Four Scout leaders were electrocuted at the 2005 jamboree when a tent pole they were erecting touched a live wire. FILE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Jamboree safety will be priority

In wake of deaths in 2005, safety a priority at next year's Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A. P. Hill

Date published: 9/1/2009

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 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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Date published: 9/1/2009