by Georgina Fernandez KTUU
Alaska’s News Source
An Alaska wildland firefighter is dead following a medical emergency while serving as part of a team that was responding to fires in the Superior National Forest, according to the Grand Lake Volunteer Fire Department in Minnesota.
On Tuesday, Scorched Earth Services (S.E.S. Fire) confirmed via social media that Leslie R. Washington, from Noorvik, died on Aug. 11 while responding to the Bear Trap fire near Ely, Minnesota.
“We signed up for this because this is what we do,” Luke Wood, one of the firefighters with S.E.S. Fire, said. “He would fill in the boots no matter what the task is and he would do it professionally with a big smile.”
Wood said he was in the field with Washington when Washington experienced a medical emergency while cutting a fire line.
According to S.E.S. Fire, Washington was working with the K-River 2 crew, which is contracted through S.E.S Fire.
“He was always happy and had a smile every day and was good friend to everyone on the crew. Our crew is staying with him down here until everything is okay,” Charlotte Mayo, who was working alongside Washington, said.
Wood said that everything Washington did, he did with a smile.
“He’s always having a smile, irregardless of the situation, from till the morning, till the evening, irregardless if he’s tired or if he’s overworked. He just had a big old smile, no matter what the task was, no matter what the job was,” Wood said.
According to Wood, Washington’s last words were “my family.” Washington was a father of two.
Mayo added that Washington was a hard worker and longtime firefighter from Noorvik.
“...Right now our hearts are with his family, the community of Noorvik, Alaska and the Inupiaq people of the Northwest Arctic,” S.E.S. Fire posted on Facebook. “These next few days we will do our best to honor Leslie and bring him back home to Noorvik in a good way. Thank you all for your understanding in this heartbreaking time.”
Since Washington’s death, Wood said that crew members have been by his side.
“We’ve been on the road ever since this happened,” Wood said. “We will not leave his side until through his final destination.”
And his crew is not alone. Since his death, Wood said that in every county they have driven through, various departments connected to the fire series have came out to pay their respects.
“Tonight, multiple agencies came together to escort our fallen brother from Ely, Minnesota, south to Superior, Wisconsin. Grand Lake Fire Department was honored to stand alongside our fellow first responders and be part of this procession,” Grand Lake Volunteer Fire Department posted on Facebook. “Rest easy, brother. We’ve got it from here.”
