THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996 TAG: 9603200477
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Just outside Engine Company No. 3, a shrine to two fallen firefighters grew by the hour on Tuesday.
A firefighter's turn-out gear, a flowered cross, balloons that read ``Thinking of You,'' and dozens of flowers were gathered in a neat pile at the base of the firehouse flag pole. The flag was at half mast.
It was all a reflection of public mourning for firefighters Frank E. Young, 38, and John Hudgins Jr., 32. The two were killed Monday when the roof of a burning auto parts store caved in at the Indian River Shopping Center.
A toy rabbit in a blue jumpsuit was among the flowers. It held an unsigned poem that read:
``We think of you in silence and made no outward show. But what it meant to lose you, no one will ever know. We wished no one farewell, not even said goodbye. You were gone before we knew it, and only God knows why. . . .''
Inside the firehouse on Rokeby Avenue, about a mile from the shopping center, those who shared the perils of a dangerous profession with Young and Hudgins struggled with their own deep sense of loss.
Firefighters get killed, said Jeff Rabeau with a sigh while gripping the back of a chair, but it's always in other cities - big places like Chicago and New York.
``You never think about Chesapeake, Virginia.''
Rabeau was joined by other firefighters who hugged, paced, talked and sobbed.
``One minute we're all sharing good memories and laughing and the next, crying and holding back tears,'' Rabeau said.
The outpouring of community support helped the firefighters cope, they said.
In addition to the gifts, people have called and dropped by. Earlier Tuesday, a whole busload of school children had paid a visit.
``Steadily people have been coming in, saying `Hi,' expressing their feelings . . . giving their condolences,'' said Bobby Matthews, who has been a volunteer firefighter for four years with Company No. 3.
Just then, a van delivered another bouquet.
``That means a lot to all of us,'' Rabeau said.
Chesapeake city officials received condolences Tuesday from towns and cities throughout Virginia, according to Mayor William E. Ward. All Chesapeake city flags were at half-staff Tuesday and will remain there until the funerals of the firefighters, city officials said.
Gov. George F. Allen's office contacted Chesapeake officials to say that all state flags would be lowered on Friday and Saturday, the days Young and Hudgins are scheduled to be buried.
City officials have also tried to contact Virginia's senators to seek permission to lower the American flag on Friday and Saturday. Mayor Ward said Tuesday evening that the city had yet to hear from the senators or the White House.
Ward and Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance Jr. said they attended the fire department's debriefing on Monday, a situation that the mayor recalled with emotion.
``It was a cathartic experience for both of us,'' said Ward.
Nance said he was sure the deaths of Young and Hudgins were not the result of any lack of foresight. ``I am totally convinced that everything was done for that not to happen,'' he said.
Meanwhile, Division Chief Kenneth Murphy had the job of helping the city's firefighters, paramedics and their families cope with sorrow, stress and anger.
``Everyone's still in a state of shock . . . very stunned,'' said Murphy.
``These people are very close,'' Murphy said. ``They work together 24 hours at a time. It's almost like losing a member of your family.''
Murphy is a liaison between the 319-member department and counselors from Tidewater Emergency Medical Services Counseling.
The first step, he said, was Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. Firefighters, emergency workers and police officers have already been trained as peer counselors. That stage, also called defusing, took place Monday shortly after the fire. More counseling follows.
Murphy, a 26-year-veteran, said firefighters' families also help each other and receive counseling if needed.
``The families are obviously very touched and concerned,'' he said. ``They know it can be their husband or their wife at any time.''
He did not know how long counseling would continue, or when firefighters, friends and family would be able to get through the deaths.
``We kind of like to believe this didn't really happen,'' he said. ``As the days go by the reality is going to set in.''
Firefighters prepare for countless scenarios and the possibility of death looms at many scenes, said Murphy, 48. But one can never be fully prepared.
``Everyone thinks about it and everyone knows in this profession it's possible at any time for something like this to occur,'' Murphy said.
``They try to put it out of their minds and get involved with doing their job. . . .''
That was hard to do Tuesday at Engine Company No. 3.
The men continually glanced at a newspaper with a photo and article on the tragedy. The note from the bunny, which had been brought in from the afternoon rain, lay beside the newspaper:
``Two golden hearts stopped beating, and tender hands at rest. God broke our hearts to prove he only takes the best.
``To some you may be forgotten, to others a part of the past. But those of us who love you, your memory will last. . . .'' MEMO: A memorial fund has been established for the families of the two
firefighters. Checks payable to the Chesapeake Fire Dept. (Memorial
Fund) can be sent to:
NationsBank
P.O. Box 13401
Chesapeake, Va. 23325-0401
Checks will not be taken over bank counters.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MORT FRYMAN/The Virginian-Pilot
A cross marks a spot near where the bodies were found in the auto
parts store.
KEYWORDS: FIRES FATALITIES by CNB