Welcome Lake Fire Entrapment 1937

A total of 400 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) firefighters, divided into 15-person crews, were assigned to the 1,200-acre Welcome Lake Fire on the Huron National Forest in Michigan. Andrew Lindgren was a U.S. Forest Service fire foreman assigned to supervise all or a part of this group of firefighters. When the fire crowned in a pine plantation, Lindgren pulled his crew back to a safe location. Lindgren was ensuring that all of his crewmembers were out of danger when he was caught by the fire and perished. A Forest Service inquiry into his death indicated that Lindgren was missing for approximately 15 minutes before his body was found. During this same incident, another of the CCC crewmembers, 22-year-old John Latuszick [spelling possibly incorrect], received second degree burns, but survived.

Entrapment, Fatality, Fire Behavior, Hand Crews, Burn Injury