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Four Scout leaders were electrocuted at the 2005 jamboree when a tent pole they were erecting touched a live wire.
People are treated for heat exhaustion and injuries at every jamboree, but Scouts hope to reduce incidents with new safety guidelines at next year's event at Fort A. P. Hill. |
By RUSTY DENNEN
As planning goes into overdrive for the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill next summer, one item is getting more attention than usual--safety.
There have always been safety guidelines at the quadrennial gatherings which draw tens of thousands of Scouts and leaders from across the nation.
But they've been beefed up because of the electrocution deaths of four adult Scout leaders in 2005. The men were helping a contractor erect a tent when a metal pole made contact with a live wire overhead.
"There are numerous safety guidelines," some specifically added because of what happened four years ago, said Renee Fairrer spokeswoman for the Boy Scouts of America in Irving, Texas.
For example, tent poles must be nonconductive, and no structures are allowed under power lines. Also, no holes can be dug that might breach with underground utilities.
"One of the very significant things--we now have a safety committee," she said. A representative will be assigned to each of the 21 subcamps during the gathering which runs from July 26-Aug. 4 next year.
In 2005, "Were there things both the military and Scouts could have done differently? Probably. We took a good look at what could have been done to make that not happen," Fairrer said.
The Army in 2006 ruled the deaths accidental. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration cited a now-defunct Virginia tent company with two serious safety violations, for which it paid a $3,000 fine.
Following the accident, state and federal agencies reviewed the procedures and made recommendations to help prevent future accidents.
"We looked at the recommendations and put in force those we had control over and took the further step to put a person at each subcamp," Fairrer said.
The safety theme is evident in a promotional video for next year's event, which calls it "The Best, Most Exciting, Fun-Filled, Safest Jamboree EVER!"
In addition, the gateway structures to Scouts' camps can be no more than 10 feet high, 16 feet for regional camp gateways, with no electrical components.
Scout leaders and volunteers must take an hour-long safety training course.
The Army is also providing additional safety officers to keep an eye on where tents are being erected, says Hank Hanrahan, who heads up Fort A.P. Hill's directorate of plans, training, mobilization and security.
Hanrahan said the Army in 2005 had approved a safe location for the tent where the Scout leaders were killed, "but those erecting it moved it from that location."
Hanrahan said that the Scouts and the Army are emphasizing safety practices in each planning meeting.
"It's a constant matter of vigilance," Hanrahan said. "For every person on the A.P. Hill staff, from the commander to the lowest-level worker, you have the power to stop an unsafe act."
The jamboree was to be held this year, but moved back a year to coincide with the Boy Scouts' 100th anniversary. That's the central theme.
The next jamboree will be in 2013 at an as-yet un determined location.
Scout representatives and Army officials met in July at the Caroline Army base to tour the 3,000-acre jamboree site and review logistics required to put on the event.
"We couldn't do this without the full cooperation and support of the Fort A.P. Hill staff," John L. Alline, National Scout Jamboree director, said in a news release.
Planning for the 2010 jamboree began shortly after the 2005 jamboree ended.
It is expected to draw some 200,000 visitors to the region, in addition to 33,000 Scouts and about 7,000 support workers and volunteers.
It will be the last jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill. Part of the reason, Hanrahan said, is that an increase in training requirements on the base has encroached on the land used by the Scouts.
"Our primary mission is training the Army and other [armed] services."
Still, he said, there's lots to be done.
"As we get closer to the jamboree, the workload ramps up."
Hanrahan said the 2005 jamboree was the first in which other branches of the military assisted the Army put on the event. That will be the case next year.
Meanwhile, the Scouts are still looking for a permanent site, though it appears that a 10,600-acre tract in West Virginia is the most-likely candidate.
In February, the Scouts said they were considering a move to Goshen in Rockbridge County. But land-use issues, including traffic concerns and the high cost of developing the site, made it unfeasible.
In early August, Scouts announced that they were close to acquiring property on the New River Gorge in Fayette County, W.Va., for a fourth high-adventure base.
That deal has not yet been completed, Fairrer said.
The site is being evaluated to determine whether it can support a jamboree.
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com
| The first Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree was to have been held in Washington, D.C., in 1935, but was canceled due to a polio outbreak.
It was held two years later, when 27,232 Scouts camped on the National Mall and President Franklin D. Roosevelt attended. As World War II approached, it was not held again until 1950 in Valley Forge, Pa. Then others were held around the country to promote scouting. Since 1981 it's been held at Fort A.P. Hill. A site for the 2013 jamboree has not yet been selected.
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