Oct. 06 -- Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim got the call last Saturday evening shortly after a car exploded in Allentown, and within an hour he was sifting through human remains and flaming car parts strewn across several city blocks.
Videos posted on social media sites showed people walking around in a smoky haze, stepping over debris and body parts. Federal investigators described the blast site as “a war zone” and a “gruesome” and “grisly” scene.
Grim, the coroner for the last 21 years, joined his team of deputy coroners who responded to the carnage along Turner Street in Center City Allentown.
“You just kind of go on autopilot and get to work,” Grim said Thursday. “That way, it’s easy to put your feelings and thoughts aside because you know exactly what needs to be done.”
Grim, who for several days essentially worked sunrise to sunset, never faltered in front of the media during a string of news conferences about the blast. His team would be integral in helping authorities determine that 26-year-old Jacob Schmoyer deliberately detonated a homemade bomb in a “murder-suicide” that killed him, his 2-year-old son, Jonathan, and an acquaintance, 66-year-old David Hallman.
During a 30-minute interview, Grim talked about the code of first responders — be professional, be calm, focus on the mission. But near the end of an interview filled with several long pauses, he could no longer put emotion aside.
“There was not one balk by anyone other than doing the utmost professional job,” Grim said in between tears. “There was not a complaint or a hesitation other than doing what was asked of them to bring these families answers.”
For Grim, Saturday night’s explosion was especially difficult to comprehend because of the deaths of a 2-year-old boy and his young father.
Putting aside those kinds of thoughts and striving to maintain an image — one of strength and a lack of emotion — sometimes come at a cost. First responders are highly susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder, and they attempt suicide at a rate 10 times higher than the general public, recent studies show.
Allentown fire Capt. John Christopher said the seemingly routine call Saturday night belied the horror unfolding on Turner Street between Seventh and Eighth streets.
“It was a terrible scene to come upon, but you have to put aside those feelings and emotion and do your job,” Christopher said.
As witnesses and residents are reeling at a chaotic scene, that’s when first responders are able to slip into their training and education, he said.
“When you have a scene like that when so many people are upset, that’s when we need to be calm and let the public know we are there to help,” Christopher said. “We need to be the people there keeping them safe and showing them it’s going to be OK.”
A 2017 University of Phoenix study surveyed 2,000 firefighters and paramedics and found that nearly 85 percent experienced symptoms related to mental health issues.
One-third of the respondents had been diagnosed with either depression or PTSD, and half of them had sought help from a mental health professional following a traumatic event, such as the car explosion in Allentown. For those who were diagnosed with depression, nearly half cited incidents at work as a contributing cause.
A 2015 survey published by the Journal of Emergency Medical Services found that firefighters and paramedics contemplate suicide at an alarming rate. Researchers interviewed more than 4,000 first responders and found that 6.6 percent had attempted suicide, more than 10 times the rate in the general population.
Christopher said the job and its mantra make it difficult for many first responders to talk about such issues.
“We are a group that isn’t likely to share what they are thinking and feeling with others,” Christopher said. “It’s tough to get first responders to open up, but they do best in a group.”
But he said the issues are not being ingnored.
Now in its 30th year, the Eastern Pennsylvania Critical Incident Stress Management Team provides educational sessions, on-site and post-incident debriefings that are confidential and staffed by a team of peers and mental health providers, said Jason Smith, deputy director of the team and a Lehigh County deputy coroner who responded to Saturday’s explosion.
The team is made up of EMS providers, law enforcement, nurses, dispatchers, coroners, partners of first responders as well as therapy dogs all used to make sure first responders stay in their careers and “more importantly, to save their lives,” Smith said.
“Burnout is real, depression is real and suicide is real,” Smith said.
The group has a 24-hour hotline that offers assistance to all first responders. Smith said Friday he was in the process of organizing a debriefing session for the Allentown car explosion.
A debriefing is offered to all who participated on calls, he said. It’s up to the individuals to decide whether or not they want to participate.
The group gathers in a room, often in the company of a therapy dog, Smith said.
“It’s really interesting to see because the dog is let off the leash and will just circle the room and sit beside someone,” he said. “Everyone wants to pet a dog and I’ve seen many times where someone just breaks down while petting the dog.”
The stereotype that first responders must maintain control is a difficult one to break, Smith said.
“It’s not a weakness, but a reminder that we’re human,” he said.
Grim, when asked what the most challenging part of the week was for him, spoke of his deputy coroners’ determination to recover every part of the victims who had been so violently killed. He watched them on their hands and knees digging through broken glass, dirt and debris searching for remains.
Allentown police Chief Tony Alsleben called the scene “horrific and awful,” but noted that first responders who faced a grim task also got a gratifying response from residents who gave them bottles of water and food, or just stopped by to chat.
“It’s easy for us to forget that the support is always there, but it’s from this silent majority that we don’t always hear from,” Alsleben said. “It’s not the people who necessarily call for help, but those who have genuine concern and caring for their neighbors and police department.”
No doubt that response helps first responders deal with a job that by its very nature will always be very difficult.
“Unfortunately, those things that you see, you can’t ever unsee,” said Christopher, the Allentown fire captain. “Those images stay with you forever.”
Reporter Laurie Mason Schroeder contributed to this story.
___ (c)2018 The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) Visit The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) at www.mcall.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
