2013 -- S 1043

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LC02953

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING PROFOUND SYMPATHIES ON THE TRAGIC LOSS OF NINETEEN

HEROIC MEMBERS OF THE GRANITE MOUNTAIN HOTSHOTS

     

     

     Introduced By: Senators E O`Neill, Goodwin, Paiva Weed, Algiere, and Satchell

     Date Introduced: July 02, 2013

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

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     WHEREAS, As all firefighters know and carry with them into each and every fire

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situation they encounter, wildfires are erratic, unpredictable, and immensely dangerous. Yet these

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brave guardians of public safety continue to face the flames and protect our country’s citizenry,

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our property, and our forests; and   

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      WHEREAS, In what would be their final act of bravery, nineteen members of the elite

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Prescott Fire Department’s Granite Mountain Hotshots bunkered down under survival blankets in

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a last-ditch effort to survive a nearly 9,000-acre wildfire surrounding and blazing towards them in

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central Arizona; and

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     WHEREAS, Wind shifts and other factors had hampered the team’s efforts to set up

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barriers to contain the destructive path of the fire as the inferno turned heartbreakingly deadly;

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and   

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     WHEREAS, Firefighters Eric Marsh, the unit’s Superintendent, together with Andrew

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Ashcraft, Robert Caldwell, Travis Carter, Dustin Deford, Christopher MacKenzie, Grant McKee,

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Sean Misner, Scott Norris, Wade Parker, John Percin, Anthony Rose, Jesse Steed, Joe Thurston,

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Travis Turbyfill, William Warneke, Clayton Whitted, Kevin Woyjeck, and Garret Zuppiger gave

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their lives in the line of duty; and

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     WHEREAS, To the parents who face the unnatural act of burying their sons, to the wives

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who are forever separated from their husbands, to the children who have lost their dads, and to a

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community that has lost nineteen brave and noble friends, know that the citizens of Rhode Island

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and indeed millions across the country mourn with you; and

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     WHEREAS, These nineteen men enriched the lives of all who knew them and the legacy

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of their lives and their sacrifice will live on in the memories of everyone fortunate enough to have

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known these beloved husbands and sons, devoted fathers, loving brothers, and great friends. Their

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final bequest of bravery, love, and devotion will hopefully provide a small measure of comfort in

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the months and years ahead to those they leave behind; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby offers our deepest sympathy and prayers to the families and friends of the nineteen fallen

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Granite Mountain Hotshots; and be it  further  

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo.

     

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LC02953

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S1043