Published February 4, 2024, Sunday

INCIDENT SUMMARY

In the early morning hours on Friday, January 26, 2024, a maintenance worker with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Brandon Haight, was doing section work (driving through his assigned area), when he spotted something out of the ordinary on his way back to his WSDOT maintenance yard. 

He went to investigate it.

HOUSE FIRE WITH EXTENSIONS

A large glow appeared behind a home near the US 97/Blewett Pass Highway and that’s when he got closer to the unusual sight, discovering black smoke out of the eaves and fire behavior starting to consume the whole structure.

HERO IN THE MAKING SPRINGS INTO ACTION

Springing into action, WSDOT employee Brandon looked around and then saw no one around. 

(R) Photo Credit: WSDOT

Without hesitation, he pulled over and called his Dispatcher with the Traffic Management Center (TMC) requesting a fire response. 

This rural area is known as a dead zone for cell service and 9-1-1 cannot be called.

Knowing the dangers the house fire presented, he exited his marked WSDOT truck and began banging on the doors of the home yelling FIRE several times. This woke up the sleeping residents and they were able to escape with their lives unharmed. He literally saved their lives.

While helping the residents, he noticed the fire extending to a nearby exposure building, a shop with an attached RV. He asked the residents if anyone was inside the structure and vehicle. They responded yes. Again, without much worry about himself and seeing the fire growing to both the shop and the RV, he banged on the door of the vehicle but found it to be locked. With the urgency to get the sleeping occupant out safely, the constant banging eventually awoke the person inside and he, too, was saved on that almost fateful day.

LIVES WERE SAVED ON THAT DAY

No injuries were reported to the occupants of the home, RV, the WSDOT employee, firefighters, or State Patrol. He was like a Hero-In-The-Making, WSDOT but to this day he was actually considered a full head-on Hero. Nice work, Brandon!

GOING BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY

He remained on the scene to help with traffic control (they often do this if the Incident Response Team is not called out) until fire units were able to respond and get the fire under control. 

FIRE CONDITIONS BURN AREA LANDSCAPES

A Washington State Patrol Trooper (WSP) said: “The fire was so hot, you could feel the heat from the highway and (it) caused nearby trees to catch fire despite days of rain.”

(R) Photo Credit: WSP (This was an earlier photo taken on Blewett Pass on January 10, 2024)

RECOGNIZED FOR SAVING LIVES

We all agree with WSDOT, that if Brandon had not investigated the large fire glow and stepped in when he needed to, it could have been more of a tragic event than it was.

He saved many lives on January 26, 2024, foregoing his own personal safety and remaining calm to request the appropriate resources to help with the fire. He went beyond the call of duty to ensure the occupants were out of the home safely and unharmed. 

They are lucky to be alive today.

This is a rural part of the area and it is a miracle that he was even in this region doing his rounds when this fire broke out.

He was honored by the members of the WSDOT and the WSP for his commitment to safety in his community and for his heroic effort was awarded their Safety Challenge Coin. 

(L) WSDOT Maintenance Worker Brandon Haight. Photo Credit: WSDOT

ABOUT US 97/BLEWETT PASS

Blewett Pass is a mountain pass that has an elevation of 4,124 feet in the Wenatchee Mountains in Washington State and is crossed by US 97.

It is located in both Chelan and Kittitas Counties and is about 109.9 miles from Seattle, Washington – about a two-hour drive.

It was listed as one of the most heavily traveled passes in the State and is now the only route to driving over the Blewett Pass mountain pass. 

There are many ski areas like the Mission Ridge Ski Area, visit the Washington State Parks, or hike in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie and Okanogan-Wentchee National Forests.

For more information about the US 97/Blewett Pass area, you can visit the WSDOT’s website page: https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/mountainpasses/blewett

(c) 2024 NW Fire Blog/Skagit Valley Media Girl