TX Firefighter Calls Mayday 'Roughest Thing to Witness'

Sept. 12, 2020
“The hardest part is seeing the guy that you live with … not moving,” said a Forth Worth fire captain about watching a roof collapse pin a fellow firefighter and longtime friend.

A Texas firefighter called seeing a colleague and longtime friend in a roof collapse during a recent blaze "probably the roughest thing I've ever had to wtiness."

Fort Worth Capt. Ryan Zelazny and firefighter Clint Robinson were battling a vacant house blaze early Wednesday. They were in the attic when the roof fell on them, pinning Robinson.

“The hardest part is seeing the guy that you live with and do everything with daily at the fire station not moving,” Zelazny told WFAA-TV.

Zelazny and his fellow firefighters were able to lift the debris off Robinson, who eventually called out for help.

“A weight was lifted,” Zelazny told WFAA. “I can’t explain in words what it felt like.”

Robinson is expected to recover from his injuries. Another firefighter suffered leg and foot burns.