------------------------------------------------------------------- Living Hell - Volume #2, Issue #6 ------------------------------------------------------------------- June 2, 2002 ============ Special Memorial Edition ======================== Contents ======== o Voices From The War o 100 Years Ago o Faces Voices From The War =================== [ Belated Memorial Day tribute from Motorhead's latest "Hammered." Lyrics by Kilmister, Campbell, Dee, reprinted without permission ] > Where do all the dead men go > From the battlefields? > Where are their exploded bones > Their useless swords and shields? > In the Hall of Ancient gods > Are they now at peace? > Or are they fighting evermore > To earn their last release? > > Midgard, Heaven, Kingdom Come > Are they all the same? > Fallen heroes, warriors > The valiant, the slain > Did they believe or did they die in vain? > > Immortal dead, fathers and sons > When all is said and all is done > Running for your life > Dying for the cause > Pawns in the game > Voices from the war > > The men they march away to fight > Their fate is never clean > They never all come home again > To tell of what they've seen > In the battle's bloody fury > Is the verdict just? > Executioner, judge, and jury > Forgotten in the dust > > Valhalla, Happy Hunting Ground > Are they all the same? > Fallen heroes, warriors > The valiant, the slain > Did they believe or did they die ashamed? > > Immortal dead, brothers and sons > All is said, all is done > Fighting to the death > What did they do it for? > Soldiers of the cross > Voices from the war > > [ Indecipherable spoken rant omitted ] > > The battlefields are silent now > The graves all look the same > The crosses without numbers > And so many without names > In the battle's misery > Drowned in blood and fear > A hundred hundred thousand > For a hundred thousand years > > Are they in a better place > Or do they lie unclaimed? > The heroes, the deserters > The cowardly, the shamed > Did they know or did they die insane? > > Mourn for the lost > Stolen from their lives > Gone before their time > No chance to say goodbye > Fighting to the death > How could they be so sure? > Voices from the grave > Voices from the war 100 Years Ago ============= [ Historical artifact, unearthed at City Auditor's officer last week... From "Annual Report of the Mayor and Officers of the City of Raleigh For The Fiscal Year Ending February 2, 1902" ] REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT Raleigh, N.C., March 1, 1902 To the Honorable Mayor and Board of Alderman. Gentleman:- I have the honor to submit my annual fire report of the Fire Department for the fiscal year ending March 1st, 1902. The Department responded to 59 alarms during the year, an excess of 5 alarms over the preceding year, which is the largest number of fire- alarms ever responded to in the history of the Department for one year. Six of these alarms were false, two were by telephone, three of these were beyond the City limits, which we responded to, and rendered all service in our power. The loss to property was (in the City limits) $2,823, with insurance of $2,064, a loss of $759. According to these figures, Raleigh has been very fortunate (taking into consideration the number of alarms responded to) in not suffering a greater fire loss. EQUIPMENT. The equipment of the department consists of three two-horse hose wag- ons, each carrying 1,000 feet, rubber lined cotton hose, one hook and ladder truck, and eight horses in service, one Gould steamer, and 450 feet of hose in reserve. We need 550 feet of new hose. We bought 800 of gum and wax-treated hose this year, and let the Sanitary Department have 350 feet of old hose at 30 cents per food, which amounts to $105.00. We also purchased one horse to supply vacancy caused by letting Street Department have old horse for $40.00. The Department is sorely in need of one combination Hook and Ladder truck and Chemical Engine combined. There has not been one fire in the City limits in the past year, that we could not have handled with this apparatus, which, if we could have had, would have enabled us to have kept the water loss at a minimum, thereby giving the City a still lower fire loss. THE WATER SUPPLY. The water supply is from one hundred and twenty-nine public and fifteen private double nozzled, two and one-half inch Matthew's hydrants. The water pressure varies from fifty to seventy-five pounds tower pressure, according to location, and with direct pressure from eighty-five to one hundred and fifteen pounds. FIRE ALARMS. The equipment of the fire alarm consists of one bell striker, three gongs in engine houses, on four-circuit repeater, one storage battery complete with switchboard, etc., and thirty-three street-alarm boxes. The Department needs another horse to use as a relief horse. We are handicapped now, owing to the fact that whenever one of our horses goes lame or gets sick, it necessitates putting one apparatus out of service. We could also use this relief horse (when not reliving other horses) as the Chief's horse, for the purpose of hunting troubles in the fire-alarm system, inspecting hydrants and reaching the scene of conflagration more quickly at night. We have a horse now in service who, if allowed to run two or three months in pastures without shoes, would be all right for a relief horse, but one long run in his present condition would put him out of business. EXPENSE ACCOUNT. From the report of the Finance Committee it will be seen that the ex- penditures of the Fire Department for the fiscal year were as follows: Salary Chief of Fire Department $ 350 00 Salary Assist. Chief of Fire Department 50 00 Salary drivers and labor 3,223 17 Repairs to fire alarm telegraph, including new battery 386 20 Current for battery 43 20 Hose and repairs to apparatus 695 53 Provender 1,050 61 Smithwork 56 55 Appropriation of $100 to each of four fire companies 400 00 Horse 175 00 Lights in buildings 61 23 Dues of firemen in State Firemen's Asso. 35 50 Hardware 41 78 Coal 61 25 Harness and repairs 24 90 Oil 27 55 Veterinary and medicine, for horses 61 74 Repairs to buildings (water pipes) 15 40 Charges for extinguishers 12 15 Rent of horse 7 00 Rent of warehouse for Victor Company 7 00 $ 6,784 01 Respectfully submitted, L. H. LUMSDEN, Chief. Table of Fire Losses (.jpg image/165K) http://legeros.com/ralwake/history/1902.jpg Faces ===== The April edition of Firehouse Magazine, first issue of my first subscription in over a decade. Special edition, the subject Sep- tember 11 and the World Trade Center. Interviews and testimonials. Chronologies and critiques. Pictures. Diagrams. And, toward the back of the magazine, spread across nine pages, 343 portraits in black and white. Faces of the dead. Firefighters, Fire Captains, Fire *Chaplains*, and even the Chief. All buried by the Twin Tow- ers. I close the covers at that point, too pained to peruse fur- ther. Extraordinary sacrifices of extraordinary individuals. But what, I begin wondering, of the *other* firefighters who perished that day? That week? That year? What of the *less*-spectacular tragedies that befell that brave profession? According to the US Fire Administration's National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Data- base, another 99 firefighters were lost in the line of duty last year; men and women who perished while serving their cities, towns, rural communities. They died from causes both natural and not; in circumstances both noble and less so. They fell from the sky and burned beneath flooring. And many, maybe most, were heart-related, a grim reminder of the super-taxing stamina involved in the saving lives and property. You've read about 9/11. Here are the stories from the rest of that year... o Dennis, Betty King, Age 54, Member/EMT, Centerville Fire and Rescue, Louisburg, NC Struck and killed by vehicle while directing traffic at scene of accident. 1/3/01 o McLoughlin, Gregg J., Age 39, Firefighter, New York City Fire Department Cardiac arrest at firehouse. 1/4/01 o Stitley III, W. Gilmore, Age 54, Firefighter, Independent Hose Co. / Citizens Truck Co., Frederick, MD Collapsed and died of apparent heart attack while putting on turnout gear at scene of mulch pile fire. 1/10/01 o Buongiorne, Rick, Age 48, Firefighter, Kendall Fire Depart- ment, Kendall, NY Died from injuries sustained when struck by vehicle while directing traffic at scene of accident. 1/10/01 o White, Andrew, Age 27, Lieutenant, Rocky Grove Volunteer Fire Department, Franklin, PA Trapped and killed when fire conditions quickly deteriorated in trailer house fire. Died of asphyxiation when air tank ran empty, according to autopsy report. 1/11/01 o Thompson, William L., Age 21, Firefighter, Hillsboro Volun- teer Fire Department, Hillsboro, KY Lost control of fire tanker while responding to grass fire. Vehicle left roadway, struck a utility pole and overturned. 1/12/01 o Franklin, Donald L., Age 42, Firefighter, New York City Fire Department Collapsed and died from cause still to be determined, possi- ble heart attack, while working at scene of burning apart- ment building. 1/13/01 o Towne, Christopher, Age 52, Lieutenant, Detroit Fire Depart- ment, Detroit, MI Died while on duty in quarters of station of cause still to be determined. 1/18/01 o Haigler, James Henry, Age 44, Driver / Operator, Sanford Fire Department, Sanford, NC After working twenty four-hour shift, returned home and within four hours collapsed and died of apparent heart attack. 1/19/01 o McKinley, Johnny, Age 54, Firefighter, Pine Hill Volunteer Fire Department, Pine Hill, AL Collapsed and died from apparent heart attack while working structure fire set by arsonist. 1/25/01 o Smith, Cecil, Age 76, Firefighter, Meredith Volunteer Fire, Meredith, NH Died from injuries sustained in traffic accident involving his personal-owned vehicle while responding to reported structure fire. 1/28/01 o Smith, Mathew, Age 33, Firefighter, Redwood City Fire De- partment, Redwood City, CA Suffered apparent heart attack while on duty at end of phys- ical fitness period. 2/5/01 o Lloyd, Ray, Age 65, Firefighter, Marion County Fire-Rescue, Ocala, FL Collapsed and died from apparent heart attack while working trailer fire. 2/7/01 o McKean, Mike, Age 32, Firefighter Talley, Clint, Age 27, Lieutenant, Ashton Fire Protection District, Ashton, Illinois Both trapped and killed while fighting fire in basement of ranch-style house. 2/17/01 o Wollman, Barry, Age 53, Firefighter, Eagleville Fire Depart- ment, Mansfield, CT Died of apparent heart attack while parking vehicle in bay within minutes of returning to station from fire at nearby mall. 2/18/01 o Nester, Donald L., Age 56, Chief Engineer, Amity Fire Com- pany, Douglasville, PA Died from injuries sustained from fall down flight of steps while working at firehouse. 2/19/01 o Curtis, Lloyd E., Age 75, Firefighter, Vestal Fire Depart- ment, Vestal, NY Collapsed from apparent heart attack while riding inside fire vehicle, responding to activated fire alarm at nursing home. Died in hospital short time later. 2/19/01 o Isberner, James, Age 60, Firefighter, Montello Fire Depart- ment, Montello, WI Died from apparent heart attack while assisting with hose- line on exterior of residential structure fire. 2/19/01 o Johnson, Dana R., Age 46, Assistant Chief, Grantsburg Fire Association, Grantsburg, WI Died from injuries sustained while fighting fire at restau- rant when wall collapsed on him and another firefighter. 2/26/01 o Kobierowski, Chris, Age 41, Assistant Chief, Delta Junction City Fire Department, Delta Junction, AK Died from injuries sustained in traffic accident while re- sponding to structure fire. 3/6/01 o Fields, Gerald W., Age 53, Firefighter, Dallas Fire Depart- ment, Dallas, TX Died of apparent heart attack while on duty at fire station. 3/10/01 o James, William "Bill", Age 65, Firefighter, Caballo Fire and Rescue Department, Caballo, NM Suffered heart attack while participating in half-day of training in full bunker gear and in very warm weather. Firefighters and EMS personnel began CPR immediately and transported Firefighter James to the hospital where he pas- sed away three days later. 3/14/01 o Tarver, Bret, Age 41, Firefighter, Phoenix Fire Department, Phoenix, AZ Died of burns and smoke inhalation when overcome by rapid fire progress while working fire inside of shopping center supermarket. 3/14/01 o Winner, Robert J., Age 54, Firefighter, Perrysville Volun- teer Fire Department, Pittsburgh, PA Suffered heart attack while operating pumper at residential house fire. 3/16/01 o Shaffer, Jay, Age 47, Captain, Larkspur Fire Protection Dis- trict, Larkspur, CO Died of apparent heart attack while completing three-mile pack test to become certified to fight wildfires. 3/17/01 o Whitby, E. Frank, Age 39, Firefighter Mullaney, J. David, Age 36, Firefighter, Sac-Osage Fire Protection District, Osceola, MO Both became trapped inside burning house after flashover. 3/18/01 o Griffiths Sr., Arthur C., Age 65, Captain of Fire Police, Spangler Fire Department, Cambria, PA Suffered heart attack after leaving to pick up supplies, after working in fire station kitchen for three and a half hours. 3/20/01 o Ellison III, William, Age 38, Firefighter, Miami Township Fire Department, Cleves, OH Was searching for victim reportedly trapped inside burning house when first floor collapsed and he fell into basement. Firefighter Ellison was trapped for several minutes. When fire personnel located him using a thermal-imaging camera, he was unconscious and severely burned. Firefighter Elli- son was flown to the hospital, having sustained third degree burns to more than half of his body. He died as a result of these injuries. 3/20/01 o Heenan, Jim, Age 37, Firefighter, Verga Fire and Rescue Com- pany, Verga, NJ Died from injuries sustained while searching for victims in January 1 house fire, when floor collapsed beneath him. Dispatch information included reports of entrapment, later determined to be false. Firefighter Heenan was trapped in basement under debris for about 20 minutes. He suffered burns to 74 percent of his body and had been through several surgeries before finally passing away on March 25. 3/25/01 o Roberts, Nancy, Age 38, Firefighter, Willow Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Willow Creek, CA Drowned while practicing whitewater skills with another firefighter on South Fork of Trinity River. 3/31/01 o Paz, Thomas, Age 52, Engineer, Federal Fire Department, Pearl Harbor, HI Cardiac arrest while at station. 4/2/01 o Simpson, Dale, Age 38, Firefighter, Clear Lake Volunteer Fire Department, Clear Lake, IO Died of undetermined cause shortly after leaving station after stowing equipment after working small fire in shed / outbuilding. 4/2/01 o Murdick, Anthony, Age 25, Assistant Chief Wilson, Scott, Age 25, Firefighter/Paramedic, Unionville / Center Township, Butler, PA Both drowned while trying to reach trapped body of kayaker in Slippery Rock Creek at McConnell's Mill State Park. 4/8/01 o Richter, Brian S., Age 34, Firefighter, Pottsville Volunteer Fire Department, Pottsville, AR Was answering alarm for structure fire and, while en route to station, lost control of privately owned vehicle and died as result of injuries sustained when it overturned. 4/8/01 o Canouse, Richard C., Age 69, Pike County Firemen's Federa- tion Fire Coordinator, Milford Fire Department, Milford, PA Died of apparent heart attack upon arrival of reported structure fire. 4/9/01 o Reed, Brian, Age 39, Firefighter, West Manatee Fire and Res- cue, Holmes Beach, FL Electrocuted while working on fixture, while standing on 15- foot extension ladder in apparatus bay. Fell onto concrete floor and died a short time later at hospital from injuries sustained. 4/10/01 o Poland Sr., Woodrow, Age 72, Firefighter-President, North River Valley Volunteer Fire Company, Rio, WV Found dead from head and neck trauma resulting from fall in fire department substation where he had been performing maintenance work on plumbing. 4/19/01 o Rupkey, James, Age 58, Lieutenant, Troy Fire Department, Troy, MI Collapsed and died from apparent heart attack while partici- pating in search and rescue training wearing full turnout gear and airpack. 4/24/01 o Tirado, Alberto, Age 40, Firefighter, Passaic Fire Depart- ment, Passaic, NJ Died after becoming trapped while searching for potential victims on third floor of burning apartment building. 5/9/01 o Christoffer, Willard, Age 54, Firefighter, Western Springs Fire Department, Western Springs, IL Died during training activity when, for reasons unknown, accidentally fell approximately 65 feet down aerial ladder. 5/14/01 o Eutsler, Ritchie, Age 30, Captain, Republic Fire Depart- ment, Republic, MO Expired in sleep at station. Was discovered by incoming shift next morning. 5/16/01 o Webb, Lawrence, Age 37, Firefighter, Newark Fire Department, Newark, NJ Collapsed and died from smoke inhalation while fighting fire inside residential structure. 5/22/01 o Souza, Donald, Age 64, Captain, Centerville-Osterville-Mar- stons Mills Fire Department, Centerville, MA Received severe electric shock while working at structure fire. The injury forced early retirement due to cardiac complications and eventual death due to same cause. 5/30/01 o Brown, Travis, Age 30, Firefighter, Dearborn Area Fire Pro- tection District, Dearborn, MO Was passenger riding in water tanker, responding to a mutual aid alarm, when the vehicle left roadway. Firefighter Brown was ejected from vehicle and killed. 6/2/01 o Cook, Carl, Age 55, Captain, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Ser- vice, AL Was completing annual physical test, which simulates tasks performed on fire scene, when complained of shortness of breath and chest pain. Captain Cook was treated by fellow firefighters at the scene and transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead from an apparent heart attack a short time later. 6/15/01 o Fahey, Brian, Age 46, Firefighter Ford, Harry, Age 50, Firefighter Downing, John, Age 40, Firefighter, New York City Fire De- partment Firefighter Fahey was inside a burning hardware store when propane tanks and paint exploded in the basement. He fell through the floor and became trapped for several hours in the basement, where he died. Also killed were Firefighters John Downing and Harry Ford, when the facade of the burning building fell down on them. They were venting windows when the blast occurred inside the structure. Both were quickly pulled from beneath the rubble and taken to Elmhurst Hospi- tal where they were pronounced dead. 6/17/01 o Chandler, Jeremy, Age 27, Firefighter, Grant County Fire District #5, Moses Lake, WA Collapsed and died from abnormal heart rhythm while operat- ing water tanker while fighting twenty-acre brush fire sev- eral miles north of Moses Lake. 6/18/01 o Clingenpeel, Jim, Age 38, Captain, Rosehill Volunteer Fire Department, Tomball, TX Died from cause still to be determined, probable cardiac complications. While participating in training session, which included physical activity, complained about and was noticed not feeling well. The following day he was admitted to hospital where he underwent bypass surgery and passed a- way several days later. 6/20/01 o Vargason, Joe, Age 69, Fire-Police, Maine Fire Department, Maine, NY Struck and killed by pickup truck while directing traffic at scene of vehicle fire. Vargason was wearing an orange vest and yellow helmet as he directed traffic with a flashlight in the middle of Route 26, the main thoroughfare through the Town of Maine, but the driver of the pickup truck-- who has been charged with driving while intoxicated and second-de- gree vehicular manslaughter-- did not see him. 6/30/01 o Verburg, Cynthia, Age 47, Firefighter/EMT, Clayton Fire De- partment, Clayton, OH Killed when 4000+ pound tree fell on cab of Medic vehicle. 7/10/01 o Craven, Tom L., Age 30, Crew Chief, Weaver, Devin A., Age 21, Firefighter Johnson, Jessica L., Age 19, Firefighter Fitzpatrick, Karen L., Age 18, Firefighter, United States Forest Service, Wenatchee, WA All killed when overcome by the Thirty Mile Fire in Chewuch River Valley, north of Winthrop, WA, when fire rapidly pro- gressed and grew from approximately 5 acres to over 2500 acres within two and a half hours. 7/10/01 o Gilbert, Doug, Age 52, Pilot, Idaho Department of Lands, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho While flying single engine air tanker and dropping retardant on north-central Idaho backcountry while battling 500-acre fire, was killed when aircraft crashed for cause still to be determined. 7/10/01 o Chavis, Jeff, Age 22, Firefighter, Lexington County Fire Service, Lexington, SC Caught by falling debris in garage area of one of two homes destroyed by fire in Lake Murray subdivision. Received sec- ond and third degree burns to more than 50% of body. Fire- fighter Chavis held on nearly a month before finally suc- cumbing to injuries at the Augusta Burn Center. 7/12/01 o Mathis, Eddie Dean, Age 45, Lieutenant, Dallas Volunteer Fire Department, Dallas, NC Sustained fatal injuries in motor vehicle accident respond- ing to motor vehicle/pedestrian accident on privately owned motorcycle. 7/16/01 o Myrick, Donald, Age 49, Firefighter, Ludlow Fire Protection District, Ludlow, IL Died from injuries received when ejected from his privately owned vehicle, when same left roadway and crashed while re- sponding to another single-vehicle auto accident in early morning hours. 7/22/01 o Schafer, Kirk, Age 36, Firefighter, North Central Fire Dis- trict, Kerman, CA Was filling new fire truck with water from hydrant. For reasons still to be determined, a nearby 300-pound pressur- ized tank had a catastrophic failure, rocketed into the air, and landed on fire truck. Debris struck Firefighter Schafer in head. He was transported to hospital and passed away the next day, never regaining consciousness. 7/27/01 o Martinez, Lazaro, Age 70, Firefighter, Fisher's Peak Fire Protection District 101, Trinidad, CO Was participating in live burn exercise. After exiting burn structure, Firefighter Martinez collapsed. Efforts to re- suscitate him were unsuccessful. Autopsy later determined cause of death as massive heart attack. 7/28/01 o Blackmar, Ralph "Warren", Age 66, Firefighter, South Foster Volunteer Fire Department, Foster, RI Died from heart attack while returning from structure fire, which caused fire truck he was driving to leave roadway, strike utility pole, and roll over. 8/1/01 o Pelton, James, Age 58, Fire Chief, Mason Fire Department, Mason, MI Killed in motor vehicle accident while en route to meeting. 8/10/01 o Kreamer, Ronald T., Age 34, Firefighter, Frontier Volunteer Fire Company, Niagara Falls, NY Died after collapsed during overhaul operations at structure fire. Cause of collapse still to be determined. 8/13/01 o Shoaf Jr., Richard D., Age 43, Firefighter/EMT, Swarthmore Fire & Protection Association, Swarthmore, PA Was responding to medical emergency when became ill and col- lapsed at station of apparent heart attack. 8/18/01 o Hazlett, John R., Age 52, Firefighter, Odell Rural Fire Pro- tection, Odell, OR Died from injuries received while returning water tanker to station after being serviced, after front right tire blowout caused apparatus to leave roadway and strike tree head-on. 8/19/01 o Petrusik, Stephen A., Age 52, Firefighter, Lansdowne Volun- teer Firemen's Association, Lansdowne, Maryland Reported to station for routine duties. Collapsed in truck on apron of station, was treated and transported to the hos- pital, where he died of cause still to be determined, prob- able heart attack. 8/21/01 o Groff, Larry, Age 55, Contract Pilot Stratte, Lars, Age 45, Contract Pilot, California Department of Forestry Midair collision of air tankers. 8/27/01 o Gorumba, Michael, Age 27, Firefighter, New York City Fire Department Collapsed and died from apparent heart attack while fighting three-alarm fire at auto body shop. 8/28/01 o Dzugen, Darryl J., Age 36, Captain, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Tampa, FL Was participating in physical fitness activities at station when collapsed due to undetermined cause. Captain Dzugen was transported to the hospital where he later died. 8/29/01 o Krigbaum, Kip, Age 45, Contract Crew Chief Arovitx, Santi, Age 28, Contract Co-Pilot Hernandez, Rich, Age 37, Contract Pilot, U.S. Forest Ser- vice, Bozeman, MT All died after helicopter crash while fighting wildfire near Emigrant Peak. 8/31/01 o Rendek, David Ray, Age 24, Firefighter, Bitterroot National Forest, Hamilton, MT Struck by falling tree while fighting wildfire in Bitterroot National Forest. 9/3/01 o Bennett, William E., Age 49, Chief, Kennedy Volunteer Fire Department, Kennedy, NY Killed in motor vehicle accident while responding to emer- gency call. 9/4/01 o Augustyn, Robert, Age 57, Lieutenant, Cicero Fire Depart- ment, IL Slipped and became trapped under apparatus while spotting driver with another firefighter as engine was backed into traffic-congested roadway to exit accident scene. Lieuten- ant Augustyn was transported to the hospital where he later died of internal injuries. 9/7/01 o Marriott, Allan, Age 47, Firefighter/Engineer, Port Townsend Fire Department, Port Townsend, WA Collapsed of cardiac event while performing fireground op- erations. Was transported to the hospital where later died. 9/8/01 o Barns, Willie, Age 66, Fire Police Lieutenant, Country Lakes Volunteer Fire Company # 1, Browns Mills, NJ Died of apparent heart attack while responding in private vehicle to work traffic control point following transformer fire that had disabled traffic lights in area. 9/16/01 o Golden, Bradley, Age 19, Firefighter, Lairdsville Fire De- partment, Clinton, NY Trapped and overcome by rapid fire progress on second floor of abandoned house where firefighters had set sofa bed on fire to create smoke for rescue drill. 9/25/01 o Kreitzer, Clarence, Age 78, Firefighter, Bowie Volunteer Fire Department, Bowie, MD Died early in morning after working for number of hours at site of tornado touchdown on campus of University of Mary- land in College Park, providing specialized lighting for search and rescue effort. Returned to station after com- plaining of not feeling well and shortly thereafter, while returning home in private vehicle, suffered apparent heart attack and died. 9/25/01 o Woodward, Neil, Age 32, Captain, Blackman Volunteer Fire De- partment, Baker, Florida Discovered fire originating in bathroom of his residence. Removed his young daughter from the structure and worked with responding firefighters in extinguishing fire. Shortly thereafter, complained of minor chest pain and was moved to ambulance where he collapsed and died from apparent heart attack while en route to hospital. 9/26/01 o Jahnke, Jay, Age 40, Captain, Houston Fire Department, Hous- ton, TX Was conducting search and rescue operations along with sev- eral other firefighters in burning 40-story building when they became trapped on the fifth floor, along with many of the residents. Four firefighters including Captain Jahnke were injured and were transported to the hospital, where he later died. 10/13/01 o Frayne, Kenneth J., Age 28, Firefighter, Channahon Fire Pro- tection District, Channahon, IL Died during dive rescue training. 10/13/01 o Marsh, Bob, Age 78, Captain, Cal Nev Ari Volunteer Fire De- partment, Las Vegas, NV Suffered fatal heart attack while responding to reported vehicle accident. 10/14/01 o Elliott, Michael, Age 46, Firefighter, Maple Rapids Fire De- partment, Maple Rapids, MI Struck by tree while performing storm-watch duties during tornado warning. 10/24/01 o Howzdy, William, Age 71, Firefighter, Glenn Dale Fire Association, Glenn Dale, MD Heart Attack. 10/25/01 o Dart, Dennis 'Denny', Age 62, Senior Firefighter, Sugar Camp Volunteer Fire Department, Rhinelander, WI Died after suffering heart attack at scene of vehicle fire. 11/2/01 o Danielson Jr., George F., Age 78, Firefighter, Mine Hill Fire Department, Mine Hill, NJ Stuck by private vehicle while directing traffic in front of firehouse as apparatus returned from chimney fire. Fire- fighter Danielson was transported to the hospital where he passed away as result of his injuries. 11/9/01 o Strode, Harold, Age 46, Firefighter, Tennessee Forestry Ser- vice, Nashville, TN Killed while working wildland fire line, when overcome by firestorm in densely wooded and steep terrain of Upper Cum- berland Region of Tennessee. 11/10/01 o White Jr., Clifford, Age 21, Firefighter, Cameron Volunteer Fire Department, Cameron, WV Was passenger in water tanker en route to woodland fire when apparatus left roadway and overturned, killing him. 11/19/01 o Sinard, Debra, Age 43, Firefighter, White Pine Volunteer Fire Department, White Pine, TN Approximately 45 minutes following air-pack training ses- sion, collapsed at home and died from cause still to be determined, possibly heart attack. 12/12/01 o Vance, Ralph, Age 70, Firefighter, Elk Creek Fire Protection District, Conifer, CO Died from cause still to be determined when, while respond- ing to chimney fire, the water tanker he was operating left the roadway and slid down a 100-foot embankment. 12/14/01 o Thomas, Darrell, Age 48, Assistant Chief, Somerton / Cocopah Fire Department, Somerton, AZ Died from apparent heart attack while filling water tank on fire truck. 12/15/01 o Butler, David, Age 43, Firefighter, Spring Branch Volunteer Fire Department, Spring Branch, TX Died from heart attack while responding to residence fire alarm. His fire vehicle left the roadway several times over more than a half-mile stretch, eventually coming to rest af- ter striking trees and rocks. Firefighter Butler was trans- ported to the hospital in critical condition where he passed away a short time later. 12/24/01 Requiescat in pace. Copyright 2002 by Michael J. Legeros ------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------   Home Search Mike Legeros Copyright 2025 by Michael J. Legeros