St. Charles parents mourn son killed while battling Washington wildfire
The Rev. Mary Zajac, pastor of a St. Charles church, is mourning the death of her son Andrew, one of three firefighters who died after their vehicle crashed and was engulfed by flames in a Washington wildfire.
Authorities on Thursday identified the three as Andrew Zajac, 26, Tom Zbyszewski, 20, and Richard Wheeler, 31, who were battling the wildfire near Twisp, Washington.
"The firefighters were engaged in initial attack operations and were involved in a vehicle accident when it is believed that the fire overtook the vehicle," said a statement from Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
On Thursday night, the Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles, where Andrew's mother is the senior pastor, posted a statement on Facebook. His parents also live in St. Charles, and his father's dentist practice is in Downers Grove.
"We grieve the loss of Pastor Mary and Jim Zajac's son, Andrew, while fighting wildfires in the state of Washington," the statement said. "We have no additional information at this time. Please keep them in your hearts and prayers."
The Rev. Al Patten, who retired as pastor of the church in 2005, said Mary Zajac shared with the congregation her preparations for her son's wedding day last fall. She had made the wedding cake.
This year, she had been receiving treatment for breast cancer, Patten said.
"The congregation is very upset," Patten said. "Mary has had two bouts with cancer surgery and seems to come through that very well. It's been a mighty stressful year for her."
Patten said the chaplain of the St. Charles Fire Department has contacted him to pay tribute to Andrew Zajac, with buntings expected to be hung at the station.
The three U.S. Forest Service firefighters were from highly specialized crews that go into dangerous areas as fast as they can to examine a scene and report back to commanders on what needs to be done, said Bill Queen, a firefighting spokesman. Their hometowns weren't immediately released.
Zajac lived in Winthrop, in Okanogan County, and was a wildland firefighter with the Forest Service, according to The Seattle Times. He received a degree in biology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 2010 and a master's of science degree from the University of South Dakota in 2014, according to his LinkedIn page.
Zajac was a two-year starter at right tackle for Case Western's football team, and was named an honorable mention to the all-university athletic association team during his senior year in 2009, the Times reported. He had previously worked as firefighter in New Mexico.
Zbyszewski was a junior at Whitman College in Walla Walla, majoring in physics and active in the school's theater department, the college's president said in a statement. He was fighting a fire near his hometown of Carlton when he died.
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.