by David Chapman
Staff Writer
It’s not often that members of the public get an intimate look at the work of Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Department members, but Meninak Club of Jacksonville members received a peek when several JFRD officials shared their stories with the civic organization Monday.
John Bracey, JFRD public affairs officers, began the discussion with a 15-minute video that highlighted the efforts, background and results of one of the department’s most tumultuous times in December 2007: a 17-day span that included the collapsing of the Berkman Plaza II garage Dec. 6, the explosion of the T-2 Laboratories on the Northside Dec. 17 and the fire that consumed the Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church Dec. 24.
In total, the timeframe of hectic episodes has been dubbed “A December to Remember” by the department.
The video began with scenes from the Berkman II garage collapse and the ensuing search-and-rescue for a trapped victim that was the largest in department history. It took extreme caution to work in the environment, said officials, as much of the entangled concrete and rebar could continue to collapse and endanger the lives of department workers on scene. After 40 hours of work, the sole casualty of the accident was found and officials described the emotions behind and approach of removing and caring for the body for the family members.
As for the response and process itself, “everything worked like clockwork,” according to Lt. Alan Mallard.
As for the T-2 explosion, footage showed billowing black smoke and the portions of a 9-1-1 call to the scene, followed by firefighters and hazardous material teams containing the chemically induced fire. The blast killed four and the Chemical Safety Board referred to it as one of the most powerful explosions ever recorded.
In the video, Chief Marty Senterfitt called the work of the responders the proudest he’s been in 20 years of service with the department.
The middle-of-the-night Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church on fire on Christmas Eve had no injuries but engulfed the building and was combatted with the “surround and drown” philosophy to prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings.
Many of the firefighters had never battled a church fire, generally unique in nature due to structure size and mass, but training and study from other such incidents around the country prepared them, said Captain Kurtis Wilson in the video. Wilson said the sound of the updraft from the doors of the structure made a hissing sound and was unlike anything he’d ever heard in his time. While the building itself was ruined, much of the church was saved.
Following the video, Meninak members were able to further ask questions to learn more about the department and its current status, such as whether more calls need fire or medical service (most is medical, but both combined), the cost of training (around $5,000 a student) and the hiring situation (just hired a class, next one hopefully in March).
Sharing the JFRD story and giving community members a glimpse at day-in, day-out emergencies helps the community support and understand the efforts that come with the job, said Bracey.
Both Rigdon and Callahan agreed, and said there is tangible value in community outreach.
“It gets our message out clearly,” said Rigdon.
The video and one-on-one conversations with community members helps accomplish that.
“Not a lot of people get to see some of these things,” said Callahan. “It gives them a greater look into what we’re about.”
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