Ga. Firefighter Killed, Several Hurt in Collapse
Source The Macon Telegraph
Feb. 12--The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating Wednesday night's fire that killed a Macon-Bibb firefighter and injured five others.
ATF investigators joined local investigators Thursday morning at the house at 2320 Fairview Drive, just south of Rocky Creek Road.
The federal assistance is routine when a firefighter is killed, said Sgt. Ben Gleaton, a Macon-Bibb fire investigator who kept vigil with his partner at the scene overnight.
Investigators looking for a cause of the fire started sifting through the ruins at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday.
Lt. Randy Parker, 46, suffered fatal injuries when he fell through the floor of the burning home in south Macon.
Parker was pronounced dead at the Medical Center, Navicent Health, at 9:09 p.m., Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones said.
District Chief Nathaniel Hall said the loss weighs heavy on the whole department.
"This is just a terrible thing," Hall said as he arrived at the scene Thursday morning. "We're just trying to come to grips with it."
A few minutes before 6 p.m., firefighters arrived to find the house engulfed in flames.
After an initial group of firefighters went into the house, the floor collapsed, and several firefighters fell into the basement, said Chris Floore, spokesman for the Macon-Bibb County government.
Six firefighters, including Parker, were taken to the Medical Center. Battalion Chief Steven Stafford, 59, was airlifted to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, and firefighters Adam Mitchie, 34, and Ferrell Cromer, 46, were taken by ambulance to the burn center, Jones said.
Two of the three taken to Augusta are being treated for smoke inhalation, and the other for smoke inhalation and burns on his hand.
Two other firemen -- Matt Couey, 27, and Ben Bollinger, 28 -- were listed in stable condition at the Medical Center, Jones said.
The homeowners, identified by a neighbor as Don and Kathy Coffey, were able to get out of their brick home unharmed.
The initial fire company arrived on the scene at 5:51 p.m., just minutes after they were called.
At 6:43 p.m, while firefighters were actively battling the flames, the floor near the front door gave way, sending a group of responders into the basement below and setting off a "code red," which called for an immediate evacuation and the start of rescue efforts, Floore said.
After the six firemen (sic) were taken to the hospital, Parker was pronounced dead.
"He is an officer that served our community for more than 20 years," Floore said.
Macon-Bibb County government is asking the community to keep the families of Parker and the other injured firemen in their thoughts and prayers, Floore said late Wednesday. "Also please reach out to their crew members and friends as this is a tragedy which impacts all of us," he said.
Earlier in the night at the fire scene, the Coffeys' neighbor Sandra Carter said she was alerted to the fire by a loud noise.
"I heard what sounded like something exploded," she said. "I ran screaming for my neighbors, but they didn't hear me." She eventually made contact with the Coffeys.
Carter said she feared the worst for one of the firefighters, who later turned out to be Parker.
"It just seemed like an eternal time that he had been trapped in there," she said.
Carter said three of the Coffeys' dogs were killed in the blaze, although firefighters could not confirm that Thursday morning.
Once word spread of accident, off-duty firefighters rushed to the scene to spell those who were fighting the fire, Hall said.
"We're such a family. We put our lives on the line everyday," he said. "We don't want to take for granted what we do, but we're survivors. We're running in when everyone else is running out."
To contact writer Jeremy Timmerman, call 744-4331. To contact writer Andy M. Drury, call 744-4477.
Copyright 2015 - The Macon Telegraph
