencies, suggests that Hall, who was driving, lost consciousness as he drove through the flames in an attempt to avoid being cut off from escape.

They were the only firefighters to die during the 250-square-mile Station Fire that burned 89 foothill and canyon homes as it became the largest wildfire in county history. The fire began in the national forest but eventually involved many firefighting agencies under unified command.

Retraining to make sure firefighters communicate better with commanders is under way, county Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said Friday.

Armed with detailed weather information and more warning, "we don't think that Ted and Arnie would have been out on that road," Freeman said.

The department also plans to look at its fire camps and determine in advance whether they should be defended or evacuated in the event of a fire instead of leaving the decision to camp supervisors, the chief said.

"Hindsight is always 20/20," he said.

"As firefighters, we always analyze what we've done and we try to learn from it ... this is extremely difficult because we lost two brothers," Freeman said. "Let's do this in their memory so that, hopefully, this never happens again."

The Fire Department report to the county Board of Supervisors on April 22 concluded the deaths of Hall and Quinones might have been prevented had the camp received better warning that changing winds were driving the fire toward Camp 16 with new ferocity.

At the same time, the report praised "cool heads, leadership, split-second decision-making, raw courage and sound execution of orders" for saving 72 other people. Crews fled a burning building and huddled in trucks and under portable shelters as 200-foot-high flames raced through the site. More than a dozen were treated for smoke inhalation, eye injuries and stress.

The 141-page report by county and state investigators said there was a long-standing plan to defend the fire camp and protect crews there, but "something went horribly wrong" because of unexpected conditions.

Camp workers had been watching the fire for two days and thought it would take hours to reach them, the report said.

However, erratic downdrafts drove the fire into a frenzy.

Hall, who was the camp supervisor, and Quinones drove out to set backfires on a road to keep the camp's only evacuation route open, the report said.

A lack of communication with the commanders managing the fire response and the lack of a lookout along the road meant they had no early warning that the fire had moved southeast and cut them off.

They probably worked in 50 mph wind gusts while "smoke would be shading the sun and obscuring local visibility, and the 'freight train' sounds of the approaching fire run would be becoming much louder," the report said.

A firefighter who saw Hall using a flare gun to set backfires radioed him that "you got fire behind you, you got fire below you" and "you got to get out," the report said. He later repeated his warning by yelling at Hall and blowing a whistle, believing Hall understood, the report said.

In a final radio transmission to the camp, Hall urged "keep the road clear," then suddenly swore before the transmission cut off.

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On the Net:

Fire report: http://www.fire.lacounty.gov/top_story_images/Camp16SAIR.pdf

___

April 30, 2010 07:49 PM EDT

Copyright 2010, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By Mary McCarty Updated 1:30 AM Thursday, December 31, 2009

Like most 7-year-old girls, Michaela Dunkman believed that “Daddy was invincible.”

On Sept. 30, 1951, she learned the hard truth.

Michaela and her mother, Elizabeth, had been attending Mass when Dayton police officers came into the church to tell them that Clarence Irvin Dunkman had been severely injured in a warehouse fire started by four young boys. “I remember riding in the police car to St. Elizabeth Hospital, but by the time we got there he already passed away,” recalled Michaela Dunkman Lanter, now 65, of Beavercreek. “My mom went into hysterics and they told her she couldn’t go in there, but she went flying and broke in anyway.”

Elizabeth Dunkman was left to raise the couple’s five children on her own. The youngest, Paul, only 11 months old at the time, has no memories of his father but “he has always been present in thoughts, words and actions.” Now, Dunkman’s two surviving children feel proud his name will be part of a public sculpture being planned for Stubbs Park in Centerville to honor the 58 Miami Valley firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

Retired Dayton firefighter Rod Longpre said the Miami Valley Firefighter/EMS Memorial Association he co-founded is “very, very close” to beginning construction after nearly 20 years of fundraising. Before noon on Dec. 24 — the day the Dayton Daily News published an article about the memorial — a local company called Longpre with the promise of a $5,000 matching grant. Later that day Houser Asphalt & Concrete of Dayton offered to donate the concrete and gravel.

“It makes me feel very humbled that people in the private sector would want to help us,” Longpre said. “All this time the firefighters were doing it on our own, and it turns out all we had to do was ask.”

Fallen firefighter’s children still ‘family’

It is nearly 60 years since her father died, battling a warehouse fire in the Oregon District, and Fire Station 4 doesn’t look anything like the turn-of-the-century firehouse that Michaela Dunkman Lanter visited so often as a little girl.

The location at Main and Monument remains the same, but everything else has changed. Yet when the Beavercreek woman visits the firehouse with her brother, Paul Dunkman, 59, there’s an immediate sense they’re among family.

The only surviving children of fallen firefighter Clarence Irvin Dunkman are treated like visiting royalty. Lanter can point out the spot where her versatile father once cooked for the other men, and where he would repair their uniforms.

Brother and sister talk shop with Lt. Robert D. Cockayne, whose father, retired Capt. Robert C. Cockayne, served with Dunkman at the time of his death in 1951. “Firefighters are very tradition-based,” Cockayne said, “and when someone passes away, that’s part of our family. They’re never forgotten.”

The firefighters at Station 4 want the rest of the community to remember, too. That’s why they’ve supported the 19-year quest of now-retired Dayton firefighter Rod Longpre to build the Miami Valley Firefighter/EMS Memorial.

“Rod is passionate about this,” noted Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Payne. “Ever since I’ve know him, he has put in his own time and money.”

Steve King, spokesman for the memorial association, said he is dumfounded by the response to a Dec. 24 Dayton Daily News article. “Nobody had any expectations for immediate results,” King said. “We hoped it would help our fundraising.” King said the firefighters need to raise $10,000 to $15,000 to begin construction; they won’t be far from that goal if they can meet the matching grant. In addition, they need to raise $20,000 endowment for the sculpture which will be installed at Stubbs Park in Centerville. Celebrated Yellow Springs artist Jon Barlow Hudson has won the commission to create the sculpture he will call “Fire Wall.”

Jane Black, director of the Dayton Visual Arts Center, served on the jury that selected Hudson. At first, Black felt disturbed by Hudson’s model: “I think my initial comment was ‘I wouldn’t walk into that, it feels hot, referring to the plaza he had proposed. However, I awoke in the middle of the night, having had a clear vision of being in that space, looking at the light shining through the cutout of the firefighter in one of the triangular uprights. It was as if I was in a burning building — trapped, hot, terrified — and had just seen the person who would save my life. And suddenly, that memorial seemed exactly right.”

It’s a fitting tribute, in other words, for the men and women whose loss sends ripples through the generations. “I was just a baby when he died, and I have no memory of my father,” said Paul Dunkman, a grocer who owns the Anna Market. “But I don’t feel cheated. The kids who are cheated are the ones who don’t know who their fathers are. I knew who my father was.”

Dunkman’s widow, Elizabeth, taught him to cherish his memory. She heroically worked every imaginable job — from seamstress to baker to pizza maker — to hold her family together. “She never wanted to marry again,” Lanter said of her mother, who died in 1997. “They fell in love when they were young, and she couldn’t deal with the thought of loving another man.”

Dunkman wishes he could talk to the four young boys — now senior citizens — who started the fire that killed his father. Not for retribution, but quite the opposite: “I want them to know I don’t hold anything against them.”

Concurred Lanter, “They did not mean for that to happen. They were just kids being kids.”

Lanter believes her father would have felt the same way: “He was kind and gentle and very giving to anyone who needed it.”

This is one story among 58. Yet the story of Clarence Dunkman is the story, in microcosm, of the firefighters’ memorial.

For his spirit clearly lives on in his children, in his fellow firefighters, and in the community he died trying to protect.

This is a great retrospective story. It also shows the dedication of the firefighter community and others to build the Miami Valley Firefighter/EMS Memorial.

I'm very glad to see that this memorial is coming closer to reality. They group that has been working to build it has been diligent and patient. I will be very pleased to provide pictures and possibly a timeline of the building process once it begins.

Washington Township, Ohio--A firefighter for 18 years in Washington Township died suddenly and unexpectedly Wednesday December 9th.

Jason Kirby was 37 years old. He died of a heart attack but the coroner's report has not yet arrived to explain what else lead to his death.

Kirby was beloved among his colleagues at the the firehouse and at Lion Apparel where he was a regional sales representative for firefighter clothing.

Kirby was also a pee wee football coach for the Wee Elks in Centerville for six years while his son was starting to play.

Visitation and the funeral will be at the South Minster Presbyterian church in Centerville Monday from 4-8pm and Tuesday at 10 am.

You can share you condolences for the family at the following web address:

mbrfuneralhome.com

Two funds have also been established for his family through his work. If you would like to donate to either contact Lion HR at 6450 Poe Avenue suite 300 Dayton, Ohio 45414 attention Shanda Brown.

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Knight Blaze plays final gigs and pays tribute to fallen member

October 1, 9:49 PMDayton Crime ExaminerDavid Willoughby

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Dayton, Ohio - The final performance of a famous Dayton rock band was bittersweet for all involved.  Knight Blaze played their final two shows on September 30th during the safety expo at Sinclair Community College.  After 15 years of rocking and rolling, April Thomas, founding member and vocalist says, "Knight Blaze has had a wonderful run, but, all good things must come to an end."

Knight Blaze is not your ordinary band.  They were united for a purpose and also united as a profession.  See, all members of Knight Blaze were police officers and firefighters from various departments across Montgomery County.

Kendra Bryant, Moraine Police Department
Vocals, Band Manager

Don Parker, Centerville Police Department
Bass Guitar, Equipment Manager

Richard Palmer, Washington Township Fire Department
Guitar/Guitar Synthesizer/Vocals, Music Director

April Thomas, Huber Heights
Vocals

Gerry Gustin, Huber Heights Police Department
Drums/Percussion/Vocals

Mike Schuder, Huber Heights Fire Department
Guitar/Vocals

They performed for area children while promoting a "substance free" lifestyle.  Not only do they offer rock and roll as an alternative to using drugs and alcohol, they have also been an encouragement to kids to avoid peer pressure and other negative actions.  

Dale Huffman wrote a review of Knight Blaze in his Dayton Daily News column on April 15, 2005.

The final performances were dedicated to a long time bandmember, Jamie Faulkner, Trotwood Police detective who lost his battle with cancer earlier this year.  The band members were honored to have Jamie's wife on hand during a special tribute where they wrote messages to Jamie on balloons and then released them into the air.

Jamie was a 13-year veteran of the Trotwood police force, first starting as an auxiliary officer with the Madison Township Police Department.  During his career he worked as a dispatcher, community affairs officer, patrol officer, evidence technician, school resource officer and as a detective investigating sexual assaults against children.  He had an amazing voice and was very talented on the keyboards and many other instruments.

The last time I saw Jamie play was at the funeral of Trotwood Captain Wiley Sampson, who passed away in 2000.  I am sure Wiley and Jamie have shared some fun times since they met back up in heaven.

It was Jamie's duties as a school resource officer at Trotwood-Madison High School where he met a young man that would soon change his life forever.  Jamie had been summoned to a fight between students and found 14-year old Robert.  Robert had become upset and punched his hand through a window.  Jamie drove Robert to the hospital and found out that Robert had been passed around from foster family to foster family.  After praying for several days, Jamie decided to adopt Robert.  Jamie
gave Robert the stability that he needed and Robert gave Jamie joy beyond belief.  

Jamie had also met another love of his life.  He married Jessie this past year after being diagnosed with liver cancer.  During the tribute and balloon release, Jessie Faulkner wore Jamie's Trotwood Police badge around her neck, along with his official police identification card.

Jamie believed whole-heartedly in the mission of Knight Blaze.  He had a passion for helping all people, but children were especially close to his heart.  

April Thomas echoed this sentiment when thanking the numerous people who have supported and been touched by Knight Blaze over the years.

"To all who have been along for the ride and been our moral support, thank you isn't enough. We all hope that there has been, however small or great, some positive impact on the youth of our community," Thomas said.

Sgt. Jay Phares, Miami Township Police Department was not in the band, but was a fan.  He added, "I think it is great that Knight Blaze was able to send a positive message to the Miami Valley for 16 years."

Lt. Gerry Gustin, drummer and vocalist said, "I will play Hang On Sloopy and Jailhouse Rock for the last of 10,000 times. Thanks to all of you who clapped for us. It was a blast!"

Nice article in tribute to our last performance and to our great friend Jamie Faulkner.