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SAFENET

Wildland Fire Safety & Health Reporting Network

SAFENET Event Information

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SAFENET ID:

20221205-0001

Event Start Date:

11/09/2022 1000

Event Stop Date:

 

Incident Name:

Flat Creek Wild Fire

Fire Number:

P8P4GZ23 

State:

Georgia

Jurisdiction:

USFS

Local Unit:

Blue Ridge Ranger District

Incident Type:

Wildland

Incident Activity:

Line

Stage of Incident:

Initial Attack

Position Title:

Initial Attack Dozer Operator 

Task:

Line Construction/ Structure Protection 

Management Level:

4

Resources Involved:

Equipment, Dozer 

Contributing Factors

Contributing Factors:

Equipment

Human Factors:

 

Other Factors:

 

Narrative

Describe in detail what happened including the concern or potential issue, the environment (weather, terrain, fire behavior, etc), and the resulting health issue.

Flat Creek Wildfire Initial Attack November 9th 2022 Chattahooche Oconee National Forest Blue Ridge Ranger District Heavy Equipment- Dozer entered Limp mode during initial attack multiple times 1st Equipment Incident On November 9th 2022, at 0830, a wildfire was reported near Aska Road. Resources were dispatched, to include the John Deere K550 and transport. The operator arrived at a staging area in Blue Ridge GA, allowing resources to size the fire up and begin directing equipment into the area. By 1000, the fire was beginning to make runs and became a direct threat to the Grandeur Subdivision. At about 1030, the dozer began to push line near the head of the fire to secure several structures in the immediate area. After plowing line for approximately an hour, a hydraulic line broke on the equipment. The operator was able to return to the transport with the dozer, return to town, and replace the hydraulic line. 2nd Equipment Incident, with alarms After replacing the hydraulic line, an anchor point was established on the ridge and line construction began. A spot fire had established on the lee side of the ridge and was a direct threat to structures, within 300’. As the dozer began to sidehill to pickup the fire edge, the alarms went off indicating the machine was low on coolant. due to location and fire behavior, line construction had to continue until a flat safe area was found. The operator found a secure place to park the machine and began to look at the coolant reservoir. The coolant level appeared to be near full, and the operator put only about a bottle full of water in to completely top off the machine. The alarms were cleared, and the operator began to blade again down the hill side. 3rd Equipment Incident, Complete Loss of Power As the operator crossed the ridge and transitioned from the head of the fire to the left flank, he started downhill to secure the flank. He noted that this was steep ground. Several minutes after going down the steep terrain, the alarms started to go off again. This time indicating low fuel pressure, and the machine instantly went into limp mode. The power loss from the dozer would not allow the dozer to reverse slope and return uphill, so downhill progression continued. The operator moved the machine to an area close to the left flank and heel transition when it completely shut off. The operator called the nearby resources to relay the current situation, requesting help to secure the area around the machine for equipment defense. Although the machine was not directly next to the fire, the flank would quickly engulf the machine if not protected. The machine was secured and remained on the fireline until a service technician could perform repairs.

Immediate Action Taken

Reporting Individual : please describe actions you took to correct or mitigate the unsafe/unhealthful event.

Corrective actions: For the de-rate caused by coolant sensor: Approximately 16 oz of water was added to the reservoir to return the machine to "full". A repair representative was notified about the de-rate and the terrain in which the issue presented. The operator asked if modifications to the system could be made so loss of power did not occur again, jeopardizing the safety of the operator and values being protected during suppression efforts. The Rep. contacted John Deere corporate and was given the following statement; "No changes would be made to the programming as it was in place for safety (of the machine)" For the fuel rail pressure: No corrective actions could occur in the field. A repair technician arrived 8 days later and was able to return enough functionality for the machine to track out and load onto the transport. The machine was delivered to a John Deere Repair facility for corrective issues.

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