Prayers Requested

[Mark Hofman]

Last night, two of the firefighters who work with my brother-in-law (Ross) were killed in a bad fire here in St. Louis. Ross was taking vacation and was fishing at Lake Shelbyville in Illinois when he got the news this morning. Everyone is taking it rather hard. The wife of one of the firefighters who lost his life is the pre-school director at my wife's school, and her husband (Rob) was a good family friend. My wife and the faculty are also hurting, since Rob did quite a bit of volunteer work for school. A month ago, he pulled two kids out of a bad house fire, so I would classify him as a true hero.



At this fire, Rob and Derik (the other firefighter who lost his life) went back into the building in search of a missing comrade, who got out safely. No real details are available as I write this.



Please keep the Morrison family (Rob) in your prayers, as well as all the men and women of the St. Louis City Fire Department. These are the first fatalities since 1977. Rob leaves behind his wife (Laura) and two children. My wife will be teaching their youngest next year, and had the oldest when he was in the third grade. Thanks.

 

[Greg Meyer]

Mo as you know, I am a retired Police Officer... My love and respect of Firefighters is a very personal one...This loss is truly felt deeply by me. You and the families have my heartfelt sympathy and my prayers. May God take them to him and keep them in his care.

 

[Andrew Zuber]

You got 'em MO...

Hang in there,

az

 

[Ed G]

I'll be praying for the families who lost loved ones, and for the the friends and co-workers also.

Ed

 

[Mark Hofman]

Thanks everyone! We had a chance to have dinner as an extended family last night. Here is what Ross told us about the fire. It was in a refrigeration company, and the chemicals were producing very thick smoke. As a four-alarm fire, there were several pieces of equipment there from various fire houses. Ross's unit - Engine Company 1 (Shift A) and Rescue Squad 1A were first on the scene.



As the fire grew more intense and additional equipment was called in, firefighters began to run out of air in their tanks. The interior of the building had very few walls for firefighters to follow as they battled the blaze. At some point, when Mayday calls started coming through on the radios, the commander in charge decided sound the "get clear" signal by blowing the air horns on all of the trucks. When everyone was out, they did a head count and came up three short. Ross's captain, our friend Rob, and another firefighter were missing. Derek, from Rescue Squad 1A, went back into the building to look. The captain was rescued by cutting a hole in the back of the building. The other firefighter got out on his own, but was stuck behind a fence. When Derek failed to come out, another search was launched. Rob was found unconscious eight feet inside the door. Derek was found farther inside, a testament to the thickness of the smoke. Rob apparently had run out of air in his tank, became disoriented and then was overcome by the smoke and heat. Derek was immediately transported to the hospital, but was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Rob was put on a ventilator, but died at 1 a.m. because of the severity of his injuries.



This is all still informal information, since the investigation hasn't been completed. Arson has been all but ruled out as a cause.



There will be a funeral for each firefigher this week, but the city is attempting to plan a mass memorial service at the Savis center(the ice-hockey arena where the Blues play).



I truly appreciate your thoughts and prayers for both men's families, the men and women of Rescue Squad 1 and Engine Company 1, and for the men and women of the St. Louis City Fire Department.

 

[Mark Hofman]

I got some of the details confused from last night. This morning's Post-Dispatch has the events outlined in an article. Either I wasn't listening because I was playing with my niece, or I just plain didn't understand what Ross was telling us last night.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...ocument&Headline=Details of fatal fire emerge