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Robert Paul Stone

Battalion Chief

Pilot Willett and Battalion Chief Stone were assigned aerial observation duties for the "Mountain Incident" wildland fire that was in progress within the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest near Porterville, California. The firefighters were operating a North American OV-10A aircraft. The crew departed the airport normally and conducted routine communications with the command center. The aircraft was seen flying between 400 and 600 feet above the treetops by an observer. For reasons unknown, the aircraft impacted the tree tops in a box-like canyon. The initial impact was to the top of trees estimated to be 125 feet tall. The plane broke up and fell to the forest floor and caught fire. Both occupants were killed. For additional information about this crash, consult the National Transportation Safety Board web site at https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp - NTSB identification LAX06GA287.
photo of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
Robert Paul Stone was honored on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland and was included in the USFA’s annual report Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.

Department information

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
1416 9th Street
PO Box 944246
Sacramento, California 94244-2460

Chief: Ruben Grijalva

Age: 36
Rank: Battalion Chief
Classification: Wildland Full-Time
Incident date: September 6, 2006 10:25
Date of death: September 6, 2006
Cause of death: Vehicle Collision - Includes Aircraft
Nature of death: Trauma
Activity type: Support
Emergency duty: Yes
Duty type: On-Scene Fire
Fixed property use: Outdoor Property

Last updated: November 04, 2014

Watch America’s Tribute to Fallen Firefighters

Honoring line-of-duty deaths in 2019