First Strike Van Accident 2003

On August 24, 2003 on Oregon State Route 20, a crew of eight firefighters with First Strike Environmental, the Roseburg-based contract firefighting company, were killed when their van collided with a tractor-trailer and exploded into flames. The fire crew was returning to Oregon from an Idaho wildfire when their van crossed a double-yellow line and collided with the truck near Vale in eastern Oregon. The two people in the truck were injured. They were able to free themselves and were taken to an Ontario hospital with dislocations and burns.

The eight First Strike firefighters who who lost their lives:

Jeff Hengel, 20, of Roseburg, Ore., Ricardo "Ricky" Ruiz, 19, of Roseburg; Mark Ransdell, 23, of Myrtle Creek; Jesse James, 22, of Roseburg; David Hammer, 38, of Portland; Leland Price Jr., 27, of Roseburg; Paul Gibson, 25, of Myrtle Creek; and Richard B. Moore II, 21, of Portland.

Vehicle Incident or Accident