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Firefighters grieve deaths of children they tried to saveby Paul Adler, KY3 News
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Administrators realize firefighters are professionals but are also human. They need a way to grieve loss, just like relatives and friends. Capt. Eric Latimer was helping test candidates for the Springfield Fire Department this week. He wanted to make sure sure they know how to safely climb a ladder while carrying heavy gear or people. On Monday, Latimer faced the real thing -- the hot fire at the rented home on West Olive Street. "It was very, very warm. Just imagine an oven; it was an oven basically. It was very hot in that house," said Latimer The captain and the rest of his crew knew they'd have to make several rescues. They used a tool known as a thermal imaging camera to get that job done quickly. "What you're looking at is a TV screen and you see silhouettes. I utilized the camera and it was able to locate the fire crews and one of the victims. And I was able to get the camera down and assist in getting the individual out of the house," he said. Despite their efforts, three of the four people whom they rescued that day died; all three are children. That would be tough on anyone, especially people who are dedicated to saving lives. "We know we gave every effort we could. We worked hard; we did everything we could. We're professionals. We move on and continue our service to the community," said Latimer "It's hard when you have a very macho personnel. We can do this, and they put a shell on the outside. But what you find is they do open up. It concerns us when they don't," said Chief David Hall. Peer counselors have already talked to all the firefighters from the scene. Those with children the same age as the victims will get special attention. The service doesn't want to see any more victims after this tragedy. "Over time, after the call is over, you start thinking, firefighters can think about that. So, we can be proactive about that," said Hall The chief thanks the anonymous donor who made the purchase of those thermal imaging cameras possible. In fact, five more are on the way for the department to use. They'll arive within 30 days. All of the firefighters seemed to be in good spirits but the chief talked about how some people are good at putting on a hard outer shell. When given a chance to talk in private, they tend to open up more. The firefighters did those interviews with one stipulation. KY3 agreed not to ask about any evidence that the firefighters might have seen there on West Olive Street. Most Viewed
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