THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605040350
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
Fire Chief Michael L. Bolac said Friday that more people and better equipment would not have prevented the deaths of two firefighters when a roof collaped and trapped them in a burning auto-parts store.
Instead, Bolac blamed the March 18 deaths of Frank Young, 38, and John Hudgins Jr., 32, on a poorly constructed building with a lightweight wood-trussed roof. When weakened by fire, Bolac said, the roof collapsed when it could no longer support 3,000 pounds of air-conditioning equipment.
``We believe there was an inherent weakness in the construction of this building,'' Bolac said at a news conference at City Hall.
Bolac presented a 33-page report prepared by Chesapeake Fire Marshal Tom Cooke. The report dissected the fire at the Advance Auto Parts store in the 4000 block of Indian River Road.
Bolac said that an improperly grounded electrical system allowed numerous hidden fires to start simultaneously in the space between the auto-parts store's roof and ceiling. The fires were caused when a Virginia Power employee damaged a nearby meter box, causing a massive power surge.
Bolac also said that almost two minutes elapsed before a radio call for help from the two firefighters inside reached the other 15 firefighters outside. The radio transmission was picked up by others monitoring radio transmissions, some of them miles from the burning building. It was then relayed to the those at the scene.
But the fire chief did not blame the radio system, saying it was the amount of radio traffic and not the equipment that prevented the call for help from being heard immediately.
``It was the amount of communication being done that overloaded the system,'' he said. ``It was not the system itself. The radio system performed normally.''
Even an immediate response would not have saved Young and Hudgins, Bolac said, and may have caused more loss of life. Once the roof collapsed, the fire burned so intensely that almost everything in the store was consumed.
Once ignited in the ceiling, the fire burned for almost 30 minutes, Bolac said, before the ceiling crashed down around the two firefighters.
Bolac said Young and Hudgins never ran out of water. He said the two men apparently advanced 50 to 60 feet inside the building, then changed direction as they attacked the overhead fire.
``At the time of the roof collapse, there was a crew outside the building prepared with a back-up line to enter the building,'' Bolac said. ``We have concluded that had they done so, they would have perished also in the fire.''
The report said Young and Hudgins were found side-by-side at the rear of the parts counter, along the south wall of the store. The bodies were found covered under light debris and shelving.
According to the medical examiner, both men died of body burns, with smoke inhalation probably being a contributing factor.
Bolac said he supports adding a fourth man to all fire engine companies, but said the extra personnel would not have had any effect on the outcome of the auto-parts store fire. Chesapeake is the only South Hampton Roads city that has three-man fire engine companies.
Bolac said that when the auto- parts store was built in 1984, the roof collapsed and had to be reassembled.
Family members of the fallen firefighters who attended the news conference were skeptical of Bolac's explanation.
``I can't go along with it,'' said John Hudgins Sr., the father of Hudgins. ``If they had had two firefighters outside, maybe they could have helped them.''
Russell Liverman, Hudgins' uncle, said he still questioned how well equipped the firefighters at the scene were. More and better radios, he said, could have made the difference between life and death.
``I'd like to know, of the 17 men at the scene, how many portable radios were available,'' Liverman said.
Chesapeake Vice Mayor Robert Nance also expressed doubt. Nance said better equipment and more firefighters are necessary, and may have made a difference March 18.
He also said adequate planning for emergencies seems to be lacking in the Fire Department. MEMO: FACTORS IN THE ROOF COLLAPSE
Roof assembly was 6,000 square feet, flat and without interior
support. Also, it used lightweight wood trusses.
Three heavy air-conditioning units were on the roof.
Fire was able to spread in the space between the drop ceiling and
roof for about 30 minutes before the roof collapsed.
ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Firefighters Frank Young, above, and John Hudgins were killed March
18.
Color photo by MORT FRYMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
Chesapeake Fire Chief Michael L. Bolac
Color drawing
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT FATALITY FIRE DEATH by CNB