Prisoners of Fire

Scott Briggs, Director and Producer of 2024 film documentary Prisoners of Fire in front of the new memorial at 606 Antelope Trail Road, Payson, Arizona.

Scott Briggs remembers watching news reports about the 1990 Dude Fire 36 years ago. He remembers the record-breaking heatwave that blew across Arizona. Temperatures were expected to hit a high of 122 degrees in Phoenix. To write that it was extreme fire weather is putting it mildly. The Dude Fire expanded from 1,800 acres to 3,000 acres in an hour; overnight it grew from 5,000 to 15,000 acres. At about 2 pm on June 26th, thunderheads passed overhead creating downdrafts of wind in all four directions. The extra oxygen grew that fire into a raging monster. Fire crews were ordered back to their safety zones, but at the bottom of the canyon, fire blocked the way for six firefighters from the Perryville Inmate Crew. In desperation, they deployed their fire shelters, but were too close to the flames and did not survive the fiery blast.

Besides killing six people, it destroyed 63 homes and structures, forced over 1,100 residents to evacuate, and burned over 24,000 acres. It took ten days to control using 61 fire crews, 33 engines, 14 helicopters, 12 dozers, and 10 air tankers.*

In 2023, Scott Briggs received a phone call that filled him with compassion and changed the course of his life. The call was from Bill Davenport, a former Perryville Inmate firefighter and survivor of the Dude Fire. Bill had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, lungs, and stomach. His request was for Scott to help him finally share his crew’s story of what happened. A story he had kept deep inside for 33 years. That story needed to come out. He needed to share it with his family, friends, and former crew members before it was too late.

Bill chose the right person to call. It began the project that would result in an award-winning feature film in 2024—a tribute to those who perished and those who survived. Scott attended the 2024 Staff Ride where he filmed survivors as they shared their harrowing experiences on the fireline. His priority was to tell the truth of what happened as he filmed the perspectives of many firefighters who were there.

As one of the hotshots who helped clear the helispot for a medivac, I always wondered if the badly burned firefighter survived the trauma of walking through flames to get to safety. That firefighter was Geoffrey Hatch of the Perryville Inmate Crew who suffered burns over 40% of his body. It was impactful to see him interviewed in the film and to know that he went on to live well and share a sense of gratitude for those EMT firefighters who courageously carried him up the canyonside to the helispot with the roar of a firestorm directly behind them. He was immediately airlifted to the nearest burn center. (See his photo below) It’s interesting to note a comment from Geoffrey Hatch:

“That fire was one of the greatest tragedies that so much good came from it.”

Hatch was referring to some of the resulting firefighting improvements from the Dude Fire incident. Perhaps the most well-known improvement came from Oregon’s former Zig-Zag Hotshot Superintendent Paul Gleason who was the first to reach one of the fatalities and vowed to improve firefighter safety measures. By 1991, Gleason had devised the LCES system (Lookouts, Communication, Escape Routes, and Safety Zones) as a minimum safety standard that is still in use today.

Arizona Filmmaker Scott Briggs spoke at the new Dude Fire Memorial, which was completed and officially dedicated on August 17th, 2024. The new memorial features etched metal portraits, biographies, and stories of each firefighter killed on June 26, 1990, by the Dude Fire blowup. Six months ago, in January, Bill Davenport passed away and a Celebration of Life service was held at the Bonita Creek Fire Station near Payson, Arizona to commemorate his life and lasting legacy within the wildland fire community.

You can watch Prisoners of Fire on many platforms including YouTube and Amazon.

L to R: Dude Fire survivors: Bill Davenport, Norman Enriquez, Steven Pender, Geoffrey Hatch, and Reverend Dr. Bob Osler celebrate completion of the Dude Fire Memorial.

Click the image for the link.

For more information about the 1990 Dude Fire, click the link https://www.nwcg.gov/wfldp/toolbox/staff-ride/library/dude-fire‍ ‍