CHIP GUY
The News Journal
A Greenwood, Del. Assistant Chief killed in a training and demolition burn made a series of decisions that ultimately led to his death, including staying inside the burning building too long and spraying diesel fuel onto open flames, a state report says.
From Greenwood Volunteer Fire Company Web Site
2nd Assistant Chief Arnold Blankenship
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The 100-page report released Friday by the State Fire Marshal's Office concludes Greenwood Fire Company Assistant Chief Arnold Blankenship III died in the April 30 fire after he stayed behind to "spray a little more" fuel.
The six-year veteran and father of a year-old boy was killed in a flashover that enveloped the attic of the 2 1/2-story farmhouse west of Bridgeville, sending the temperature soaring to about 1,200 degrees, according the report and fire officials.
"What happened here was an unfortunate group of events that all culminated in a fire that caused the death of Assistant Chief Blankenship," Deputy State Fire Marshal Willard F. Preston said. "... I can't tell you, if one [decision] was removed, if it would have made a difference."
The report concludes that Blankenship, 27, a former company firefighter of the year, stayed in the burning building despite being urged to leave by at least two other firefighters.
Blankenship also ordered fires set at the same time inside the attic, causing the temperature to quickly rise in the confined area.
And his decision to spray fuel onto flames probably "resulted in the flash fire that enveloped the attic, and ultimately claimed his life."
The use of diesel fuel, while considered risky, is not barred for demolition burns, said Joe Murabito, director of the Delaware State Fire School.
Blankenship's wife, Dawn, reviewed the report earlier this week and had no comment Friday.
The report concluded almost four months of investigation by the Fire Marshal's Office.
Blankenship's death had been ruled an accident. It was the first on-the-job fatality of a Delaware firefighter in at least two years.
Fanning the flames
The testimony of several firefighters has been used by the Fire Marshal's Office to reconstruct what happened. The following is what investigators believe took place, based on those interviews and their investigation:
Blankenship and several other firefighters went to Richard F. Carlisle's farmhouse the morning of April 30 for training exercises and for the demolition burn.
Carlisle wanted the house torn down so he could build a new structure. He has said he planned to give the fire company a donation for the work, a common practice with some volunteer fire companies in Delaware.
The firefighters arrived about 7 a.m. that breezy Sunday and began setting up, arranging their trucks so they could protect nearby outbuildings and trees. The volunteers laid hoses along the ground and walked through the house to make sure everything was OK.
Blankenship and other firefighters then set small fires on the first floor to show the evolution of a blaze. Those were extinguished.
Meanwhile, Chief Thomas Jones and an equipment salesman were testing a new saw by cutting vent holes in sections of the house.
With their training done, Blankenship and four other firefighters went upstairs and then into the attic to begin the demolition burn.
Firefighter Jason E. Fannin set several fires in a small room on the west side of the L-shaped attic. Those spread quickly, possibly fanned by winds coming in through a window.
Fannin closed the door as he left the room, and then told Blankenship to leave with him. The attic was getting hot and smoky.
Blankenship said he wanted to use the air remaining in his breathing tank, so Fannin left alone, according to the report.
Blankenship and firefighters Michael R. Moran, Michael L. Walls and Ronald Hurst stayed behind, on the south end, where they were starting another fire. Blankenship, who was in charge, told Walls to go downstairs and asked Hurst to fetch a can of diesel fuel from the second floor.
Blankenship said he wanted to accelerate the fire, the report said.
Hurst grabbed the can, which had a spray nozzle, and climbed back into the attic, but then left right away.
On the attic's south end, Moran and Blankenship set more fires, with Blankenship spraying fuel and Moran using a road flare to ignite flames.
The two spread flames on the wall and an artificial Christmas tree, and then Moran told Blankenship that he had to leave. The heat and smoke were too much.
Blankenship -- the only firefighter equipped with an air tank and additional protective gear to keep the heat at bay -- stayed behind.
Moran said, "Arnie, let's go," the report said.
"I want to spray a little more," Moran said Blankenship told him. "I am right behind you."
Seconds after Moran descended the attic stairs that last time, firefighters below heard four thumps on the attic floor.
Then they heard a heavy "woof." The flashover had ignited.
Blinding, black smoke filled the house. Blankenship was trapped.
Firefighters tried unsuccessfully to get to him. When they did, he was dead.
Sense of security
Medical officials later ruled that Blankenship died of severe thermal burns and smoke inhalation.
Officials said the fact that Blankenship was in full protective gear with an air tank might have kept him from feeling the heat and breathing the smoke others were sensing.
"He may have been lulled into a sense of security with that gear," Preston said.
Greenwood Fire Company President Clay Yocum said he was numbed by the report's conclusions.
"I don't know what propelled him that day to go back and give [the fire] another squirt," Yocum said. "... Certainly, that was not a normal decision an officer would make."
Yocum said the fire company has suspended all controlled and demolition burns. If the company does resume them, officials might come up with new safeguards after reviewing the report.
"Would we do it again, using an accelerant?" Yocum said. "I seriously doubt it."
Previously
From Delaware Online
Related Links
Del. Assistant Chief Faulted in Fatal Fire