FIRST STRIKE NEWS UPDATE 
February 4, 2004
Contact: Kelli Matthews, Media Relations
Phone: (541) 579-5888

Judge dismisses charge; DA admits toxicology no good, SAIF agrees

Umatilla County Circuit Court Judge Garry L. Reynolds has dismissed a reckless driving charge against First Strike Environmental in connection with the traffic accident in August that killed eight of its firefighters in eastern Oregon. The ruling was in response to the company's motion to dismiss reckless endangerment, DUII, and reckless driving charges in Malheur County Circuit Court.

Following independent testing requested by First Strike Environmental, it has been proven that the .13 blood alcohol level attributed to the driver is completely unreliable. 

More troubling is evidence, now emerging, that the State knew the blood alcohol results were compromised and yet failed to disclose the conflicting evidence until independent testing was demanded by First Strike Environmental.

Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris, who filed the charges, has now acknowledged that all the blood alcohol results are worthless and of no reliable use.

"We questioned the blood alcohol results from the very beginning," said David Terry, First Strike Environmental defense attorney. "When bodies are burned that badly and the conditions under which they are transported, housed and tested are so compromised, there is no way that those levels can be accurate," he said.

SAIF Corporation has agreed with First Strike Environmental. After an independent investigation of the facts and circumstances of the accident, the SAIF Corporation concluded that the evidence did not prove that alcohol was the major contributing cause of the accident. 

Annette Sjullie, SAIF Senior Claims Adjuster, said that SAIF reviewed investigation reports and lab results, including the blood alcohol and related toxicology. 

In a letter to First Strike Environmental on December 17, 2003, Sjullie and her team cited the following as the reason for their decision to grant Workers Compensation benefits to the deceased driver Mark Ransdell:

• The condition of the bodies due to the fire made it difficult to obtain a true reading for an accurate result
• The level of alcohol found in the blood was different from the level found in the urine
• There was a lack of chain of custody of the evidence

First Strike President Robert Krueger expressed gratification at the court's ruling but questioned the reason the charges had been brought in the first place. 

"No one is served by this prosecution," said Krueger. "The driver made a tragic mistake and died. The families have been put through pure hell for months. They want to be able to lay their sons to rest. "

FSE ramps up safety with "fresh drivers," intensive driver training
First Strike is continuing to make the health and safety of its employees the top priority for the company as it moves ahead. "The best way we can put this tragedy behind us is to learn from it and make sure it doesn't happen again," Krueger said. 

The company has been aggressive in its actions to do that:

• Soon after the accident, Krueger decided that crews will no longer drive themselves home from extended tours of duty on assignment fires. He now sends "fresh" drivers to transport them home. FSE employee response to this policy (and the response they received from other firefighters in fire camps) has been extremely positive;
• The company's Safety Committee began a rigorous review of personnel  and policies almost immediately after the incident and will continue that review throughout 2004. All employees have been involved in that process.
• All FSE drivers will be required to participate in Defensive Driver Field  Training by Dan Crites, a certified master trainer of the Oregon Driver Education Center in March 2004. The training focuses on classroom and field course driving exercises with FSE crew vehicles. FSE has added the field course driving exercises to the 2004 training schedule. 

"Firefighting is a dangerous business and getting our firefighters there and back is also hazardous," said Krueger. "Every year we drive countless millions of miles over rural highways and roads. We in the industry are doing everything we can to reduce those risks through ever more intensive training and awareness programs."

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