Refuge Officer Beau W. Sauselein

Beau W. Sauselein

Refuge Officer Beau Sauselein was killed in a wildfire on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, two miles south of the NASA industrial area at State Road 3 and Kennedy Parkway.

Officer Sauselein and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biological technician were clearing fire lanes with a bulldozer as part of fire suppression activities when a squall with high winds and lightning suddenly hit the area, igniting additional fires. Both men abandoned the bulldozer and attempted to outrun the flames. Additional firefighters who responded to the area located them a few hundred yards from the bulldozer suffering severe burns.

They were both transported to Jess Parrish Memorial Hospital where the technician died of his injuries. Officer Sauselien was flown to Shands Teaching Hospital in Gainesville, where he died the following morning.

Officer Sauselein had served with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for six years. He was survived by his wife.