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| -Land of the Free |
| Hero firefighter reveals how he rescued two-year-old boy from burning apartment building |
| 2024-11-17 |
| [Daily Mail, where America gets it news] A heroic firefighter saved the life of a toddler from a massive blaze at an apartment in Texas in the middle of the night. Firefighters from the Granbury Volunteer Fire Department and the North Hood Volunteer Fire Department in North Texas were called to the fire in the early hours of Sunday morning. When they arrived on scene they found the toddler's mother, Phylicia Keen, beside herself. The devastated mom was grappling with reality, having only been able to rescue her four-year-old son, unable to reach her younger boy who was still trapped inside. The volunteer firefighters put their own lives on the line as one of them waded into the burning building after hearing the desperate cries of the trapped toddler - those of little two-year-old Liam who was stuck in a bedroom on the second floor. As thick, suffocating smoke poured from the windows, firefighters didn't hesitate. Blinded by the smoke, firefighters had to rely on Liam's cries to help guide them to where he was lying. With an axe in hand, North Hood County Volunteer Fire Department Lt. Jonathan Head shattered a second-story window and entered into the darkness of the home. 'I was just going by his voice,' Lt. Head explained. 'Whenever I broke into the window and I climbed in, there was a lot of questions, but you couldn't see anything.' Blind and disoriented, Head followed Liam’s cries as he navigated through the deadly haze. 'Every time he cried, that's where I went. I brushed up against him and he let out a scream,' he explained, recounting his efforts. 'So I knew I was on him. I picked him up out of pure excitement—that he was actually moving around... obviously crying is a good sign.' Head said that despite the danger of the situation he actually felt a degree of comfort at hearing Liam's cries with each one confirming he was still alive. Liam's mother, Phylicia told of the agonizing decision she faced as she was forced to leave one of her children behind in the burning building. 'Unfortunately, I was only able to grab the closest one to me to get out, by the time I came back to get the baby [Liam] the whole living room hallway was engulfed in black smoke,' she told CBS News. Liam was rushed to Cooks Children's Hospital in Fort Worth where after he was treated for carbon monoxide poisoning where he has managed to make a full recovery over the last week. The family have set up a GoFundMe to help pay for medical expenses and their search for a new home. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #2 Some 70% plus firefighters in the US are volunteers. Its a tough gig, on call 24 hours, plus meeting life regulations of being in-shape and proper for such activities. See, a cracking fireplace is romantic. A cracking structure is noisy of all comprehension - loss of sight and hearing, absolutely dangerous, interior attack nevermind rescue is, well, Wow. I had the opportunity to share an evening with some Afghan vets from 82nd and even they were like geebus Dude. Sheet man, they gave me coins, and didn't understand why. OK, Thermals are fine, they have their place, but in my handbag they are good passive information, like finding an eject from a vehicle crash. There is a lot of background fuzz if the environment is hot. Sometimes, it is the Mark 1 eye and ears - And Training. It is Heinleinian; shit fails. We train S&R by putting on all the kit, then lumber the head by putting on a cut lawn and leaf trash bag over the head, and run a dungeon crawl in a maze made of sideways tables and whatnot. It is 3D Braille. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2024-11-17 20:24 |
| #1 If there are funds left over, get a thermal imager for that department. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2024-11-17 10:43 |