6/5 Rescue Squad 1, responding as DCFD Squad 1, was second arriving to an early morning
second-alarmer in the District Saturday. Squad 1 served in DC on both Friday and Saturday
so that on-duty personnel from the DCFD could attend funeral services. An engine from
the HVFD also participated in both processions.
New
• Listen to the 'Last Alarm' for DC F/F Phillips
• Slide Show of DC LODDs Images
• Listen to the 'Last Alarm' for DC F/F Matthews
It has been exactly a year, June 2, since Hyattsville's Jeff Shaw was seriously burned
battling a house fire in Adelphi. And while he has since returned to duty, it was a
traumatizing time for the HVFD.
But sadly, we now join the
Washington, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department in mourning the loss
of two of their bravest who died battling a fire in Northeast. One of those brave men lived in
our response area.
On Monday, May 31, a second firefighter in the nation's capital succumbed to
injuries sustained in a flashover Sunday mornin, May 30.
Firefighter Louis J. Matthews, 29, a 7-year veteran, died Monday afternoon at about 2 p.m.
at Washington Hospital Center's MedStar Burn Unit. He suffered burns to about
90-percent of his body.
Matthews, of Hyattsville, is a divorced father whose son turned two years old on Sunday.
He was assigned to Engine Company 26, the first arriving unit to the scene.
Firefighter Anthony Phillips, 30, of Engine Company 10, died in the flashover. He leaves
behind a wife, Lysa, and two children, ages 6 and 21 months. His family was at the station
visiting with Phillips hours before the tragic fire. Engine 10 is among the busiest engine
companies in the United States.
Courtesy Tim Baroody/DCFD.COM
An impromptu memorial stands on the front steps of the house that burned.
Full size image at dcfd.com
|
Also injured in Sunday's blaze were Firefighter Joseph Morgan, Jr. and Lt. Charles Redding, both part of Engine 26's crew.
Morgan, a 36-year-old eight-year
veteran, received burns to 60% of his body and was listed in critical condition Tuesday afternoon.
Redding, 41 and a 17-year-veteran, received burns to 15-20% of his body and was released from the hospital
Monday afternoon.
On Sunday at 0016 hours, the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
received a call for the report of a house on fire at 3146 Cherry NE. Fire units arrived on the scene within four minutes and calls for additional units were made at 0023 hours and again at 0033 hours.
Engine Company 26 was the first to arrive and reported smoke showing. They, along with Engine Company No.10, entered the first floor at the front door and proceeded down a hallway toward the rear of the house.
Phillips was advancing a back up line to assist the crew of Engine Company 26 -- Redding, Matthews and Morgan. As conditions deteriorated, a flash over occurred thereby trapping the firefighters.
Courtesy Tim Baroody/DCFD.COM
The area of the house where the firefighters were caught in the flashover.
Full size image at dcfd.com
|
Phillips was removed from the building and transported to the Burn Unit at the Washington Hospital Center where he later succumbed. An autopsy has revealed that he died of "asphyxiation due to inhalation of superheated air, soot, and smoke."
"As is customary in this business, an interior attack was initiated, but something went
terribly wrong," Edwards said.
Edwards called the blaze a 'tremedous, explosive fire.'
The fire, which is under investigation, apparently started in the basement and progressed up the basement stairs to the first floor, A smoke detector was in the house and alerted the residents who then made their way out to safety.
Part of the floor collapsed during the blaze, but Edwards said the injured firefighters
were out of the building by that time.
Members of the city's critical incident stress team were working with the city's
firefighters, especially members of Engine Companies 10 and 26, who have spent most of the
past day at the hospital.
Courtesy Tim Baroody/DCFD.COM
A view of the rear entrance of the house.
Full size image at dcfd.com
|
Firefighter Phillips and Matthews are the 96th and 97th District of Columbia firefighters
to die in the line of duty and the first line of duty deaths since Sergeant John M. Carter died in a
grocery store fire at 4th and Kennedy Streets, NW on October 24, 1997. It had been 13 years since
Washington lost a firefighter before Carter's death.
The incident marked the first double line-of-duty death in almost 90 years. On October 14, 1911,
two District firefighters died battling a blaze on Pennsylvania Avenue in Northwest Washington.
Services for Firefighter Phillips
A public viewing is scheduled for Thursday, June 3 from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. at the Bethesda
New Life Gospel Church in Northeast Washington. Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. at the
church with internment immediately following the service at Fort Lincoln Cemetary, 3401
Bladensburg Road, in Brentwood, Maryland.
Services for Firefighter Matthews
Viewing is scheduled for Friday, June 4 from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. a the St. Paul Baptist Church, 6611 Walker Mill Road, in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Funeral service will be at Noon on Saturday, June 5, also at St Paul's. He will be laid to rest at Washington National Cemetary, 4101 Suitland Road, Suitland, Maryland.
There will be a procession after each funeral service. The procession will follow a designated route through the heart of the District of Columbia to the cemetery for interment. Only family, friends, and the DC Fire Department will continue into the cemetery. All others, including all outside jurisdictions’ fire personnel, will be directed to proceed to the Washington Convention Center for a reception hosted by IAFF Local 36.
The IAFF Local has secured a block of rooms for IAFF affiliates at the Capital Hilton, 16th and K Streets, NW, Washington, DC. Call Hilton Reservations at 202-393-1000; use code word “IAFF” for a $99.00 room rate.
Arrangements for Firefighter Matthews are still pending and will be posted when available.
For more information, contact the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department at (202) 673-3331.
The Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department will be among the hundreds of firefighters expected
from around the country who will be attending services.
Story Copyright 1999, Firehouse.Com
|