Fort Jackson added safety precaution after being cited in civilian’s death
Following the death of a civilian at Fort Jackson, the U.S. Army said it has added a safety precaution.
Nicole Chadwick-Hawkins was a wildlife biologist and civilian employee at Fort Jackson who was killed during a controlled fire on the military post on May 22, 2019.
In November, the federal government issued a safety violation notice against Fort Jackson for unsafe and unhealthful working conditions, The State reported. OSHA said Fort Jackson did not make sure Chadwick-Hawkins was properly protected from hazards while she managed the blaze.
Following the citation, OSHA spokesman Michael D’Aquino told The State that Fort Jackson addressed the issue, but did not provide details on any action taken.
On Thursday, Fort Jackson said it activated an emergency button on all radios. The safety measure will be on all Forestry Division radios, Fort Jackson spokeswoman Leslie Ann Sully said in a new release. It will be similar to a function already used by the Fort Jackson fire department, police and emergency medical specialists, according to the release.
The Fire Management Team was trained on using the emergency button in September, because its work is considered dangerous, Sully said.
”The Environmental Division has always understood the necessity of their work and the fact that it is dangerous,” Fort Jackson Commander Milford H. Beagle Jr. said in a news release. “We are all still working through our grief of losing a teammate.”
Chadwick-Hawkins was killed while working a prescribed fire, a blaze set intentionally to clear brush and improve wildlife habitat. The 12-year employee is the only civilian known to have died while working on Fort Jackson, according to Sully.
Her family told The State that Chadwick-Hawkins’ charred body was found near an ATV she had ridden that day to manage the fire. The mother of three is survived by two elementary school-age sons and a grown son, as well as her parents and siblings, among other relatives.
Fort Jackson said “leaders, supervisors and the workforce abide by Army safety tenants,” and prescribed burns are planned out to reduce risk of accidents.
Over the past 30 years, 1,201 prescribed fires were conducted and 252,244 acres were burned by the Fort Jackson Forestry and Wildlife Branches, according to the release. Also, 1,386 wildfires encompassing 30,958 acres were suppressed.
Deaths during prescribed fires are uncommon in South Carolina. In 2019, the state Forestry Commission said landowners ignite 20,000 prescribed fires annually, and agency officials told The State they couldn’t recall a single death.
Nationally, only 10 of 297 reported wild land fire deaths from 2002-2008 involved prescribed burns, The State reported.
Fort Jackson’s Fire Management Team performs 80 prescribed burns per year that cover 12,000 to 13,000 acres, Sully said.
Since Chadwick-Hawkins’ death, Fort Jackson stopped all prescribed burns until the investigation is complete, according to the release.
”The Army is a risky profession for both our soldiers and civilians, and leaders at all levels use processes, policies and procedures to mitigate that risk daily,” Beagle said in the release. “Where we sense vulnerabilities, we will continue to adjust in order to protect our workforce who enable the Fort Jackson mission.”
Five investigations were launched into the death, and two have been completed, Sully said.
Information provided to Fort Jackson from those investigations was not available, and Sully said all of the investigations might determine what led to her death.
”Moving forward, we will remain committed to supporting the open, ongoing investigations focused on determining the definitive and proximate causes of this accident in order to prevent similar events from happening to our team,” Beagle said in the release.
Chadwick-Hawkins’ son, Dakota Bryant, told The State that fuel was found on her upper body and on equipment she was using that day.
“I don’t know definitely that it was an equipment malfunction, but it is likely based on the fact that there was fuel found on her gear,’’ the 24-year-old Bryant said.
Bryant and Kristie Chadwick, Nicole’s older sister, said the Columbia biologist had questioned the condition of equipment on the all-terrain vehicle, raising concerns about whether a fuel tank exploded.
“It wasn’t working properly,’’ Kristie Chadwick said of the tank. “She’s been complaining to them, telling them about that.”
Bryant said a death certificate shows that Chadwick-Hawkins died of “thermal injuries.”
Fort Jackson is the nation’s largest military basic training base with more than 50,000 recruits assigned there each year.
Two soldiers have died at Fort Jackson in the past five months.
Pvt. Connor J. McGurran died Jan. 8, according to Fort Jackson. The 19-year-old Minnesota Army National Guard Soldier was found unresponsive following a training exercise, The State reported.
Pvt. Andrew McLean, an 18-year-old from Fayetteville, North Carolina, suffered a medical emergency before an outdoor physical training drill in September 2019 at the military post, The State reported.
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