Lejeune burn may have caused fatal wreck

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Lejeune burn may have caused fatal wreck <br />
The Associated Press <br />
Posted : Monday Jun 16, 2008 10:27:06 EDT <br />
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A tractor-trailer driving through blinding fog and smoke on a coastal highway in North...

[thedrifter]

Truck kills deputy, fireman <br />
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Men at U.S. 17 wreck scene filled by smoke from Lejeune fire <br />
June 14, 2008 - 8:14AM <br />
SUZANNE ULBRICH <br />
DAILY NEWS STAFF <br />
<br />
Members of the...

[thedrifter]

Base to monitor fires closer
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Smoke led to weekend fatal wreck
June 17, 2008 - 12:12AM
LINDELL KAY AND SUZANNE ULBRICH
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Firefighters will now watch Camp Lejeune fires 24 hours a day after a civilian law enforcement officer and firefighter were killed Saturday responding to accidents caused by low-lying smoke that drifted onto U.S. 17 from the base.

An unpredicted weather shift forced smoke from a smoldering 1,000-acre contained fire burning in the 40,000-acre Sandy Run area onto U.S. 17 between Verona and Dixon early Saturday morning, said Dan Becker, a forest protection program manager at Camp Lejeune.

Motorists called 911 about low visibility on U.S. 17, and an Onslow County dispatcher called the base at 4:37 a.m., said Chief Rob Lewis of the Camp Lejeune Fire Department.

"Almost immediately wrecks began to happen," he said.

Gene Thomas, 51, a firefighter with the Verona Volunteer Fire Department, and Steve Boehm, 36, a deputy with the Onslow County Sheriff's Department, died after an 18-wheeler struck them. Deputies and firefighters were responding to at least two accidents on U.S. 17 due to limited visibility on the highway because of the smoke.

The fire that caused the smoke had been smoldering on base since it began March 17 after a .50-caliber training exercise.

A tractor plow was severely damaged fighting the fire and base officials said the decision was made to contain the blaze instead.

"An assessment was made, there was no danger to the community, so we kept it in-house," said Lt. Craig Thomas, a spokesman for Camp Lejeune.

Containment lines were drawn and firefighters checked the fire every day. Then May 20, the fire flared up again and the base notified Onslow County Emergency Management of the possibility of smoke drifting to U.S. 17, Lewis said.

At that point, the fire was being checked twice a day, Thomas said. Marines also continued to train at ranges in the area.

After a meeting Monday afternoon, base officials said the current fire and any other future still-smoldering fire would be monitored continuously.

Smoke in that area of the county is common, said Mark Goodman, the director of Onslow County Emergency Services and Homeland Security.

"There have been fires occurring in that firing range for years - it is an underground fire, and an underground fire won't be extinguished until we have a heavy rain," he said. "There is not enough water in Onslow County to put it out, and you can't pump water underground and can't smother it."

He said the Sandy Run area fire is similar to the fire still burning in Hyde County, just smaller. Both areas are full of peat, which is less wet than soil, and drought conditions make conditions worse.

He also said Camp Lejeune constantly monitors the smoke and was monitoring it Friday night, but that it was kind of like a perfect storm, the meteorological conditions, fog, smoke and dead calm all contributed to what happened.

Only a major tropical rain or hurricane could put the underground fire out, Goodman said.

Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Complaint filed about base fire safety measures <br />
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Current, former Lejeune Fire Department employees take matter to inspector general <br />
June 17, 2008 - 12:20AM <br />
JENNIFER HLAD...

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Workers: Marines' fire guards need work


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: June 18, 2008

CAMP LEJEUNE

Three former and current employees of the Camp Lejeune Fire Department have alleged that smoke detectors and fire alarms are not being inspected and maintained at the base, putting Marines and others at risk.

The employees reported widespread maintenance problems within the department in a letter sent to the base's inspector general's office.

"Sprinkler systems have no water, fire alarm pull boxes do not work, and fire panels are disabled," said Joshua Bowers, the employees' lawyer, who is based in the District of Columbia.

A spokesman for Camp Lejeune, Major Nat Fahy, said that an internal investigation into the claims has been under way since June 4 at the base, which is home to roughly 50,000 Marines. Fahy did not say how long the investigation would take.

"The commanding officer takes any claims of mismanagement that threaten the safety of base residents with the utmost seriousness," Fahy said. "He and his staff are thoroughly engaged on this situation."

The three fire-department employees said in their letter that at one of the base's elementary schools, the fire alarm blows a fuse if it sounds for more than 20 seconds and then fails to signal the fire department. In one of the barracks, they said, none of the smoke alarms work.

Many of the problems were reported but never fixed, the employees said.

"Right now, we are just trying to fix the threat to people on base," Bowers said. "I hate the idea of the Marines not being taken care of."

Ellie