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Firefighter Fatality in Prince William County

The Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue has completed a preliminary review of the Monday morning fire that damaged a house on Marsh Overlook Drive in Woodbridge and killed firefighter Kyle Wilson. Here is a synopsis of events:

On April 16, 2007 at 6:03 a.m., the initial alarm was dispatched for a single family house fire at 15474 Marsh Overlook Drive. Engine 512, Tower 512 and Medic 512 from OWL Station 12 in Woodbridge responded and arrived on the scene at 6:09 a.m. They discovered fire on the exterior of the structure involving the side and back of the house. Vehicles were in the driveway and garage. Believing that occupants might still be inside the home, an aggressive interior search was initiated with Lieutenant Jason Reese and Technician I Kyle Wilson going to the second floor to begin search and rescue efforts.

Conditions inside the home were initially clear, with full visibility and little smoke. Lt. Reese and Technician Wilson were able to search the large master bedroom suite standing up and walking through the area. During the search, the bedroom door suddenly slammed shut. Not finding any occupants in the master bedroom, they opened the door to search the remainder of the second floor and found conditions in the hallway had dramatically changed to zero visibility and extraordinary intense heat. Lt. Reese and Technician Wilson were together and attempted to exit the structure immediately.

At this point a catastrophic fire event occurred. Conditions inside the home quickly deteriorated from a light haze to heavy fire with thick black smoke and intense heat. At almost the same time, the roof and ceiling collapsed into the second floor. The force of this event separated Lt. Reese and Technician Wilson, resulting in Lt. Reese falling down the stairs. Technician Wilson was forced in a different direction.

A MAYDAY, which indicates a life-threatening situation to a firefighter, was declared at 6:15 a.m. Technician Wilson activated his emergency button and provided an emergency radio report.
Lt. Reese and several other crews made several valiant attempts to respond to the MAYDAY calls and locate Technician Wilson. Lt. Reese suffered second degree burns to both ears and one finger in those attempts.
The initial reports demonstrate that Fire and Rescue crews were following procedure by working in pairs and maintaining physical contact until the catastrophic fire event forcibly separated them. The severe wind conditions also had an effect on the intensity and rapid spread of the fire.

Officials have estimated the fire loss for the building and contents at $650,000. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Prince William County Fire Marshal’s Office and is still undetermined.

More details, information and findings will be discovered as this investigation continues, and will be released as they become available. It will be many months before the investigation is complete and a final report is released.

The services for Technician Wilson are scheduled for Saturday, April 21, 2007, beginning at 4 p.m. at Nissan Pavilion.

Again, the Department of Fire and Rescue is very appreciative and grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of support and sympathy our community has expressed.

I attended the funeral services for Technician I Kyle Wilson yesterday. Still a member of the Nokesville Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department in Prince William County, I returned to my old firehouse--I would've preferred happier circumstances, but I was greeted with open arms from my second family...my brothers and sisters of fire and rescue. Together we all went to the servicesThere wasn't a dry eye during the service... Once the bagpipes started up, even the hardest firefighter couldn't hold the tears back.

From the moment I started volunteering, I loved it. Looking around, there were fire departments represented from all over the country there to pay their respects. I always knew I was part of something, but I think this was the first time I realized how big it was...

I can only hope to never have to attend a ceremony like that again... My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

We're all Hokies today...

Having lived Virginia for most of my life, I have witnessed the in state rivalry between all the colleges and universities. Both of my sisters went to Virginia universities--UVa and JMU. My brother-in-law and many of my friends went to Tech. My wife went to American University and I went to the Maryland Institute, College of Art.

Today we are Hokies...

Graduation

Still trying to make sense of the events at Va. Tech. I don't think it will ever make sense. Their commencement ceremonies are on May 11, 2007. Several of the victims would've been graduating. I did this one to try and help me make sense of it.

They should've been there to pick up their diplomas--instead I hope they are in the 'better place' we all believe they should be.