Firefighters Recall Fire

Posted: Tuesday, March 14, 2017

BY RANDY TRAMP P&D Correspondent 

CROFTON, Neb. — The Crofton Volunteer Fire Department received a call at 10:01 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26. The page said structure fire at 1410 West 2nd St. residence.

“I had just gone to bed when the pager went off. I read it and thought to myself, ‘Oh no,’” Fire Chief Dave Hansen said.

He knew who lived there.

It’s a situation faces by small-town fire departments all the time, and that familiarity can add an extra sense of urgency to each call.

In the Feb. 26 fire, response time was around four or five minutes, the house being located just two blocks straight south of the fire hall.

“The Crofton Police and around eight EMS personnel were on scene,” Hansen said.

A neighbor stated there was an elderly woman still inside.

The firemen knew they had a hard fight ahead since the fire and smoke was hot and thick. Heat from the fire blew out a large picture window, creating the sound of an explosion.

“When I saw the fire coming out from the front picture window and found out someone was still in there, the adrenaline kicked in,” Hansen said. “We had to get her out of there as soon as possible.”

“I heard she might be in the upstairs bedroom, so I sent the first team up there,” he said.

The first crew knocked down the fire in the living room and went upstairs to check the bedrooms, before they got back downstairs, the living room flared up again.

The second fire crew knocked down the blaze and continued to search. They made entry into the adjacent room. Over the radio, blared the words, “We found her. Need help.”

The first team heard the call and responded. They got her out, handing her over to the EMS personnel.

After she was removed from the house, the Crofton Ambulance transported her to the Yankton hospital. From there, Life Net flew her to a burn unit.

The fire was put out in about four or five minutes, and firefighters checked hot spots and evacuated the smoke for another hour.

The fire marshal was summoned. The heat in the house was very intense. It’s an old block house which kept the heat inside. The staircase next to the living room acted as a chimney and funneled the heat to the upstairs, which sustained moderate heat damage.

The house received moderate to extreme damage from fire, heat, and smoke.

“It was a very intense scene, knowing we had one of our residents trapped,” Hansen said. “The Volunteer Firemen had a very dangerous situation, with active fire, heat and mainly the task of finding and rescuing the victim. They handled the situation perfectly.”

The morning after the fire, Hansen received a phone call from one of the firefighters. “I just can’t get it out of my head,” the firefighter told him.

“Yes, you just keep playing it over and over. It stays with you for a while,” Hansen said.

Carol Peitz, a neighbor, saw the fire. “A lot of smoke was coming out of the house. I was surprised anyone could be bought out of there alive,” she said.

The fire marshal determined the fire was caused by improper use of smoking materials.

This ran in the Press and Dakotan  Link















Amazon Review:

It's a military thriller with a heart. Commander Mark Steele has an exciting job in Special Forces. Though it's dangerous, he knows his work is critically important. But that job separates him from his wife and child. When an injury brings him home, his wife is glad to have him back. But other issues cause struggles within the family, leading to distrust and hurt. Steele takes dangerous risks in his new work. The thriller plot thickens, as he seeks to save a life. But can he save his family?

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Curse of Knowledge

I went to an Author's Event yesterday. Eleven authors, including myself, were there. Awesome time.

Two ladies sat next to me promoting their books. They wrote about the Meridian Bridge that connected South Dakota to Nebraska over the Missouri River.

We talked. They said at one time the bridge was slated to be destroyed. I told them I didn't know about that. One lady asked me if I lived in Yankton, to which I told them I did.

"How could you not know?"  One lady asked.

I shrugged my shoulders.

They were so deep in their project they considered everyone thought as they did. I call that the curse of knowledge. 

In one of my stories, a critique partner said she couldn't picture a character. My initial thought was to bring up the character's image in my mind, which was clear to me. But not to the reader. 

So....

When I critique my own work, I attempt to clear all previous knowledge and look at it through the reader's eyes. It's a tough assignment but necessary. 

Randy



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Amazon Review:

It's a military thriller with a heart. Commander Mark Steele has an exciting job in Special Forces. Though it's dangerous, he knows his work is critically important. But that job separates him from his wife and child. When an injury brings him home, his wife is glad to have him back. But other issues cause struggles within the family, leading to distrust and hurt. Steele takes dangerous risks in his new work. The thriller plot thickens, as he seeks to save a life. But can he save his family?

Purchase:  E-Book   Book

Join me on my other sites:
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Write Away
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Starter Trouble

On a late Tuesday afternoon, while on vacation, heading to Pennsylvania, our van starter began malfunctioning. I stopped at a small town in Wisconsin and purchased a starter, but failed to find anyone to fix it.

We traveled down the road and stopped at a motel for the night. In the morning, I slid under the van and tapped the starter as my wife turned the ignition. It worked. We continued our travel.

Upon arriving in Pennsylvania, we went to Washington DC via tour bus. It was a great day. Upon return, I again climbed under the van and repeatedly hit the starter as my wife turned the ignition. It turned over.

I had a strong sense to attend a Wednesday night church service. We found a small church. On vacation we only attend church on Sundays, but not this evening.

After service, I slid under the van and banged the starter. This time it wouldn’t start. After several attempts, I gave up and went back into the church. I asked if anyone knew of a mechanic. A man stepped forward. He worked on vehicles. I told him my dilemma, to which he said, “No problem.”

I know what you’re thinking. Why didn’t I get the starter fixed in the afternoon? My only defense is youth. I didn’t sense the need to. Enough said.

The mechanic opened his house to my family. And get this; his kids were nearly the same age as my kids. We had a great time with our new friends in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. Outside a storm raged but inside the house—peace.

When we woke up in the morning, he had the starter installed. He refused to take anything for fixing it and we were very grateful. We said our goodbyes and continued our vacation.

What we saw ten miles down the road sent chills through us. I switched channels on the radio station until I found the local news. A tornado had ripped through the area the night before. The time the tornado hit—the same time we would have been traveling through the small Pennsylvania town.

It looked like a war zone. Downed trees, destroyed buildings, and debris spread out over several blocks.

Had we not had problems with our starter we’d gone straight into the tornado. An act of kindness by a stranger protected my family. My sense of not fixing our starter but instead visiting our nation’s capital kept us from harm. Attending church on a Wednesday evening became part of the key in our protection.

God orchestrated our safety in the midst of the most famous civil war battlefield. That protection depended upon the obedience of his people.

I wish I had the contact information of the mechanic, but I forgot to get it. Maybe God whispered in his ear that his act of kindness saved a family from almost certain destruction, maybe death.

If not, I’ll give him the rest of the story on the other side.

Read this on Jennifer Hallmark's blog.








Amazon Review:

It's a military thriller with a heart. Commander Mark Steele has an exciting job in Special Forces. Though it's dangerous, he knows his work is critically important. But that job separates him from his wife and child. When an injury brings him home, his wife is glad to have him back. But other issues cause struggles within the family, leading to distrust and hurt. Steele takes dangerous risks in his new work. The thriller plot thickens, as he seeks to save a life. But can he save his family?

Purchase:  E-Book   Book

Join me on my other sites:
Snippets
Write Away
Book Reviews

Join me at randytramp.com. Subscribe and receive updates. 

YouTube  (Travel with me: Videos helping you find your greatest expression.)

YouTube (Family) Kids and Comics