John Crawford stands along side his tractor that was engulfed by flames and threatened his life in a wild fire burnover of his position.
“John, get out of there! The fire is going to overtake you!” The urgent plea came from co-worker Bret Jensen and others who were fighting the 90 acre “race track fire” in Glynn County on April 28, 2007. They watched helplessly as the 60 foot flames overran John Crawford’s JD 650 tractor plow and they could not raise Crawford on the radio. Was Crawford overcome by the intense flames and smoke? Was he still alive?
Todd Bright, a ranger air pilot from Waycross, was the Georgia Forestry Commission’s “big eye in the sky” that day and saw the potential tragedy unfold as he circled the fire. He saw the fire flare up as it hit a dense section of the very dry Carolina Bay (a low area that normally holds shallow water). He advised the three tractor operators in that area, Crawford, David Smith and Brantley McMannis, to retreat. David Smith, the lead tractor operator had just determined that the vegetation in the location was too thick to plow and that the fire danger from the excessive amount of potential fire fuel was too risky to go through, so they all agreed to get out until they could come up with a better plan.
In the process of turning around in the thick vegetation, Crawford’s tractor became the last in line to depart the area. At the same time the fire activity began to grow into an intense flame because of the high amount of extremely dry vegetation that had gathered in the Carolina Bay for many years. Thus it was a very volatile situation waiting to explode in flames.
Two of the tractors made it to the edge of the Carolina Bay and looked back for Crawford’s tractor. They were approximately 75 yards away from the fire and noticed Crawford’s tractor was nowhere around. To their shock and dismay they finally were able to make out Crawford’s tractor being overtaken by the 60 foot wall of flames. Unfortunately, the options at that point in time were extremely limited due to the raging flames, high smoke levels and very low visibility. Going back for Crawford was not an option as his location was a death trap and as Bright recalls, “The only thing worse than losing one Ranger is losing three.” Bright and the GFC chain of command at the scene all agreed that there was no choice but to retreat immediately from the fire to regroup. As he reluctantly left the area, Smith, an Iraq War veteran, said he had never had a sicker feeling because GFC Rangers are like family and you look after each other. “I never saw him jump from the tractor so I didn’t expect him to survive the fire and it was extremely tough to leave the area,” says Smith. “You go into a fire fight together and you come out together. That bond is very strong, whether you are fighting a war or fighting a fire.”
Meanwhile, Crawford was proving himself one tough Ranger who was fighting to save his own life in desperate circumstances. In maneuvering his tractor around in the thick smoke and vegetation to depart the approaching flames, the bottom of his tractor had become hopelessly trapped on a deeply rooted stump. As the other tractors moved on, he tried frantically to dislodge from the stump to no avail. As the fire blew up around him on one side of the tractor, some burning limbs fell against the other door, so he was trapped! The door would not open!
As the heat level inside was quickly rising, he desperately tried to rock the tractor into reverse and forward to free himself, but the tracks only dug deeper into the ground. Thankfully however, the rocking motion did partially dislodge some of the limbs blocking the door. The level of heat inside the tractor cab was getting unbearable and Crawford felt the skin on his ears and head start to burn and sensed the unmistakable smell of his own hair melting from the intense heat. He took of his helmet and held it out towards the flames to divert the heat and used all his strength to kick at the door. He was finally able to open in enough to squeeze out and jumped to the ground, badly twisting his ankle as he landed on the unleveled ground. He tried to use his radio, but it was inoperable, although he could hear his coworkers calling for him.
His first instinct was to try to run to safety, but where would that be, he asked himself? He could not breath through the heavy smoke, visibility was next to zero and his eyes were nearly closed from the acidic smoke and his own tears. He realized that he was not even able to walk, hardly run, and even if he did, he would probably fall into the glowing ashes and perish.
Remembering his Georgia Forestry Commission Training, Crawford Pulled out his emergency fire shelter and tried to pull the tab to open the bag. For some unexplainable reason, the bag would not open! He tried again and literally attempted to rip the bag open, but it would not relinquish the fire shelter. Panicked and almost in shock ,Crawford vividly remembers that he asked the lord for help and immediately felt an overwhelming calm come over him. Instead of ripping at the pull tab, he gently pulled on it and it finally opened, not a second too late!
John Crawford demonstrates the deployment of his emergency aluminum fire tent that he used during the burn over to save his life. Sometimes we forget the grave dangers that firefighters face in in the performance of their duties.
Continuing to follow his training, he unfolded the fire shelter, threw it across his back and extended his arms and legs into the four corners. Going to his knees, then fully going to the ground in a face down position, the fire shelter formed out like a pup tent above him. Luckily, he was able to deploy the fire shelter in a freshly cut fire break that was made by Bret Jensen with one of the departing tractors, just in front of this own tractor. With his face to the ground he was able to breath what little good air might have been available. Then he began to worry about what could happen to him next?
As he lay in the fire shelter, wondering if it might be his last day on this earth, Crawford said his life flashed through his mind. He thought fondly about his wife Rutha, children Myron, Johna and John, his parents and everyone else near and dear to his heart. More than anything else, he prayed. He had never been so scared in his life as he heard the roar of the fire and the tree limbs exploding like popcorn. Then he smelled rubber burning as the plow tires burned only 20 feet behind him. Then they exploded with two loud bangs! Minutes seemed like hours as he waited out the flames to pass through his location. A burning limb fell across his back, but the fire shelter did its job and he was able to knock it away.
Meanwhile, Crawford’s coworkers and the GFC Management Team were organizing a search and rescue effort to locate him. Ranger Pilot Bright lost visual contact with the lights from Crawford’s tractor due to the glow of the fire. But after the wall of flames passed and darkness began to fall, he was able to reestablish visual contact and direct rescuers to Crawford’s position. Crawford knew the worst was over when he started hearing tractors advancing to his location. The smoke was still extremely heavy, but he sat up out of the fire shelter, hoping to spot his rescuers. Visibility was so poor in the darkness that he didn’t want to survive the fire and get run over by a tractor.
Retired Chief Ranger Earl Roberson, who was working part time and also serves as a volunteer, intimately knew the dangers of burnovers, having survived one himself. He walked into Crawford’s position and did not see him until he stepped on him! He says Crawford was hot to the touch, like his clothes had just come out of a clothes dryer. “He was limp as a dishrag with no energy, probably suffering from prolonged carbon monoxide exposure,” said Roberson. Realizing that they need to get Crawford to the hospital as soon as possible to get him checked out, Crawford’s coworkers quickly came to his aid. Roberson, Smith, Derrick Duncan and Scott Cunningham lifted Crawford and started toward the road and awaiting EMTs. They had progressed with great difficulty in the darkness over many smoldering obstacles for about 75 yards when Crawford said the fresh air had relieved him enough that he could probably walk with assistance and other co-workers came to help. So in just a short time he was being rushed to the hospital. Thankfully Crawford was treated for minor burns on his head and ears and a sprained ankle. Although offered the opportunity to return to his home unit, Crawford asked, and was granted, the opportunity to stay in South Georgia and complete his temporary emergency tour of duty. Thus, even though Crawford had survived a life threatening burnover, his dedication to his job and his positive attitude is an inspiration to everyone. Today Crawford says he realizes how lucky he is to be alive and that his survival is nothing short of a miracle. “Life is precious and a blessing from God,” he says. And by the way, he says he loves his job and considers fire fighting “his calling in life”. Under scoring his commitment, Crawford volunteered late in 2007 for a two week tour of duty to help firefighters in Idaho. “The job is very challenging, the days outside are very interesting and its a blessing to be able to save property and help protect lives,” says Crawford.
The burnover incident described above was part of the terrible 2007 forest fire season “that will go into the history books of wild land fires in Georgia,” said Frank Sorrells, GFC Waycross District Ranger. More than 220 firefighting professionals from the Georgia Forestry Commission and other emergency management agencies battled numerous South Georgia fires that destroyed over 53,000 acres and several homes. “We had to pull equipment and personnel in from over Georgia to put out these dangerous fires,” said Hal Sharpe, the GFC Chief Ranger from McDuffie/Warren County, Crawford’s home unit.
Unknown to most Georgians is the dangerous nature of fighting forest fires. Although Georgia mostly lacks the high Sanata Ana type winds and the steep inclines that make Western fires so dangerous, any raging forest fire is dangerous. One doesn’t have to look back very far to site numerous examples, like the 1994 storm king fire in Colorado (14 smoke jumpers killed); the 2001 thirty mile fire in Washington State (4 firefighter deaths) or the 2006 California Esperanza fire (5 firefighters killed). A common factor in these tragedies is a burnover of firefighters positions by moving flames. “We got lucky this time and avoided a potential tragedy,” says Rick Hatten, GFC’s Interim Director of Field Operations, and he said continuous training upgrades and reviews of critical incidents such as this 2007 burnover will strive to eliminate future incidents. Sharon Dolliver, GFC Director of Communications says “So far we haven’t had any fatalities related to burnovers and we have a the strong desire is to keep it that way”. She and Hatten say that a fire shelter is mandatory equipment for all fire fighters and to date they have saved the life’s of at least 250 fire fighters across the USA. The fire shelter protects a firefighter from fire, smoke and heat and 95% of the radiant heat is reflected, but it not fail proof. A forest fire can easily reach temperatures of 1,600 degrees and the fire shelter is a last resort that firefighters can take to survive.
One thing for certain, Georgia is very lucky to have such a dedicated group of firefighting professionals to call upon in times of emergency. They risk their lives to protect the lives and property of other Georgians and are truly our “unsung heros.”
