COPING WITH A BROTHER’S DEATH
PROTECTION OF PERSONNEL
There comes a time in every firefighter’s career when you experience an unjustifiable loss: You lose a field, a building, a vehicle, or a life despite the belief that you followed correct foreground procedures. Believing that you acted correctly is some consolation but doesn’t change the end result.
Our time came one morning in January when we were called to a fire at the Antelope Valley Baptist Church in Gillette, Wyoming. The temperature was — 14°F with a windchill factor around — 5()°F, and snow was falling. Firefighter Alan Mickelson died despite the textbook tactics we used to combat the fire.
THE TRUSS ROOF COLLAPSES
The involved one-story woodframe structure consisted of two classroom and office wings connected to the main sanctuary. The asphaltshingled roof, with three separately supported peaks, was built on lightweight wood trusses. The 40-foothigh sanctuary w^as a large open room, but the wings and connecting structures formed a confusing maze.
As the Campbell County Volunteer Fire Department arrived, members observed a working fire in the northwest end of the west wing, extending onto the roof. The initial plan was for an interior attack to contain the fire to that end of the wing. The attack proved futile; fire extension into the hidden roof truss void was greater than officers realized. Attempts to pull the ceiling to find the extent of the fire also were fruitless due to its rigid construction.
Suddenly within minutes the ceiling and roof slowly began to collapse with crews still inside, some 45 minutes after first arrival. The prearranged evacuation signal—sounding sirens on all apparatus—was used immediately. All firefighters escaped safely as burning materials fell at their heels.
Members directed the handlines and a master stream onto the wing’s exterior. Officers changed the attack to the defensive mode to try to save the sanctuary and the east wing. To provide an outlet for smoke, heat, and fire gases and to investigate fire extension further, members began vertical ventilation on the east side of the sanctuary roof.
As they opened the hole, that roof suddenly collapsed and two firefighters fell in, causing the second evacuation signal to be sounded. Member Jimmy Janetto escaped with minor injuries. Mickelson died instantly as a result of the fall. Two other firefighters narrowly avoided falling and were able to climb down a ladder to safety.
At this time the sanctuary became hilly involved, making a rescue impossible. Shortly after the roof collapse, the sanctuary’s 40-foot-high, nonbearing south wall fell outward. We didn’t even see it fall because of severe smoke conditions. Fallen debris and heavy fire turned numerous attempts to find Mickelson into a frustrating four-hour ordeal. Meanwhile, despite heavy fire streams, flames continued to spread throughout the rest of the building.
(Photo courtesy of the Campbell County Volunteer Fire Department.)
A later investigation determined that the fire started in the furnace due to a failure in the coal auger drive.
Dave Harrington, chief investigator for the Wyoming Fire Marshal’s Office, said the fire had been burning several hours before it was discovered. As a result, the structural integrity of the roof was severely weakened before the department arrived, essentially creating a trap. Investigators determined that the truss ends sitting on the west wall of the sanctuary burned through, allowing it to drop so suddenly. Harrington said, “Usually, before a roof collapses, it will sag and you can feel it. Everyone said this one went from a good roof to no roof almost instantly.”
The firefighters on the scene were not the only ones who had to live through the ordeal. Families listened on scanners, and anyone else who had access to official radio broadcasts also was involved, including sheriff s deputies, dispatchers, and FMS and police department personnel.
A DEPARTMENT GRIEVES
The next morning Pastor Jerry Rott of the New Life Wesleyan Church came to Station One to help firelighters deal with their grief. The following night he led a group session for firefighters, their spouses, and members of other emergency agencies.
Alan’s family encouraged the department to participate in his funeral. Our Honor Guard maintained a continuous watch over the casket until burial. Various fire apparatus, draped in black crepe, were included in the funeral procession. The service started with the “final alarm” in which the pagers were sounded, and fellow firefighters served as pallbearers and eulogists. Emergency responders throughout the state attended in uniform. The service ended with the ‘‘final goodbye,” when a lone siren wailed at the gravesite.
I laving never lost a member in the line of duty, we quickly found that we needed professional help to deal with our grief and sort out our emotions. Carl Jungck, a Wyoming state forestry trainer, recommended that we seek the guidance of Mike Hubbel and Sue Tavern, trauma counselors based in Casper, Wyoming. The department administration recognized this need and approved counseling sessions for all who wanted them.
The counselors held several sessions for both the firefighters and their families. At first some members felt that they were unaffected by the experience, but after attending a session they realized that they did indeed have unsettled emotions.
Hubbel, a Vietnam veteran, explained the similarity between “wartime battlefield” and “fireground battlefield” losses: Both are sudden, are unexpected, and can be devastating. Soldiers and firefighters are aware that death or severe injury is always a possibility but they always keep that thought in the back of their minds. When you lose a member in the line of duty, that possibility becomes a reality and can no longer be suppressed. It became obvious that we needed several counseling sessions to resolve the loss; healing takes time.
To aid in our healing process we are searching for ways to make the best of a tragic situation. Already we are feeling a closeness that never before existed. Previously wc were a group of individuals brought together to help others in need. Now we have a need within ourselves that has brought us together as a family.
TRAINING FOR SAFER OPERATIONS
One of Alan’s dreams was to have a training facility where firefighters could develop their skills. This complex also could be adapted to fit the training needs of other community groups, including law enforcement, EMS, oil industry, mining, and public utilities. The land has been acquired, local government funds have been budgeted, and construction has begun on the Alan Mickelson Fire Training Center in Gillette. In addition, the department, through the community’s generosity, already has raised more than S 200,000 to support the center’s construction, facilities, and activities.
Convinced that their fireground decisions were correct, officers have not drastically changed procedures for roof operations. They have made minor revisions to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again. Members operating on roofs now use safety lanyards to tie themselves to the aerial ladder whenever possible. PASS alarms have been issued to each firefighter. We emphasize preplans and training on building construction.
We hope that other departments benefit from our tragedy. We didn’t allow pride or embarrassment to prevent us from seeking the counseling we needed. Every community has its own support system ready to offer assistance at any time. W’e all must learn to accept help when we need it.
Alan’s death could be viewed as an unjustifiable loss. But for us, out of the tragedy arose a more cohesive fire department and a professional training center to prevent such tragedies from happening to others.
