David Allen Kirwan Burned to Death Rescuing Dog from Hot Springs

On July 20, 1981, a 24-year-old man from La Caada Flintridge named David Allen Kirwan was traveling through Yellowstone's Fountain Paint Pot thermal area in Wyoming. He traveled with his friend Ronald Ratliff and Moosie, Ratliff's dog. They had no idea at the time that they were about to witness the most heinous incident of their lives.

They stopped their truck in the middle of the day after arriving at their destination and went out to explore the springs nearby.

Their dog Moosie eventually ran away from the vehicle as they went a short distance away from it. He then jumped into the neighboring Celestine Pool, a thermal spring where the water is always measured to be above 200°F, and started yelping.

Kirwan and Ratliff dashed over to the pool to save the terrified dog, and Kirwan's demeanor suggested he was about to dive into the hot spring. Some spectators attempted to advise Kirwan not to jump in, but he yelled back, "Like hell I won't!" and took two steps into the pool before diving head-first into the boiling spring.

Kirwan swam to the dog and attempted to bring it to land before disappearing underwater. He attempted to climb out of the spring after releasing the dog. Ratliff assisted in his rescue, suffering in severe burns to his feet. As the other spectators moved Kirwan to a nearby open area, hoping to provide some relief until the ambulance arrived. He was reportedly mumbling at the time, "That was stupid. How bad am I? That was a stupid thing I did.”

Kirwan did definitely have a horrible appearance. His eyes were white and blind, and his hair was falling out on its own. When a park visitor attempted to take off one of his shoes, his skin, which had already begun to peel off everywhere, came off with it. He had a third-degree burn on his entire body. David Kirwan died the next morning in a Salt Lake City hospital after a night of agony. Moosie was also killed. Her body was never recovered in the pool.

Perhaps David Alan Kirwan didn't comprehend how hot the thermal springs truly are, or perhaps he didn't contemplate the lethal effect submersion in water of such temperatures would have on him, or perhaps blind emotion pushed him to act without even a fleeting thought for his own safety. Can any of us fathom a situation, no matter how dire, in which we would willingly dive head-first into a pool of boiling water, foolish, brave, rash, or otherwise?

Similar Cases Of Tragedy

Another (non-fatal) event of this type occurred in Yellowstone in 2001, when a 39-year-old visitor from Washington state attempted to rescue a dog that had escaped from his family's motor home and leapt into the scorching waters. The man was fortunate to have only second-degree burns and was discharged from the hospital the following day.

Another guy was hospitalized in Reno on October 10, 2014, after jumping into a hot spring at Black Rock Desert in an attempt to save a dog from the scalding waters.

Despite the absence of a dog, the death in June 2016 of a Portland, Oregon, man who walked off the permitted path in Yellowstone National Park and fell into the water near Noris Basin Geyser garnered news due to its grisly and uncommon nature. The man's sister, who was strolling with him at the time and witnessed him fall in, immediately notified police, but they were unable to retrieve his remains due to the heat and acidity of the water.

Hot springs are bubbling pots of steam and boiling water found throughout Yellowstone National Park's thermal zones, most of which are hotter than 150°F and several of which are in the 185°-205°F range. (Water boils at roughly 198° in Yellowstone due to the height.) Since 1870, twenty-two scorching deaths have been recorded in association with Yellowstone's hot springs, with all but one involving people who mistakenly fell into the waters due to accident or carelessness.