[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19402]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   A GRATEFUL NATION HONORS JEFF ALLEN AND SHANE HEATH, BRAVE IDAHO 
                              FIREFIGHTERS

  (Mr. OTTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. OTTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solemn humility to remember 
Jeff Allen and Shane Heath, two young Idaho firefighters who were 
killed on the afternoon of July 22 while battling a wildfire in Idaho's 
Salmon-Challis National Forest.
  The loss of life is always tragic. The deaths of people working to 
protect our lives, property, and resources are especially painful; and 
I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of these brave 
Americans.
  Those with the skills and the courage to defend us against the 
ravages of nature and the folly of man are among the best and the 
brightest, and we must do all we can as a Nation to ensure that their 
lives are not put at unnecessary risk and that their sacrifice is never 
forgotten.
  My own son, John, once served with a hotshot first strike crew for 
the Sawtooth National Firefighting crews, so I can empathize with the 
fear and the pain that comes from incidences like this that these 
families now face.
  Today we pause to remember that wildfire does more than just damage 
our economy and our environment. It kills. May the loved ones of Jeff 
Allen and Shane Heath take what comfort they can in the sure knowledge 
that a grateful Nation honors them today and all those who follow them 
into the forests on our behalf.

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