USDA Forest Service-Payette National Forest

An employee was engaged in initial smokejumper training which includes physical fitness testing, tree climbing training, chainsaw and crosscut certification, as well as initial introduction to equipment and smokejumper-specific safety procedures. Some of the training involves carrying 110 pounds of equipment. The employee reported tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing. The employee was hospitalized with a lung injury.

An employee was completing a physical fitness test and experienced shortness of breath, nausea, and a headache after 1 mile of a 1.5-mile run. She was hospitalized.

An employee completed smoke jumper training and suffered a muscle injury and a lung infection.

An employee was completing an annual work capacity test. Later that night, the employee experienced severe pain in their left leg and was hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis and compartment syndrome in the lower left leg.

On October 30, 2024, an employee was participating in a pack test (a physical fitness test for employment designed to test the capacity of the employee for arduous work, consisting of a timed 3-mile hike with a 45-pound pack over level terrain). He was about 40 minutes into the test when he felt severe back pain and cramps in his legs and became unconscious. The employee sustained a compression fracture of the T12 vertebra.

An employee was walking on a flat level track with a 25-pound pack. He was on his final lap of the test when he collapsed onto the ground from overexertion.

An employee was using a chainsaw to cut downed trees. The employee slipped and fell, and the chainsaw lacerated their left hand.

A crew of approximately 20 employees were constructing hand lines when a dead tree collapsed and injured three of the employees, including two hospitalizations. One employee was hospitalized due to shoulder injuries, and the other employee was hospitalized due to collapsed lungs, spinal injuries, and a broken tibia and fibula.

An employee was cutting brush and shrubs. A bee stung the employee on the base of their neck. The employee sustained an allergic reaction and was hospitalized.

An employee was engaged in initial smokejumper training which includes physical fitness testing, tree climbing training, chainsaw and crosscut certification, as well as initial introduction to equipment and smokejumper-specific safety procedures. Some of the training involves carrying 110 pounds of equipment. The employee reported tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing. The employee was hospitalized with a lung injury.

On December 16, 2024, an employee was walking in a parking lot when he slipped on ice and fell, landing on his left side. The employee suffered three fractured ribs and a punctured lung.

An employee tripped over a bin and fell to the floor. She landed on her hip and braced herself with her arm, resulting in a fractured hip and wrist.

An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.

An employee was standing on a multi-purpose ladder installing head flashing over a window. Their feet were approximately 6 feet off the ground and three rungs from the top. The employee lost their grip on the drill they were using and the ladder tipped over. The employee fell from the ladder to the ground, resulting in a fractured left wrist, bruised chest, and lacerations to their face and lip.

An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.

An employee was loading a 4-inch wooden door into a pickup truck when he felt a pop in his right side behind his shoulder blade. He was hospitalized later that day and underwent surgery, having suffered a collapsed right lung.