Grayback Fire Fighters Back to Work

They're finishing the shift their brothers didn't get a chance to. That's what Grayback fire fighters say as they head back to work.

It's been almost two weeks since a helicopter crash killed seven Grayback fire fighters, and two others. And it's been an emotional couple of weeks. For some, the best way to cope with their loss is to get back to work.

Two weeks of shock and sadness and the loss of seven of their brothers has weighed heavily on the minds of the Grayback fire fighters.

"It's been pretty depressing, especially the memorial service, seeing the families and the other half of that crew, just how tore up everybody was over it," says Thomas Peterson, who's training to become a crew boss.

Peterson says his 20-man crew is ready to put some of that behind them.

"I think it's harder for me to be at home and see the TVs you know, and have people ask me questions all the time about it. It will just be better for me and i think for the crew, just to get back out," he says.

Simply put, it's what fire fighters do. And it's what Grayback officials say the fallen fire fighters would have them do.

"Once you fight fire and become part of the fire family you become bonded and you want to get out there when there's fires going on, especially locally in our home town," says crew boss Sean Hendrix.

The men will be stationed at one of several Southern Oregon fires that broke out over the weekend. With the crash always in the back of their minds they say they'll go about their job just as they did before.

"You know it's what I've been doing for the last six years. This is the time of year when you know you hear planes and you see the smoke and you're just pulling your hair out, sitting at home not being out on fires," says Peterson.

Hendrix says most of his crew feels the same way and that it's their way of paying tribute to the fallen.

"A lot of us want to get back to this honor the guys that have fallen and just finish the shift for them that they didn't get to finish. You know, that's kind of how we look at it," says Hendrix.

Hendrix' crew is not alone. Several other teams of twenty went back to work Monday. However, Grayback is allowing anyone who needs it more time to deal with their loss. The company is requiring the firefighters who were on the crew with the victims to take an extra week off.

The crews will be active for up to two weeks at which point they're required to get a break.