Arizona agency seeks fine in firefighters' deaths

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PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona's workplace safety agency recommended Wednesday that the state Forestry Division pay a nearly $560,000 fine in the deaths of 19 firefighters, saying officials placed the protection of non-defensible structures and pastureland ahead of firefighter safety.

The proposed citations from the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health said forestry officials managing the Yarnell Hill Fire northwest of Phoenix also failed to promptly remove downwind crews when suppression became ineffective, placing hundreds of firefighters at risk for smoke inhalation, burns and death.

All but one member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots died June 30 when they became trapped in a brush-choked bowl near Yarnell. The Arizona State Forestry Division oversaw the fight against the blaze on state land.

The safety agency presented the proposals to the state Industrial Commission at a meeting in Phoenix. The commission has the final say on whether the fines are imposed.

Commissioners could decide to accept the proposals as presented, ask for more information or make changes, said Abbie Fink, a spokeswoman for the safety agency.

"That's sort of the unknown, what the vote and outcome will be," she said.

Carrie Dennett, a spokeswoman for the Forestry Division, said the agency fully cooperated with the investigation and would not comment on it until after the commission votes.

The review by ADOSH occurred simultaneously but separately from a three-month investigation by national experts into the circumstances surrounding the deaths. That report found lapses in communication from the crew in the hour before the firefighters died. It also found proper procedure was followed but did not say whether the tragedy was avoidable.

The 19 members of the crew employed by the city of Prescott had been in a relatively safe position on a ridge top. For some unknown reason and without notifying anyone, they moved down the mountainside through an unburned area. The men found themselves trapped by a wall of flames when winds shifted the fire in their direction.