Coffee Mill Fire Entrapment 1931

Arnold Love, Frank Smith, and James Whalley, three firefighters employed by the California Division of Forestry (later known as the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, now CAL FIRE), perished while helping suppress the Coffee Mill Fire on the Stanislaus National Forest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Though incorrect or misspelled names of the deceased are commonly associated with this incident, these men are recognized as the first firefighters lost in the line of duty on California's wildland fire protection agency. This fire predates the employment of standing fire crews in California. During this initial era, temporary laborers paid by the hour as emergency firefighters represented the majority of the state's wildland firefighting force. 

Entrapment, Fatality