Fallen firefighter returns home to Utah; donations being collected to assist family
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The body of a veteran firefighter who lost his life this week on the lines of the Mendocino Complex was transported home to his family in Utah with honors on Wednesday.
Draper City Fire Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, 42, died on Monday evening after being fatally injured on the Ranch fire portion of the complex, as Lake County News has reported.
On Wednesday, his body was transported home, with the procession beginning in the afternoon at Eversole Mortuary in Ukiah, driving past the Mendocino Complex base camp in the city before proceeding down Highway 101 to the Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa.
The Cal Fire Honor Guard which kept vigil with Burchett’s body around the clock accompanied him on the journey, as did his wife, brother and a family friend who flew to Ukiah on Wednesday morning on Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s private plane, according to Draper City Fire. Members of the Utah Air National Guard also accompanied him,
Draper City Fire also sent an honor guard to Ukiah, as did the Salt Lake City Unified Fire Authority, where Burchett had worked for 20 years before joining Draper City Fire in May.
At the airport in Santa Rosa, Burchett’s US flag-draped casket was placed in a California Air National Guard C130-J plane, which flew him on the final leg of the journey to Salt Lake City. Draper City, which has a population of about 42,000 residents, is located about 20 miles to the south.
When the plane arrived at the Utah National Guard Base Wednesday night, two fire trucks shot water in an arc over the plane as it taxied in.
Once the plane arrived, Draper City Fire and Police, Unified Fire Authority, Utah Highway Patrol and Unified Police Department escorted the hearse bearing Burchett’s body to the mortuary.
Videos posted on this page document the portions of the journey.
A decorated career
Burchett died Monday evening after he was hit by a falling tree while working on the fire lines, as Lake County News has reported.
Few details have so far been made available about the incident that took Burchett’s life, but Draper City Mayor Troy Walker has confirmed some new information, explaining that it occurred near Lake Pillsbury.
Walker said that firefighters gave Burchett immediate aid and within 40 minutes he was airlifted out of the fire area.
Radio reports on the day of the accident stated that Burchett’s fellow firefighters had used cardiopulmonary resuscitation in an effort to save his life. A medivac unit was directed to land at Drop Point 15, about six miles southwest of Lake Pillsbury, to transport him.
Burchett was flown to Ukiah Valley Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his injuries, Walker said.
For any line of duty death, there is an investigation, and Walker said Cal Fire has a team working on this case.
Burchett, who had been in the fire service for two decades, came to California earlier this month with four of his fellow firefighters from Draper City, jumping at the chance to help in California, according to Draper City officials.
Unified Fire Authority Chief Dan Petersen said Burchett had worked with the agency for more than 20 years, where he had a decorated career.
He started as a seasonal wildland firefighter in the authority’s wildland division in 1995, working his way up to squad boss. He became a full-time firefighter with the agency in 1999, promoting to wildland specialist in 2000 and paramedic in 2004, Petersen said.
Petersen said in 2003 Burchett deployed to the space shuttle Columbia disaster as part of the recovery effort with his work as a crew boss, and earned a promotion to captain in 2009 working in an engine company. From 2011 to 2015, he worked in the training division, training more than 50 new firefighters.
In 2016, he took an assignment with the emergency management division, helping prepare for disasters countywide, a role in which Petersen said Burchett also excelled.
“His true love and passion and what he really was known for was wildland firefighting,” said Petersen. “He possessed an incredible knowledge and wealth of experience in this area.”
Burchett’s journey to California this month wasn’t his first trip to the state to help with wildland firefighting. Petersen said that in 2017 Burchett came to California to be a liaison for all the Utah resources sent there to assist with the wildland fires, and did a “miraculous job” in coordinating those efforts on his first deployment.
Whether he was on the front lines or in administration, the agency, the communities he served and his coworkers are all better off for his efforts, Petersen said.
“We are truly missing a great man who’s given his life to the communities that he took an oath to service,” said Petersen.
Fellow fire officials said Burchett had saved the lives of many other firefighters during the course of his career, and Walker called him a hero.
Burchett’s funeral is planned for Monday in West Valley City, officials reported.
The Utah Firefighters Emerald Society is raising funds to assist Burchett’s family. Donations can be made at the society’s Web site at http://www.utahfes.org/, with 100-percent of proceeds to benefit the Burchett family.
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