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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A firefighter who was killed in a wildfire in central Utah in August ignored advice from his colleagues and didn't follow safety procedures that could have allowed him to escape the blaze, according to a report.
Spencer Koyle, 33, of Holden, died Aug. 17 when he was conducting fire reconnaissance in a burning canyon. He was trying to seek refuge in a fire shelter when the fire overtook him.
According to the report, released Monday by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service accident investigation team, Koyle's "intentions were noble" but two incident commanders "strongly urged" him not to go. Incident commanders had also used emergency radios to persuade Koyle to get out of the area.
Koyle should have been dealing with larger aspects of the blaze instead of coordinating water drops, the report said. His late arrival to the fire also caused the reconnaissance be done in more dangerous circumstances.
"As the Investigation Team completed their work on these causal and contributing factors, we were cognizant of the fact that much of this incident was the result of mistakes made by the victim," the report stated.
The fire began with a lightning strike on Aug. 15. It was contained on Aug. 30, after it had burned 22 square miles and cost $4.2 million to control. Three-hundred people, including firefighters from Louisiana and Wisconsin, helped put out the blaze.
Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
