By Susan Jacobson
The Orlando Sentinel
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The widow of a firefighter killed nearly two years ago when a 40-foot tree fell on him during a training exercise is suing the Volusia County Fire Services department.
Kristen Curry blames a “lack of training, instruction, preparation and warning” for John Curry’s death.
The 30-year-old DeLand father was killed Nov. 27, 2007, when the tree, which was 18 feet in diameter, fell on him as another firefighter cut it down with a chain saw.
As the tree fell, “Curry ran down the only clearly designated escape route, which turned out to be the exact direction of the tree’s fall,” the lawsuit claims. He was struck on the head.
A report by the Division of State Fire Marshal issued last spring blamed Volusia County Fire Services for failures during the wildfire-fighting training exercise at a training center near Daytona Beach.
Based on the report, fire marshals required the department’s “firewalkers,” who fight wildfires, to receive special training by the end of June, the Orlando Sentinel reported in April.
A Volusia County spokesman could not be reached late Friday.
According to the lawsuit, as early as April 6, 2007, Volusia County Fire Services knew of the danger posed by chopping down trees and that firefighters were not properly trained and didn’t have adequate safety equipment.
Fire Capt. James Burnsed, one of Curry’s supervisors, warned a battalion chief that cutting down a tree is dangerous and complicated when a tree is dead or on fire, the lawsuit states. Burnsed also mentioned that asking untrained workers to do such tasks would result in liability.
The day he died, Curry was attending his first training session as a new member of the firewalkers, the lawsuit claims. The training consisted of a two-hour session that included watching a video. He had received no formal training in cutting down trees or using chain saws, according to the lawsuit.
Curry was the first Volusia County firefighter to die in the line of duty, and his was the first death at the training center, which opened in 1988. He joined the agency in January 2007 and worked at a station in DeLeon Springs.
Kristen Curry seeks compensation for the loss of her husband’s future “support and services.” She also wants compensatory damages for her and her son’s mental pain and suffering. Owen Curry was 3 years old when his father was killed.
Copyright 2009 Sentinel Communications Co.