Swan Lake Fire Ash Pit Burn Injuries 2019

An IHC saw team working the Swan Lake Fire was cutting hazard trees near a dozer line where another crew would be coming in to mop-up. When the swamper stepped and reached for a chunk of birch tree on the black side of the dozer line, his foot sunk into a hot ash pit, approximately 18 inches deep. As the swamper attempted to extricate himself, the sawyer stepped toward and reached for the swamper to help pull him out.

They both sustained burn injuries to their lower legs caused by the hot ash burning along the edge of the dozer berm, underneath the innocuous looking surface. Both patients were transported by one of the crew’s rental vehicles to the local hospital where they were met by the IMT Medical Unit Leader and treated by a physician. Both burn injuries were partial thickness (2nd Degree) burns and covered an estimated three percent of the respective Total Body Surface Areas (TBSA). One patient’s burn was on the back side of the knee joint, while the other’s was located between the top of his boot and his knee.

Mop Up, RLS, Burn Injury