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By WILLIAM GOLDFEDER
“It Felt Like a Bomb Went Off!” – Part 2
“Debris Was Flying Down the Hallway and Hitting Me”
A
s we noted last month in Part 1 did heavy damage. It punched several holes
of this column, for most firefight- in the floor and knocked siding off the
ers, odds are your most com- house. A total of eight cylinders were found
mon structural fires involve single-family in the house, all but one in a bedroom.
dwellings. In addition to construction
concerns, “what’s inside” is a major factor This account is by Firefighter Bryan
that can lead to close calls, or worse, for Claybern with information from Lieuten-
firefighters. In this case, for members of ant Chad Dietz (the injured members):
the Independence Fire District in north- While we were enroute on Engine 452,
Courtesy of Independence Fire District
ern Kentucky, “what’s inside” at a working Kenton County Dispatch advised us of an
house fire turned out to be eight oxygen elderly woman rescued from the home
cylinders. Again, our sincere thanks to who had minor burns on her body and that
Independence Fire District Chief Rich- several oxygen cylinders were inside the
ard A. Messingschlager and all the offi- residence. Units arrived on scene to find
cers and members operating at this fire, a single-story, single-family dwelling with
including Assistant Chief Jeff Armstrong, fire coming from a rear-bedroom win-
Captain Dave Murphy, Lieutenants Chad dow on the D side. Ambulances 463 and
Dietz and Ron Crone, Firefighters Bryan 464 were with the victim in the front yard.
Claybern, Larry Gross, Paul Heringer and Engine 453 was the first on scene and was
Steve Maselli, Firefighter/Medics Darlene “The oxygen bottle that exploded was only feet positioned on side A/B. Crew members
from us when it blew.”
Payette, Joshua Cox and Rick Sturgeon, of 453 stretched a 2½-inch pre-connected
and Captain John Bidwell, who assisted rior crew went in to mop up hot spots with hoseline to the front door. Engine 451 ar-
with this column. a 1¾-inch line, entering through the front rived at nearly the same time (positioned at
door on the A side. It was during this oper- D/A) and deployed a 1¾-inch line to the D-
This account is by Fire Chief Richard ation that the bottles exhausted and one ex- side window. Truck 460 arrived at the same
A. Messingschlager: ploded. At the time of the explosion, I was time as ou