A firefighter from Utah was killed last week from falling tree debris after a modified airliner dropped thousands of gallons of flame-suppressing liquid on the area where he was helping battle California’s largest-ever wildfire, according to a preliminary report from investigators obtained by The Associated Press.
Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett was struck by debris on Aug. 13 at the Mendocino Complex Fire, according to the report by California fire officials, while three other firefighters received minor injuries.
Services for the 42-year-old suburban Salt Lake City firefighter were held Monday in Utah. Burchett’s 7-year-old son, Griffin, carried his father’s helmet underneath his arm as he entered the funeral.
The two-paragraph investigative summary calls for immediate changes, saying firefighters must keep out of areas with overhead hazards when planes are dropping flame retardant. California’s firefighting agency said firefighters already are trained to do that and could not say what went wrong, citing an ongoing investigation.
Burchett was one of Utah’s most knowledgeable wildland firefighters and was careful about his surroundings, said Ryan Love, a spokesman for the Unified Fire Authority that covers most Salt Lake City suburbs.
“This was not a lack of knowledge by any means,” Love said. “It sounds like a pure accident.”
Burchett had been a firefighter since high school graduation and thrived in the tough conditions: sleeping on the ground, eating crew members’ rations and working to protect people, his family and friends said.