Wendy's Story

Death Was Knocking At My Door:
"A Volunteer Firefighter Tells Her Story"
By Jerry Smith, Emergency Grapevine

EDITOR'S NOTE: The story you're about to read should serve as a lesson of fire command in disarray and the outcome of such performance. Sadly, what appears to be a mismanaged fiasco results in very serious injuries to a firefighter two hours after the fire started. A brave lady who is fortunate to be alive. Today, she’s disabled and not about to give up serving others. Click on URL link below. Please join me and read a compelling story about Wendy Norris and her appointment with destiny in 1997.

Wendy Norris tells her story: "On August 22, 1997 I responded to a three alarm apartment fire in Nassau Bay, Texas. I responded from my home to meet my volunteer fire department at the scene.

At the time I arrived, 1pm, the fire had already been going for almost two hours. It was approximately 102 degrees that day.

The building was a four story, L shaped structure. Three stories consisted of apartment homes; the first floor was a parking lot. The apartment complex had an outside walkway along the front doors. The entire fourth floor roof was completely involved.

There were approximately 100 firefighters on scene from many different departments both paid and volunteer. Although there was one command center set up, there were several officers in different areas giving orders

My first order was to go up onto the third floor to relieve any firefighter that was tired. Facing the building, I was to go on the right side of the structure. As I walked up the stairs I saw debris that was still on fire falling from above.

Firefighters began rushing down the stairs, yelling to evacuate the area. They believed that the fourth floor was about to collapse onto the third floor.

The decision was then made that the right part of the apartment complex was unsafe for internal firefighting strategies and that no firefighter was to go into that area. For that side, it became a ‘surround and drown’.

On the right side of the complex, firefighters were still inside fighting the fire. I was asked by my fire chief to go up with three other firefighters to be rotated in to the complex to help fight the fire. We were asked to go in teams of four. Two of the firefighters were from another department; one of the firefighters was someone I had worked with before.

The two firefighters that were from the department, connected their SCBA, put on the mask and then turned it on. They then proceeded to follow me and the other firefighter up the eight flights of stairs.

When we came to the top of the fourth floor, we could see fire burning on the ceiling of the overhang of the walkway. Smoke billowed over the tops of our heads and out the door we were standing near. We had to crowd together with about 10 other firefighters. As I turned around to account for the other three firefighters, one of them motioned to me that he had to go back down. His SCBA had run out of air.

We were now down to three people. At that same time we pushed forward to make our way down to the end of the walkway to meet a captain for instructions. Half way down the walkway, we could see fire over our heads and in apartment homes.

At that time, the other firefighter said his SCBA just ran out of air, so I had to send him back down. It was just myself and my partner from my fire department.

When we reached the captain, I told him that we were down to the two of us. He stated that it was okay and that he needed us to put out a smaller fire in an apartment home. He then pointed to the section of the apartment complex that had just been condemned 20 minutes earlier.

I told him that, and he stated that he had not been made aware of that decision and stated that because this particular unit was right in the corner of the L shaped complex it was still considered safe. So, my partner and I proceeded into the unit.

My partner took the nozzle and I was to back him up. We located the fire to be inside the kitchen, which was just inside the unit to the right. Blocking the door of the kitchen was a knee-high pile of rubble. I looked into the living room and noticed the sky instead of a ceiling. The roof and ceiling had completely burned away. The entrance hallway in which we stood still had a ceiling. I could also see remnants of a typical truss structure. My partner then motioned to me that he needed more slack in the hose line. I walked back outside on to the walkway, picked up the hose and pulled it inside the hallway of the unit. As I stepped up onto the pile of debris, my partner turned the nozzle on.

At the moment he opened the nozzle, the ceiling in the hallway collapsed on top of me. It is believed the force of the water and the already weak support structure in the roof caused the ceiling to collapse.

A beam swung down, on top of me and hit me on the right side of the head. It caused my facemask to shift off of my face and to the left. I was also pinned under the beam. My face happened to be almost level with a hole in the wall. Steam and super-heated gas was shooting out of that hole and onto my head.

My injuries included a six-inch skull fracture and a brain bleed. I also had first and second-degree burns and a small third degree burn to my face. My respiratory tract, including my lungs, sinus cavity, and vocal cords had first, second, and third degree burns. Part of my left lung is still fused together from the scar tissue. The damage to my lungs totaled 70%.

Since then I have lived with occupational asthma resulting from the burns, and have been on many medications including oxygen. I have had physical therapy for almost a year and continue to have therapy for my brain injury.

I had to learn to walk, read, write, tie my shoes, and basically function on 1 lung. I am no longer able to be a firefighter.

I believe my injuries could have been prevented in several ways. Number one is communication. The communications system between the different departments was not there.

During a mutual aid call, when there are several different departments involved in fire suppression, all individuals involved in the instruction of firefighter duties should be on ‘the same page’, so to speak.

Weeks later I found out that there were two different command centers in place and both command centers did not communicate with each other.

I also found out that this particular city was not up to date with pre-planning on the building in the community.

Pre-planning and keeping current records of the structures is crucial in preventing injuries and death. With the history of this apartment complex, the type of building construction, and the enormity of the fire, there should have been little internal firefighting.

I also found that many of the firefighters that were on this fire were not educated in simple firefighting procedures. Most of those firefighters were from volunteer departments. It is also crucial that firefighters are always being educated and trained."

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