MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- The 1st Force Service Support Group is ramping up its safety program in response to the accidental death of a young Marine last week.

Lance Cpl. Nathan W. Finney, 21, was killed after falling from the third floor of his barracks in the Mainside Area the afternoon of Nov. 11.

Finney, from Okaloosa, Fla., was a heavy equipment operator for the 1st Transportation Support Battalion, 1st Force Service Support Group.

After falling over the railing of the balcony, Finney, who is not married, was life-flighted to Palomar Hospital in Escondido, where he was pronounced dead at 2:55 p.m.

The accident, which is currently under investigation, caused 1st FSSG leaders to reemphasize their approach to safety.

"We take safety very seriously, not only at the command level but with every Marine and sailor in the FSSG," said Col. John L. Sweeney, 1st FSSG chief of staff. "Injury and loss of life are not things we take lightly."

Finney's battalion commander, Col. David G. Reist, commented on the stance 1st TSB takes on keeping their Marines and sailors safe.

"We work in a dynamic battalion with many moving parts, so we stress safety at the lowest level," Reist said. "It's a 24-7 responsibility for every Marine."

To help prevent future accidents from occurring within the FSSG, leaders are taking renewed steps toward awareness and enforcement.

Sweeney said safety means more than just pleading with Marines to exercise caution.

"If safety is going to be important, then we have to provide the resources," he said.

According to Sweeney, the FSSG has taken five steps to curb deaths and injuries.

The first was to create a safety budget designed to provide safety equipment, classes, materials and follow-on training for Marines and sailors.

Second, leaders are trying to identify trends in past accidents to prevent them from recurring.

The next step is extra classroom instruction for heavy-equipment operators and truck drivers. The FSSG is also pushing Operational Risk Management down to the lowest levels. During the Corporals Course, students are educated on ORM and how to pass it down to their Marines.

Lastly, the FSSG is relying on safety stand-downs to curb off-duty accidents.

"We as a Corps are committed to the safety of our Marines," Sweeney said. "We aren't going to stop accidents from occurring, but we can minimize them by thinking as a team."

Friday, 1st TSB honored Finney in a memorial service, which included readings of poems and passages from the Bible and the playing of "Taps."

The impact of losing a Marine to an accident is striking a strong chord with the battalion's Marines

"It didn't seem real until I heard Taps," said Lance Cpl. Jared D. Propst, a co-worker and close friend of Finney's. "That's when I lost it."

Some of Finney's closest friends and co-workers described him fondly.

"He was a very giving and happy person," Propst said. "No matter how bad things got in Kuwait, Finney always made the best out of every situation."

"Finney was always trying to help other people," said Lance Cpl. Thomas Gutierrez. "Everybody who ever talked with him never had a bad thing to say."

Two of Finney's closest friends who were there at the time of his accident said the way they view life and death is now changed.

"It kind of makes you think how precious life is," Propst said.

"And how easily it can be taken," Gutierrez said.

"He will be and is missed," Propst added.