Chad Suppa, dead in parachute accident

Chad Suppa at Wilsons Creek National Battlefield, 2007. Photo: Steve Babbin

Chad Suppa, the Module Leader of the Bureau of Land Management's Unaweep Fire Use Module (FUM) in Grand Junction, Colorado died in a parachuting accident near Phoenix on Sunday, Feb. 15. According to azfamily.com, he was attempting a Base jump when his chute failed to open properly.

Here is a news video that was produced before Chad's identity was confirmed.



Before working for the BLM, Chad worked for the National Park Service on the Buffalo National River FUM. The Lessons Learned Center had an article about the Buffalo National River FUM in the fall 2002 issue of the Scratchline newsletter. HERE is a link to a PowerPoint presentation about the Unaweep FUM that was prepared after the 2007 fire season. Wikipedia also has an article about FUM's.

We will post the funeral arrangements when those are made known.

Our condolences to Chad's family, friends, and co-workers.

In September, 2007, Brad Cella, who had just moved from Anchorage to accept a new position with the National Park Service in Boise, died of a massive stroke after he deployed his parachute while skydiving .

UPDATE: Information about Chad's memorial services is HERE.


Thanks, Mike.