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Scout leaders broke rules as they raised tent
Spokesman says leaders killed in electrical accident violated Scout teachings in raising tent
Date published: 7/28/2005
From STAFF and WIRE REPORTS The four men electrocuted while pitching a dining tent at the Boy Scout Jamboree had ignored Scouting teachings by putting the tent under a power line, a spokesman said yesterday. The Scout leaders also had taken the "somewhat unusual" step of hiring a contractor to help with the task, Scouts spokesman Gregg Shields said. "Boy Scouts are taught not to put their tents under trees or under power lines. I don't know what happened in that case," Shields said. The four leaders killed Monday were to be remembered yesterday at a memorial to be attended by President Bush, but the event was canceled because of approaching thunderstorms. Some Scouts witnessed the deaths of the leaders as the large pole at the center of a big, white dining tent came into contact with power lines. Screams rang out as the tent caught fire and the men burned. An investigation into the accident, which injured another Scout leader and two adult contractors, is incomplete. While power lines crisscross the jamboree's 7,000 acres, the leaders of Western Alaskan Troops 711 and 713 had ample room to erect a tent out of range of overhanging limbs and power lines. The Jamboree is divided into subcamps, each of which is responsible for putting up a mess tent for what could be the hundreds of Scouts in their division. Shields said he did not know if Scouting has a specific policy regarding the proximity of tents to power lines. He could not identify the contractor hired by the Alaska troop, but trucks from Tents and Events were seen at the campsite yesterday taking down tents. A man who answered the phone at Tents and Events' Fishersville office yesterday said no one from the company could comment. The Scout leader injured in the accident, Larry Call, returned to the jamboree yesterday. Jamboree officials said he was taking in events with his 15-year-old son, Kendall, and did not want to speak to reporters.
Date published: 7/28/2005
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