Tx radio transmission from a trapped firefighter

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Hear the radio transmission from a trapped firefighterHear radio transmission from trapped firefighter

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5165021

By Kevin Quinn

(3/29/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - We've shown you the fire, but now find out what's it like to fight a roaring, four-alarm blaze. Hear from a Houston firefighter who did just that in his own words.

abc13.com audio

Listen as Captain Eric Abbt calls for help once he becomes trapped in the burning building. Click the play button below to hear the full audio transmission.

That firefighter got out, but right now, he and another captain are still in the hospital, recovering from their injuries. The radio traffic is chilling. It begins about 50 minutes into the firefight. Just listening to the firefighters in their own words gives you a true feel for the risks they endure daily.

The transmission was made at 6:04pm Wednesday. It was the first time you could hear Captain Eric Abbt struggling as he searched for victims inside the building.

Captain Appt on radio transmission "Engine 8...I'm on the fifth floor."

Fire officials say Abbt was using a thermal imaging device and had located at least one of the victims. He was trying to get that person to safety when he began running out of air. Then came the call that no firefighter wants to hear.

Radio transmission: "North Loop command, all companies stand by. We have a mayday call"

Abbt sent out that distress call. His air pack was vibrating, signaling the end of his oxygen supply.

"At the point your air runs out, once that vibe alert goes out, it's really down to your last breath and then it stops," HFD District Chief Tommy Dowdy told us.

Then, this plea.

Captain Appt on radio transmission "I'm outta air...outta air...outta air."

Fire crews scrambled to get to Abbt. The trouble was finding him.

Radio transmission: "We heard firefighter, engine 8A, say he's near a window. He was near a window. He's trying to talk to you now on the radio, but he can't get any air"

Abbt was able to give rescue crews enough information to find him on a landing near the stairs on the fifth floor. Though you can't understand all the radio traffic, the relief present upon finding him is clear.

Radio transmission: "You've located the firefighter, is that true?"

It was true, and a huge relief to the 3,800 firefighters in the Houston Fire Department and everyone who knows them. Abbt is a veteran firefighter who teaches firefighting courses and is known for his ability to improvise and stay calm under pressure.

"I would attribute Captain Abbt to being one of the McGyvers, pulling all stops out," said Roland Chavez with the Houston Professional Firefighters Association. "He's that capable."

Captain Abbt is listed in fair condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital. There were two other firefighters sent to the hospital.

WOW!!!!! That is some scary stuff!

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Harrowing Rescue of Trapped Houston Captain

Updated: 03-30-2007 02:51:19 PM

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/a...84&sectionId=46

ROSANNA RUIZ

The Houston Chronicle

The first sign of real trouble from within the burning east Houston office building came at 6:09 p.m. Wednesday, nearly an hour after the first alarm sounded.

A firefighter issued a breathless distress call. He was trapped inside a fifth-floor stairwell. And he was out of oxygen.

A moment later it became clear that the trapped firefighter was a Houston Fire Department captain. His deep, labored gasps for air could be heard on the radio.

At 6:13 p.m., word came that two other firefighters had been rescued from the building. But there was no word from the trapped captain for 10 more minutes as his colleagues frantically searched for him.

His gasping became less frequent. Other firefighters were dispatched to the fifth floor to reach him. Another crew was sent to the building's roof to access a stairwell hatch.

"He's near a window," an unidentified official was heard to say on an emergency radio. "He's trying to talk to you now. He can't get any air."

Then a voice, thought to be that of the trapped captain, said: "I'm on the opposite side from where that guy is looking. I'm right across the building from where they are."

That exchange was followed by several minutes in which the command center tried at least four times to get a response. There was only silence.

And then, about 6:30 p.m., came the transmission: "He's out of the building. He's on the ladder. We got the captain on the ladder."

Television images showed the captain - identified as Joel "Eric" Abbt - being pulled from the building.

He was taken to Memorial Hermann-The Texas Medical Center and treated for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion.

The radio transmissions, sometimes inaudible, sometimes incomplete, provided a glimpse of what was happening inside the building during the two hours before the blaze was extinguished.

Commanders, talking to the firefighters in the building, remained calm and dispassionate throughout. But from time to time, those inside sounded urgent, frantic, clearly in the throes of a life-and-death situation.

At 6:41 p.m., apparently believing the search for victims was complete, a fire commander said: "I want all (fire) companies to exit the building at this time."

But a minute later, a firefighter requested help with the search on the fifth floor.

"I've got a report of a civilian supposedly on the fifth floor," a supervisor said.

Minutes later came radio transmissions that a victim had been found. There was no indication whether the person was conscious.

A firefighter reported that the fourth floor had been searched and that the crew was moving to the fifth floor.

At 6:52 p.m., a firefighter reported: "We have two victims on the fifth floor."

At 6:54, a voice said: "No way we can get them on the ladder."

Then came the chilling words from a fire command supervisor: "No rescue."

At 7:02 p.m., a firefighter reported that the structure seemed unstable. Another voice then reported that the building's roof appeared to be sinking above the location of the fire.

One minute later, a firefighter said: "The roof is starting to come in, especially where the fire is coming from."

Minutes later, at 7:11 p.m., commanders declared the fire extinguished and announced that two "1050s," or fatalities, were known.

As the evening progressed, that number would climb to three.

And the search for other victims continued.

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chilling...