On Aug. 5, 2014, there was a reported fire in which the New Carlisle Fire Department (in Indiana, near Notre Dame, south of the Michigan border) responded. The tones went off, the members turned out – it was another fire call.
A fire call initially, not unlike ones that they, you and I have turned out for so many times before. However, in this case, the end result was tragic with the line-of-duty death of an assistant fire chief and an extreme close call for other firefighters.
Rural response area
The New Carlisle Fire Department covers approximately 65 square miles with 30 volunteer members. Its area includes parts of two counties, the towns of New Carlisle and Hudson Lake. Most of the area is farmland, but there are three major highways, light and heavy manufacturing and a Norfolk Southern rail line. Average call volume is 475 combined calls a year. The town operates full-time basic life support (BLS) EMS that is not affiliated with the fire department, but housed in the same building. The department operates two engines, two tankers, a tower ladder and support and command equipment.
Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Assistant Chief Jamie Middlebrook, who gave his life in the line of duty at the fire that Tuesday night. Middlebrook, 41, was a 20-year veteran of the New Carlisle Fire Department. He grew up watching his dad volunteer on the same fire department.
My further appreciation goes out to Fire Chief Joshua Schweizer and the officers and members of the New Carlisle Fire Department, along with the St. Joseph 911 dispatchers, the Kankankee, Galien, Springfield, Clay, Warren Township and South Bend fire departments, the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, the New Carlisle Police Department and the LaPorte County Sheriff’s office, as well as New Carlisle and LaPorte County EMS. Special thanks to Chief Chris Antonucci of Warren Township Fire and Battalion Chief Brian Kazmierzak of the Penn Township Fire Department for assistance in preparing this article.
The St. Joseph County 9-1-1 dispatch center toned out New Carlisle (and the entire full box) at 8:59 P.M. to 5887 US 20 behind the K-Fex building (septic tank cleaning business) for a confirmed commercial fire. Chief 9101 (Schweizer) communicated to dispatch that the response was incorrect and that Kankakee Fire Department was the correct first-due response agency. It should be noted that the border runs literally within the building. It was also relayed to dispatch by Schweizer that New Carlisle would continue to the scene. Schweizer was the first unit on the scene at 9:05, driving the vehicle designated as Battalion 9.
On fire was a pole barn-style building with metal siding and a roof with wood-truss supports and a pan ceiling (a metal ceiling that blocks the truss, creating a cockloft).
Upon arrival, Schweizer established command and requested a fireground channel. All New Carlisle units switched to Fireground 2, but some companies on the first alarm did not have access to that channel. Upon arrival, EN91 (engine) was positioned at the northeast side of the structure with TA91 (tanker) setting up a draft operation. The south end of the structure was well involved upon arrival.
Kankakee units arrived on scene and were assigned to the south end of the building. EN191 arrived and set up operation on the northwest corner. Supply line was taken off the engine to set up its water operation at the road. The incident was deemed a defensive operation, at which point command was informed by the owner that the building contained an undetermined amount of acetylene tanks and diesel fuel.
After a brief conversation with Middlebrook by the incident commander, it was decided to open the doors on the north end of the building to set an unmanned ground monitor to keep the contents of the building cool. Access was made through both a doorway and overhead door on the north side. Smoke conditions were light with good visibility. Middlebrook was assigned to the north side of the building. After initial setup, EN91 deployed a master stream off tank water (1,000 gallons) and was flowing water on the fire.
Once the water was exhausted and a drop tank was deployed, two New Carlisle firefighters switched operator positions on EN91. One of those two firefighters reported directly to Middlebrook, but this switch of personnel was done without contacting command. Drafting issues would not allow EN91 to get a prime off the drop tank. Lieutenant Kris Piesyk was assigned to mitigate the suction problems on EN91. Tower Ladder 91 (TL91) was still at the station. Second Lieutenant Tony Bellagante took BAT9 with the mobile repeater and left the scene to get the tower ladder. The inadvertent actions of taking that vehicle away from the scene created radio communication problems. Middlebrook was informed of the radio issues and Schweizer proceeded to R91 (rescue) to activate a secondary repeater and re-establish communication.
Box Alarm 9102 was transmitted for the second alarm. TL91 was assigned to the southeast corner of the building and instructed to set up operations. Upon arrival, Squad 18 (a rescue-pumper from Warren Township) was assigned to pump from the drop tank up to EN191. Squad 18 manpower was assigned to exterior suppression along the southeast side of the building. E23 (Clay Township Fire) arrived and was assigned to replace EN91 (still having pump problems) as the primary engine at the northeast of the building. At this point, EN91 was taken off line.
While switches were being made, the incident commander returned to the north end of the building to obtain a status update. Upon arriving, there was a collapse inside the structure with two members trapped. It was later determined that Middlebrook and Firefighter Matt O’Donnell (the initial driver/operator of EN91) were trapped.
Schweizer transmitted a Mayday at 9:44 and all radio traffic was cleared by protocol. Command used Warren Township as the “on-deck” team, functioning as a rapid intervention team. It should be noted that Warren Township Squad 18 made entry under extreme fire conditions and recovered O’Donnell. There was some confusion on the location of Middlebrook. A personnel accountability report (PAR) was called prior to visual confirmation. Within two minutes, it was realized that Middlebrook was still unaccounted for, and a second team was activated.
While trying to determine who was where, the question was asked by Schweizer “Do you have Jamie?” to the crews removing the first firefighter. The initial answer was yes, but that was wrong because there were two Jamies – Firefighter Jamie Borders and Jamie Middlebrook) – and two Middlebrooks, causing confusion. Moments later, when they were attempting to account for all members, it was realized that all were not accounted for. It was Middlebrook’s father, Ex-Chief Robert Middlebrook, who pointed out that his son was still missing.
As the second team stood at the door, a secondary collapse occurred and made the building inaccessible. A visible flashover in the attic made re-entry impossible. The scene was verbally turned over to Antonucci (Chief 1801), assisted by Assistant Chief Tony Vanoverburghe (Chief 1802), so the incident commander could review the rescue options.
The decision was made to switch operations from rescue to fire mitigation prior to search efforts. The scene was turned over to Chief 1801 and SB104 (South Bend Operations Chief Jim Lopez). Middlebrook was removed from the structure by the New Carlisle members per instruction by LaPorte County Coroner. All New Carlisle units cleared scene while remaining MABAS (Mutual Aid Box Alarm System) units stayed on scene to mitigate the remainder of the incident.
Next: A detailed review
WILLIAM GOLDFEDER, EFO, a Firehouse® contributing editor, has been a firefighter since 1973 and a chief officer since 1982. He is deputy fire chief of the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department in Ohio, an ISO Class 2 and CAAS-accredited department. Goldfeder has served on numerous National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) committees. He is on the board of directors of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (representing the Safety, Health and Survival Section), National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, September 11th Families Association and National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System. Goldfeder and Gordon Graham host the free, non-commercial website www.firefighterclosecalls.com. Goldfeder can be contacted at [email protected].
