A Hayward man working as a U.S. Forest Service firefighter died after falling from a helicopter during a training exercise in Humboldt County, authorities said Wednesday.
Thomas Marovich, 20, died at 10:10 a.m. Tuesday after falling 200 feet from a Bell 212 helicopter at the Backbone Helibase in Willow Creek, authorities said.
Marovich was a second-year firefighter apprentice with the Forest Service at the Modoc National Forest. He had been practicing rappelling maneuvers as part of training that is required every two weeks.
He was assigned to a helicopter crew that was helping to fight the Backbone Fire, which has burned 6,324 acres and is 85 percent contained, said fire information officer Robyn Woods.
Firefighters rappel out of helicopters with a series of safety hooks and ropes, and whether the equipment was working or properly attached will be part of an investigation by the Forest Service and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Christy Marovich, 21, said her brother had been preparing to jump when their cousin, Stacie Juranitz, who is also a Forest Service firefighter and was onboard the helicopter, noticed that something was wrong with a metal snap on his harness. “It was not attached properly,” she said.
He got a new harness that was checked by “multiple people, including supervisors,” his sister said. But part of it “completely broke off” as he jumped out of the helicopter, she said.
“Something went terribly wrong, and he fell 200 feet,” she said.
Story and Photo by SF Gate
You must log in to post a comment.