For the second time in less than 24 hours, crews from the Brighton Area Fire Authority battled a blaze in subzero temperatures Sunday, saving a 30-year-old man’s life in the process.
Firefighters responded to a fire at the Waters Edge Apartments at Grand River Avenue and Bendix Road in Genoa Township at about 8:30 p.m.
They found the man unconscious in his second-floor apartment.
Smoke alarms in the apartment were disconnected at the time of the fire, Chief Michael O’Brien said.
“He wouldn’t have made it without the (apartment) sprinkler system, his neighbors and some fast work,” OBrien said.
The man was transporrted by EMS to an area hospital. Additional information on his condition was unavailable.
Fighting fires in subzero temperatures puts added stress on crews as everything from equipment to fire truck doors can freeze, O’Brien acknowledged.
“Even walking across a parking lot in weather like that can cause problems. But we rotate frequently and have good staff,” he said. “They know what to do.”
Firefighters battled another blaze shortly before 3 a.m. at the Sylvan Glen mobile home park, off Herbst Road, where a 75-year-old woman lost her life.
The woman was identified by neighbors as Donna Bingham.
Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.
Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.
He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.
You must log in to post a comment.