U.S. Forest Service

An forest firefighter was performing logging tasks when they slipped and fell. Their hand touched the chainsaw bar, resulting in an injury.

An employee was prepping a surface while on the roof when they fell approximately 13-16 feet. The fall propelled the employee up and forward onto a T-post and their eye/skull was impaled. The employee sustained injuries to their eyes, face, and feet.

An employee was participating in training. As they were jogging, they sustained a muscle injury.

An employee was hiking when they fell to the ground and sustained an ankle fracture and shoulder injury.

An employee was performing a 3-mile hike with a 45-pound pack during a wildland firefighter qualification test. The employee suffered symptoms of heat illness and dehydration.

An employee was driving a tractor to create a burn line. The tractor stalled. The employee was forced to flee through a burning field and suffered burns to his hands, arms, knees, legs, and face (about 27 percent burns overall). He was hospitalized.

Employees were fighting wildfires when the wind changed and blew the fire back onto the firefighters. The employees sustained multiple burn injuries and one firefighter was run over by a UTV while trying to escape the flames.

While actively suppressing a spot fire, a forest service employee was moving downhill when they lost their footing and fell contacting a large rock which resulted in a fractured femur.

Three firefighters were hospitalized for burns while fighting a forest fire.

An EMT was responding to a grass fire and went into a home to evacuate it. The employee suffered smoke inhalation and was hospitalized.

An employee was loading the back of his truck with buckets of oil. As he was coming down off the truck, he slipped on a surface that was wet due to rain and fell about 3.5 feet to the ground, landing on his left elbow/arm. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left humerus and required surgery.

On September 25, 2025, an employee climbed an aluminum extension ladder and was on top of the roof of a building She was walking around on the roof, inspecting and evaluating it. She was descending the ladder when the ladder slid to the right and twisted around as she hung onto it. She then fell 10-12 feet to the paved parking lot and the ladder landed on top of her. She sustained a fractured left collarbone, multiple other fractures, and had bruising to the left side of her abdomen.

An employee was supervising a crew as they felled a dangerous tree during a forest fire. The tree struck the employee as it fell, breaking bones.

An employee was riding a horse and leading several pack mules along a trail. A few mules started acting up, causing the horse to stir. The employee then fell off the horse and landed on a stiff woody protrusion that impacted her chest/rib area. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured rib and a punctured lung.

An employee was working on a tree thinning unit and was cutting a 6" diameter tree. During the back-cut when the chainsaw kicked back. The saw struck her, resulting in a 3-inch laceration on her left leg below the knee. She was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was fixing an issue with seed cleaning equipment when he slipped on the ladder he was on. He went to catch himself and his hand went into a moving belt and pulley on the cleaner. The employee sustained the amputation of his right middle and index fingertips just below the fingernails.

An employee was riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to move a bison herd. He was riding up the side of a steep hill when the ATV struck a rock and rolled, ejecting the employee before rolling over him. The employee suffered broken vertebrae in his back that required hospitalization.

An employee was clearing out dirt from an underground pipe when he was bitten by a rattlesnake on his hand.

An employee was climbing in the spreader area to remove a pasta jam when his right little finger was cut by the rotary cut-off knife. The employee sustained a laceration and fracture, resulting in an amputation.

A smoke jumper parachuted out of a helicopter during a forest fire response, landed on steep rugged terrain, and suffered femur and rib fractures and a liver laceration. The employee was hospitalized.