Fire Captain

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

8/20/1997

Special Act Award (Gold)

On the morning of August 20, 1997, Fire Captain Gene Bach, a Captain at the Trinity River Conservation Camp was traveling with his inmate crew to a work project at Whiskeytown National Park. As Captain Bach and his crew proceeded down the east side of Buckhorn Summit, they observed a car teetering over a cliff with the vehicle’s nose pointing down and the rear wheels suspended in mid-air. Captain Bach and his crew pulled over to the side of the road to assist the female driver of the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle had taken steps to try and save herself from her precarious situation. She put her vehicle in park, turned off the radio, headlights, ignition and unfastened her seat belt. She attempted to open her door, but was unsuccessful. Afraid to move, she waited for someone to stop and help. As cars continued to pass her by, she wondered if anyone would stop to help and thought this was not a good way to start her birthday. She had just turned 48. When Captain Bach saw the vehicle dangling over the cliff, he never stopped to think of his own safety. He rushed to Ms. White’s vehicle, threw open the door and literally swept her into his arms as they rolled backwards into the mud. As Captain Bach and the woman cleared the vehicle, it plunged 100 feet down the cliff, flipped once and came to rest next to a tree. As the vehicle began its descent, it rolled over Captain Bach’s foot. Fortunately, Captain Bach was uninjured.