Nov 19, 2008

A Rare Tale Of Rescue
By Kimberly Sherman

The incident on Crenshaw Avenue in Visalia on the afternoon of January 6, 2008, is one that Visalia firefighters will never forget, for it was an atypical day filled with rescue of life, not recovery of bodies. It was a moment that would forever bond hero to victim.

On that lazy Sunday afternoon, Jeanette Hayes was frying bacon on her gas stove when she realized she needed something from the garage. In an attempt to avoid a fire, she gingerly moved the frying pan to a cold burner before heading outside. Her crucial error was leaving the vacant burner turned on.

Mere seconds passed, and when Jeanette returned to the kitchen, she found her wooden cabinets engulfed in flames, the horrific result of a few drops of grease splattered onto the heated burner. Jeanette grabbed her fire extinguisher, yet her hopes were dashed as the pin stuck, rendering the extinguisher useless.

Unable to put out the fire that would ultimately claim about half of her home, Jeanette called 9-1-1. As she dialed, she tripped and fell. The phone line remained open, allowing dispatch to hear her voice and relay to firefighters that someone was still alive inside the burning home.

As soon as she made the emergency call, Jeanette heard sirens in the distance. At that moment, her attention turned away from her home and her many animals. Instinct took over and Jeanette feared only for her own life. Somehow, she says, she knew in her heart that the moment the sirens stopped she would be safe. The firefighters would save her life— of that she was sure.

Visalia police officers Jared Hughes and Daniel Ford were first on scene and broke the windows of the home, listening for cries of help. “I could see black smoke and flames coming from what I thought was the kitchen area,” Officer Hughes said. “Both of us entered, coughing. I started to yell and heard a female yell back. I went to the rear to try to get closer to the voice and located a sliding glass door. I picked up a shovel, broke the glass and went in again. I looked up and saw flames over my head, and flashlights through the smoke.”

Without proper gear, the officers were forced to leave, but not before rescuing one of Jeanette’s precious family members. “I could hear a dog barking in a bedroom,” Officer Hughes said. “A citizen was with me and we went in for the dog and pulled it out of the house. I then helped the citizen and the dog over the rear fence to safety.”

Officers Hughes and Ford were later taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.

Jeanette clearly remembers the fervent sounds of chainsaws tearing through the bars on her front door. Iron safety bars designed for protection from intruders transformed into dogged obstacles, but a team of firefighters worked diligently to break through and pull her to safety.

Fire Captain Darrin Hughes was part of a thirteen-member crew that arrived that day. “We knew we had a viable rescue and needed to get to her,” he said. “Our rapid response, within a couple of minutes, allowed us to make it a rescue as opposed to a recovery. About 70 percent of victims are overcome with the fire and succumb to their injuries.”

Indeed, this rescue effort was the first of its kind for many of the firefighters. “This call was rare.  I think it would be safe to say that a lot of firemen go their entire career without this type of rescue,” Hughes said. “What was unique about this incident was that she was barely breathing. Another minute and she would’ve been unsalvageable.”

While Hughes contained the fingers of the flames with his fire hose, firefighter Dameon Malek found Jeanette sprawled, now motionless, on the floor. “They thought I was dead lying in the entry way staring at the ceiling with my eyes wide open,” Jeanette said.

With eight years of experience as a firefighter, six in Visalia, this was Malek’s first recovery. “The whole call went just as we trained, which is rare, because usually something goes wrong,” he said. “Everything went like a well-oiled machine; everything fell into place. There’s an element where you just fall back to what you have trained to do, and that was the case for me.”

Assisted by two other firefighters, Malek pulled an unconscious Jeanette out onto the back porch and resuscitated her.

Multiple cats and dogs were in the home when it erupted into flames. Crews continued the search for the animals, many of which were lethargic, scared, and hiding in the house. “They recouped a lot of animals,” Hughes said. “They were brought out, and those that were still alive were resuscitated.”

For many, the story of rescue would end here. As a first responder with a heart of gold, however, Malek’s continued follow up with Jeanette, a victim without a family, is a true act of heroism. Malek has made it a point to correspond, off-duty, with Jeanette and continue helping her in any way he can. Hughes said that five other firefighters were also deeply moved by the rescue and have visited Jeanette to wish her well.

 “A sleeping fireman dreams about being involved in a rescue situation. We go to calls every day that are depressing and discouraging, so it’s a help to us when we can see people and they can thank us,” said Malek. “This was one of those situations, and we appreciate it. That’s why we do this job—to try and make a difference, to turn a negative situation into a positive.”

After a three month stint in Kaweah Delta Hospital, Jeanette moved to Tulare Memorial Convalescent home, where she is still on the mend for burns across her back and on her arms and hands.

Though she misses her fallen animals terribly, Jeanette remains hopeful and thankful for the new friends she has gained in firefighters from medic engines 51 and 52. “They all did a really good job,” she said. “They truly saved my life.”

It’s sometimes difficult for the average citizen to wrap his head around the nature of the typical first-responder, who duly maintains an altruistic mentality in any life-threatening incident. 
The Crenshaw incident was a textbook example of that selfless mentality, summed up best by Officer Hughes, “If anyone deserves credit for what happened, it’s God. He placed the right people in the right places so that they could all help.”

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