NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, August 3, 2015
INCIDENTS
Grand Teton NP
One Dies, Four Are Injured In Concession Dorm Fire
One person died and four others were injured on Friday during an early morning structural fire at the Grand Teton Lodge Company's Colter Bay employee dormitory.
A quick response by Grand Teton's structural firefighters and personnel from Jackson Hole Fire/EMS helped contain the fire to a single dorm room. Adjacent rooms sustained smoke damage. Approximately 70 people were evacuated from the two-story dormitory building and all were assessed for injuries and/or smoke inhalation by park EMS providers.
Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received an emergency call at 12:04 a.m. on Friday morning and immediately summoned structural firefighters and equipment to the scene. The first responders used fire extinguishers in an attempt to suppress the blaze before fully-equipped park and county fire response teams could arrive.
A Grand Teton National Park fire engine stationed at Colter Bay arrived within 10 minutes of the call for help. Firefighters with Engine 2 were informed that at least one person and possibly others were still inside the dormitory on the second floor. They quickly located and carried out one individual, who was unresponsive, and helped evacuate others from the building.
Although CPR was begun on the unresponsive person and continued by paramedics for nearly an hour, efforts to revive him proved unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Four other people were treated for minor injuries and smoke inhalation. They were transported to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for further care.
One additional structural fire engine and three ambulances from Grand Teton National Park, plus one aerial ladder truck, one engine, and one water tender from Jackson Hole Fire/EMS, arrived shortly after the first fire engine and quickly joined the suppression efforts. The fire was suppressed by 2:00 a.m. While most rooms were not affected by the fire, residents of the facility were temporarily housed in other locations as a safety precaution for the remainder of the evening.
A joint interagency investigation is being conducted. The cause of the fire has not been determined, but fire investigators have determined that the dormitory was not started by electrical or other facility-related deficiencies.
[Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]
Harpers Ferry NHP
Seriously Injured Employee Flown To Rehab Facility In Atlanta
Ryan Levins, chief ranger at Harper's Ferry NHP, who was seriously injured in early July while participating in a bicycle race that was part of the World Police and Fire Games, continues to recover.
The staff at Inova Fairfax Hospital and an array of other medical providers determined last Thursday that Ryan had improved enough to be moved to a rehabilitation facility. He was medically transported from Inova Fairfax to Shepard Hospital in Atlanta, one of two premier traumatic brain and spinal cord rehabilitation facilities in the United States.
Ryan's mother and aunt flew with him to Atlanta; his father drove with ISB Special Agent Greg Podany. Ryan's girlfriend flew to Atlanta on a commercial airline.
Many emails have been received from colleagues and friends asking what they can do to assist Ryan and his family:
Keep Ryan and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Consider making a donation to Ryan's GoFundMe site. The cost of the medical transport down to Atlanta alone was significant and it is still unknown whether insurance will cover the cost. This kind of assistance makes a huge difference in an immediate and very positive way.
Continue to monitor Ryan's Caring Bridge site for updates and to offer up encouragement to Ryan and his family.
Efforts are underway to identify a good mailing address in Atlanta where you can continue sending cards to Ryan and his family.
Thanks to Dave Horne, Scott Pfeninger, and all those in Southeast Region who have reached out to offer up assistance during the next phase of Ryan's recovery and rehabilitation.
[Will Reynolds, Regional Chief Ranger, National Capital Region]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers):
National Interagency Fire Center - The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise has issued its significant wildland fire potential forecast for the period from August to November. Above normal activity is expected throughout much of the West this month.
Grand Teton NP - With the help of archivists from the Tucson-based NPS Western Archeological Conservation Center, a new archival records space at Grand Teton National Park was recently “populated” with 484.75 linear feet of processed collections.
Operational Leadership - This past June was the busiest month on record for Operational Leadership training. Facilitators presented 37 classes to over 700 permanent and seasonal employees, and 70 supervisors and managers participated in five eight-hour supervisor classes.
Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the Service. This report covers activities in Congress for the week ending July 31st.
Grand Canyon NP - Tim Jarrell, chief of facility management and engineering at Grand Canyon National Park, retired on July 31st after 41 years with the National Park Service.
To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites:
NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/
The Morning Report is produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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