WHERE THERE'S SMOKE: FIREFIGHTERS FACE NEW HAZARDS FROM BUILDING MATERIALS

Firefighters are expected to risk their lives to save others, but today they encounter fewer opportunities to do so.

John Sachen, a training officer for the Delta Fire Protection District, said the way homes are made coupled with some materials in furnishings make it difficult for people to survive a house fire.

"Thirty or 40 years ago there was not central air or central heat in homes and the windows were single-pane glass," Sachen said. "The windows were open for ventilation and people were rescued."

Ventilation allows smoke to escape a house. The increased air flow might make the fire burn more rapidly, but most fire victims die of smoke inhalation, Sachen said.

"Initially they are impaired by the smoke," he said. "They may die from direct flame contact, but that is not frequent at all."

Sachen said today's homes are tightly sealed with double- or triple-pane windows that do not break under extreme heat. Central heat and air conditioning don't allow significant ventilation.

He said if the houses have working smoke detectors the people inside are usually able to get out. But, if they don't "they frequently succumb long before firefighters are on the scene."

Sachen said there are varying degrees of risk firefighters are expected to take upon themselves when battling a fire. If a vacant, isolated house is burning down they are told to do what they can but keep a safe distance. If the fire could spread to adjoining property, firefighters are asked to get closer and take more risks to keep property damage to a minimum.

If there is the possibility of a life being in danger, firefighters are often asked to risk it all. When they are called upon to do so they don't charge in randomly, Sachen said.

Well-trained firefighters are instructed in home construction, fire traits and rescue procedures. Sachen said knowing how a fire will act and its effect on a particular structure minimizes any uncertainty firefighters might have.

Being well trained and focusing on their training also help firefighters deal with the instances in which rescues are unsuccessful.

Scott City volunteer firefighters, Capt. Terry Gettings and John Niederkorn, are going through the process of coming to terms with an unsuccessful rescue attempt. They were first on the scene of a mobile home fire April 17 that took the life of 31-year-old Tony Beckett.

When Gettings and Niederkorn arrived at trailer 8 at 910 E. Maple they were told there was a person inside. Neither questioned the need to go into the building.

"What bothered me about this one was I didn't see the flames," Gettings said. "That told me it was smoldering. What it had done was burn the oxygen out of the room, and it can ignite when you open it up."

It took a few minutes for the men to get their gear on. Gettings said they had to break through a series of locks to enter the mobile home.

He said the mobile home was full of smoke, "it was black to the floor." The fire didn't flare up as Gettings had feared when they forced their way in. As soon as they entered they began a right-hand search, moving around the mobile home with the outside wall on their right side.

Gettings was leading and was in control of the hose. Niederkorn was immediately behind him helping him carry it. The hose is not only the firefighter's protection from flames but their lifeline back to the outside if they get lost.

"You can see the flames or the glow of the flames, but other than that it's pitch black," Gettings said.

It took four minutes from the time the men entered the structure to find Beckett. He had succumbed to smoke inhalation in his bedroom at the far end of the mobile home.

The fire was ruled accidental as a result of an electrical problem by James "Butch" Amann, a fire investigator for the Missouri Division of Fire Safety. A smoke detector inside the mobile home was not working, Amann said.

Rescue workers believe Beckett was overcome by smoke before he had a chance to get out. He didn't have a pulse when Gettings and Niederkorn removed him from the home.

The firefighters began CPR as soon as they had Beckett out of the home, then turned him over to emergency medical technicians from North Scott County Ambulance Service.

"There's always hope," Gettings said. "You don't know how long he's been down. You don't know if he just went down; that's why you start CPR right away."

Despite having been in the mobile home for only four minutes, Niederkorn said it felt much longer. He said it got hotter by the minute.

"That's what wears you down: trying to catch your breath in that pack," he said.

After the fire came meetings. The firefighters got together with Chief Les Crump, who had been in command at the scene and critiqued the operation. They went over every step to see if there was something they could have done differently.

Despite the fact that Gettings said he couldn't think of anything they might have done to change the outcome of the fire, it isn't something he will not be able to forget. "At times it rips your heart out," he said.