Oklahoma City Revisited

Photo by Michael A. Wieder Only a bare lot remains where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building once stood.

I had not stood in the intersection of NW 5th and Robinson in Oklahoma City, OK, since the afternoon of April 19, 1995. But now, almost one year later, I had returned here for the first time. It has often been said that there is no black and white in life, only varying shades of gray. However, the difference in the atmosphere surrounding NW 5th and Robinson back on April 19, 1995, and this day was like the difference between black and white.

On April 19, 1995, this intersection was the center for one of the most chaotic emergency scenes in U.S. history. Hundreds of injured, scared, panicked and angry people covered the area. So did hundreds of police, fire and EMS people who were trying to make sense out of this terrible and perplexing scene. The sense of urgency was intense. Wrecked cars and huge amounts of other debris covered the area for blocks.

But on this sunny day, the scores of victims, good samaritans and emergency personnel were replaced by a few dozen curious visitors who came to experience the scene that before they had only seen while they were glued to their television sets. Emergency vehicles from a myriad of communities had been replaced with passenger vehicles from a myriad of states. Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia, California and others were parked next to my vehicle. People calmly strolled through the same streets that only months earlier were the scene of a frenzied stampede to escape the report of a second bomb. The sense of urgency I felt last April 19 was now replaced by a calm sort of reverence. It almost seemed like I couldn't be in the same place.

But I was, and the difference was like day and nightmare.

The focal point of the bombing was the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The remains of the building were imploded on May 23, 1995. Only 150 pounds of well-placed explosives were needed to finish the job that 4,800 pounds of explosives in a parked truck started. The rubble was removed from the scene to a suburban landfill and only a bare dirt lot remains.

Photo by Michael A. Wieder The Heartland Memorial stands in a parking lot across the street from the site of the Murrah Building.

Immediately following the initial explosion, as much as nine square blocks around the Murrah Building were fenced off and all the streets in that area were closed to traffic. One year later, only the one block sections of NW 4th (immediately south of the Murrah Building) and NW 5th (immediately in front of the building where the truck bomb was parked) remain fenced off and closed. The streets on the east and west sides of the Murrah Building (Robinson and Harvey) are now open again. The temporary fence that once contained an impromptu memorial to the victims around the Murrah Building site has been replaced by a more permanent fence.

The Murrah Building contained an underground parking garage that received relatively minor damage during the explosion. Much has been written about the fact that the rescue operations command was operated out of this garage. The underground parking garage has been repaired and is now reopened for use of patrons of the federal courthouse across the street.

The federal government has decided against rebuilding on the Murrah Building site. Most of the offices that were located in the building have been relocated to other properties in the downtown Oklahoma City area. The overwhelming consensus of the people of Oklahoma is to locate a permanent memorial on the site. Fund raising for such a memorial is underway. Currently, the federal government and the City of Oklahoma City are working on the details to transfer the land over to the city so work on a memorial may proceed. No timeline for this project has been established.

Most of the letters, stuffed animals and wreaths that well-wishers attached to the temporary fence have been packed away for inclusion in a permanent memorial if and when it is built. A temporary memorial, known locally as the Heartland Memorial, has been erected in the parking lot of the Methodist church immediately east of the former site of the Murrah Building. The memorial is in the form of a small pavilion where people may sit, view the site and reflect on the horror that occurred there. In addition to benches, the pavilion contains a small stone marker made from granite that was taken from the Murrah Building. A large wooden cross and a U.S. flag are displayed immediately behind the granite marker. People still lay small toys and stuffed animals at the foot of the marker in memory of the children who were killed in the day care center. On the day of my visit, a small toy fire truck was prominent among the other toys there.

Photo by Michael A. Wieder Small toys, including a fire truck, surround the granite marker.

As covered in previous articles, the Murrah Building was not the only building to receive significant damage in the explosion. Seventeen other buildings in the immediate vicinity of the Murrah Building received damage severe enough to warrant their condemnation. Three hundred other buildings in the downtown area received lesser amounts of damage. About 90 percent of those 300 buildings have been repaired and are reoccupied (if they were occupied before the explosion).

One of the largest surprises I incurred on my return visit to the site, however, was the notable lack of repair or improvement to the most heavily damaged buildings adjacent to the Murrah Building site. Only three buildings showed any signs of repair. The federal courthouse and the Regency Towers high-rise condominiums have been completely renovated and are reoccupied. The Catholic cathedral immediately west of the Murrah Building site is undergoing major construction. But other significant buildings including the YMCA, Journal Record office, First Methodist Church, Downtown Post Office and others look much the same as they did the day of the bombing. The only evident changes were the removal of dangling debris and the boarding of windows. No significant work has been started on any of these structures and their futures remain uncertain.

The two most heavily damaged exposures, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board building and the Athena Restaurant, remain in the partially collapsed condition they were in immediately following the explosion. The final dispositions of all of these structures remain tangled in a web of red tape and negotiations involving insurance companies, the Small Business Administration loan officials, contractors and the owners/occupants. It may be years before all the signs of the bombing are repaired or removed from the area around the Murrah Building site.

Obviously, more than just buildings were affected by the events that transpired on April 19. I think many of us in the fire service have had a general concern for the well-being of the emergency responders who handled that incident. In particular, how the Oklahoma City Fire Department (OCFD) weathered the storm in the year since the bombing is on the minds of many other members of the fire service.

Photo by Michael A. Wieder The YMCA and the mercantiles next to it stand unrepaired.

The first six months following the explosion were a whirlwind of activity that engulfed all levels of the OCFD. Although street operations went back to normal relatively soon after the incident was concluded, any administrative plans or programs that were underway at the time of the explosion were immediately suspended. The fire department was buried under massive amounts of paperwork, cost recovery functions, media and information requests, as well as the "normal" day-to-day administrative load expected of a 1,000-person fire department. Much of the extra administrative load created by the explosion was completed or at least winding down by November.

As the one-year anniversary approaches, most of the costs to the fire department have been recovered and little administrative time is being spent on the explosion. Three staff members who were assigned to the Documentation Unit are still working full-time on that process in conjunction with some staff members at Oklahoma State University's IFSTA/ Fire Protection Publications operation (see story on previous page). They are the last OCFD members working full-time on matters related to the bombing. It is expected that the documentation process will be completed by early summer.

Other than the documentation process, the only significant time being spent by OCFD members related to the bombing at this time are those who are involved in the impending trial of suspects Timothy McVeigh and James Nichols. Most of the firefighters who were on the first-alarm assignment and many of the command staff have given depositions that may be used in the proceedings. It is anticipated that a few of these people may be called as witnesses in the trial to describe the conditions found on the scene immediately following the explosion.

The fire department photographer has also received numerous requests from investigators, prosecution staff and defense attorneys to review and duplicate many of the 3,000 photographs he shot during the course of the operation.

Photo by Michael A. Wieder Paint marks that remain on the side of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board building indicate fragments from the bomb truck and other objects in the area.

OCFD administrative and command staff have been very busy traveling around the country doing presentations on the events surrounding the bombing. Members of the OCFD have spoken at virtually every state and national fire conference in the past year. When pressed for a number, Fire Chief Gary Marrs was unable to say for sure how many places he and his staff had been to. He did report, though, that they were now being selective about what invitations they accepted and he expects that they will do few more of these talks.

To its credit, the OCFD instituted a very aggressive critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) program from the outset of the incident. The effects of this program have been overwhelmingly positive. A large number of firefighters have been involved in the CISD process. A small percentage of them remain in the program at this time. Only two members of the OCFD have been placed on long-term leave as a result of stress related to this incident, and one of those will be returning to duty soon. One other firefighter who suffered a knee injury during the rescue operation required surgery and will not be able to return to active duty.

With the work related to the bombing slowing down, the staff members of the OCFD were able to turn their attention back to many of the issues and programs that they were working on prior to April 19. An aggressive smoke detector placement program in economically depressed portions of the city will begin later this spring. Companies in those neighborhoods will offer to install several thousand smoke detectors purchased with a federal grant in homes in those areas.

Work is also progressing on the implementation of an extensive computer inventory system for equipment and supplies. In the fast-changing world of computers, the delay caused by the bombing has forced a complete reevaluation of this project. Extensive renovations to the fire department's training center are also underway and expected to be completed later in 1996.

Photo by Michael A. Wieder Collapsed portions of the Athena Restaurant and the Water Resources building remain largely untouched.

Fire department staff members are also in the early stages of research to begin the revamping of the fire department's communications system. Currently, the OCFD has only two radio channels on which to operate its 33-station (soon to be 35) department. OCFD officials have been aware that this system is outdated for several years, but an incident the size of the bombing made this deficiency even more glaring. OCFD officials will be looking at several 800 MHz trunking systems with hopes of converting to that type of system in the near future. They are also looking into ways to improve interstation computer and video communications within the department.

Some very positive things have occurred in the past year for the OCFD. Thanks to money from a dedicated sales tax program that began in 1990, the OCFD has been in the process of a major capital improvement program. Most of the existing 30 fire stations were renovated or replaced with new structures. Plans for five additional stations in areas previously subject to long response times were included in the sales tax program. Two of these stations opened in 1993 and one other was opened in 1994. The last two stations are scheduled to open this month. Each of these stations will contain an engine company, brush pumper and 2,500-gallon tanker.

The OCFD also has nearly completed a major apparatus replacement program in the year since the bombing. Nearly all front-line apparatus (32 engines, 13 ladders, six rescues, 12 brush pumpers, six tank pumpers, six heavy tankers, the hazardous materials unit and the air unit) have been replaced since 1991. In the year since the bombing, large orders of 10 engines and eight ladders) were placed in service. Two new rescues were also placed in service.

Several reserve brush pumpers were constructed in the fire department shops and placed in stations with engine companies. These are not assigned any manpower, but they can be placed in service during severe brush fire conditions. The replacement program will be complete when a new tower ladder is delivered to Truck 6 this summer.

Photo by Michael A. Wieder Amen, Brother!

Another major component of the 1990 sales tax initiative was the addition of over 200 new firefighters to the fire department. The process of hiring and training these recruits has been underway for several years. One recruit class was near graduation when the bombing occurred. Another class was started in July and has since graduated. Preparations are underway for another class to begin in July 1996. Once this class is complete, the staff enlargement program will be complete. These new firefighters allowed the OCFD to man the five new stations and to add a firefighter to most of the companies in the city.

In addition to filling the 200-plus new positions, new recruits were required to fill an unusually large number of retirements that have occurred in the past year. More than 80 of the 700 pre-expansion members of the department have retired recently. This mass retirement was not related to the bombing incident. Rather, it was caused by an enhanced retirement incentive program in the Oklahoma State Firefighter's Pension System. Most of the career fire departments in Oklahoma have seen similar large numbers of sudden retirees. In addition to requiring the hiring of new recruits, it has also caused much activity in the promotional processes as well.

It would be nice to say one year after the bombing that the OCFD is back to normal. However, the truth of the matter is that the department's definition of "normal" has changed for a long time to come. The hustle and bustle of the events surrounding April 19, 1995, have subsided for the most part, but being involved in an incident of that magnitude changes one's perspective.

Prior to April 19, 1995, a three-alarm fire was a major event during the course of a year for the OCFD. Now, they are really no big deal. No big deal, that is, when compared to being involved in one of the most complex rescue operations in the history of the American fire service. Let us all hope and pray that their place in history is secure.

The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of OCFD Fire Chief Gary Marrs and Assistant Chief Kenneth Bunch in preparing this article.

Documenting The Incident

Most firefighters realize that provisions are made for a Documentation Unit within the planning section of the incident command system (or incident management system). However, few firefighters will ever respond to an incident of sufficient magnitude to see this unit activated.

Obviously, an incident the magnitude of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing is one situation where proper documentation of the event is crucial. The on-scene rescue/ recovery operations lasted for 16 days following the explosion. This is exceptionally long when compared to the life span of most incidents. However, one year later the Documentation Unit is still active and working toward the completion of a final report on the incident.

A few hours after the explosion, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) contacted the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and requested its assistance with documenting the incident. These two agencies have previous experience in joint investigations with each other. The actual documentation of the incident really began on the day following the explosion when NFPA representatives arrived on the scene. A documentation team was soon formed that included an OCFD senior chief officer and OCFD district (battalion) chief, the three NFPA staff members on the scene, as well as representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Emergency Management Institute (EMI), National Fire Academy (NFA) and Fire Programs at Oklahoma State University (OSU). It was decided that the team would switch from the auspices of the ATF to working within the command system established by the OCFD. The team was based out of the Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC) located at the convention center.

Members of the Documentation Unit were given total access to the scene, operations and all emergency personnel, as time and opportunity would allow. Unit members observed operations up close. They interviewed many personnel as soon as they were relieved from their duties and were allowed to attend all management/ command meetings and briefings.

Within a few days of the explosion, unit members also began conducting in depth interviews with most of the personnel who were on the initial response. As time went on, interviews were also conducted with most of the key people who were involved in the operation. All of the information that was obtained in this process was cataloged and organized. In addition to interviews, all types of written documents, reports, photos, and video footage were compiled for possible future use.

Most of the unit members who were from outside agencies remained in Oklahoma City for about two weeks and then returned home. This left the OCFD and OSU personnel to continue the documentation process. The OCFD requested additional help from city management in the form of clerical support and experienced writers. This led to the addition of representatives from other city departments, including the Public Information Office and the Water Department. This group has continued the documentation process from that point until now. A final format and release date for the report are still being determined. However, Assistant Chief Kenneth Bunch reports that they hope to have the process wrapped up by early May.

Michael A. Wieder