KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. – The Fremont-Winema National Forest is releasing the name of the wildland firefighter who died last week during a routine preparedness activity.
NBC5 News first reported on the firefighter’s death last Thursday.
According to the forest service, 27-year-old Daniel Foley was assigned to the Bly Ranger District. Daniel collapsed following the successful completion of a Work Capacity Test or pack test.
Members of the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Oregon Department of Forestry performed life saving measures until an ambulance arrived. Daniel was then taken to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Under incident information provided by the Fremont-Winema National Forest, the incident type has been categorized as “medical or exertion or heat.”
Efforts to coordinate an honor watch and a local memorial ceremony, as well as transportation to Daniel’s final resting place in New York are currently underway.
Following his death, USFS’s Pacific Northwest Regional Forester, Jacqueline Buchanan released a statement expressing her profound sadness.
Words cannot express the depth of this loss. Losing even one life is a tragedy, and Dan’s passing, especially so soon after our Week of Remembrance for fallen firefighters, hits me hard. Dan was a first-year wildland firefighter, just 27-years old. He leaves a profound void within the wildland firefighter community and at the Bly Ranger District.
The forest service says, “based on the nature of this incident, additional information will be gathered before a Review Team is mobilized.”
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