Once in a career. That’s how often local firefighters say the need arises to pull someone from a fire in the Sequim area.
For Clallam County Fire District 3 firefighters on “A” Shift, that instance was Feb. 13 on the 3000 block of Woodcock Road, where they pulled Gregg Vella from a fire at his residence.
“It’s why you train, train, train,” firefighter/paramedic Mark Mullvain said.
“A” Shift met up with Vella again on March 1 at the district’s Station 34 to mark the rescue in a meet-and-greet.
“It was a team effort,” Mullvain said.
He said each element of the rescue was critical, including Vella’s 9-1-1 call to the Peninsula Communications dispatchers to the many firefighters and the Clallam County Sheriff deputy on scene.
“It all allowed us to get to him flawlessly,” Mullvain said.
Vella, 68, said the firefighters “went above and beyond.”
Said Vella, “They were there lickety-split. It was great!”
On the scene
Firefighters responded to Vella’s 9-1-1 call at 10:51 p.m. that Sunday night off Woodcock Road.
Ninety seconds passed from the first vehicle on scene at the fire to Vella being out of his home, Mullvain said.
A Chicago native, Vella called 9-1-1 after he smelled and spotted a fire on his porch, and said “as soon as I saw (the fire) I was on the ground.”
“The room filled with smoke from the top to the bottom,” he said.
Assistant fire chief Dan Orr said the fire blocked Vella’s only exit.
Vella, who had a previous knee injury, and was unable to climb out on his own.
Firefighters said his communication with dispatchers Mary Rife and Heather Conway and their calm demeanor and quick thinking helped convey to “A” Shift exactly where to go.
“The dispatchers did an awesome job and gave us such a good picture of where Greg was,” Capt. Kjel Skov said.
Firefighters said they went aggressively at the fire with the VES (vent, enter, search) maneuver.
They broke a bedroom window, and with the bottom of its sill about five feet off the ground, Mullvain was lifted into the room followed by Skov. The firefighters helped Vella out the window with assistance from Capt. Joel McKeen and deputy Steffen Estep.
Vella received smoke inhalation treatment and was observed overnight at Olympic Medical Center, he said.
The fire continued to burn into the attic and was deemed a complete loss, Skov said.
The American Red Cross provided Vella some funds to stay at the Sundowner Motel for the short-term as he looks to relocate to a trailer, he said. He had rented his former home for 15 years, Vella said.
Rarity
The firefighters’ quick action prevented the situation from being much worse, Orr said, as the home was full of belongings and it wouldn’t have been much longer for the fire to reach Vella.
Mullvain said while these situations are rare, anyone on “A” Shift could’ve done what they did thanks to their training and expertise.
McKeen and others said it was the first time in their career they’ve extracted a resident from their home during a fire.
Capt. Chris Turner said he and other firefighters responded and helped extract a resident more than a decade ago from a burning trailer on Joslin Road.
Skov said these issues thankfully are few and far between because people are putting fire extinguishers in their homes and testing smoke detectors regularly.
“That’s a great thing,” he said.
For more about Clallam County Fire District 3, visit ccfd3.org.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Gregg Vella meets with Clallam County Fire District 3 firefighters from “A” Shift on March 1 a few weeks after they worked together to pull him from a house fire. Firefighters said the rescue was likely a once-in-a-career opportunity for many of them.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Gregg Vella chats with with Clallam County Fire District 3 firefighters Capt. Kjel Skov, firefighter/paramedic Mark Mullvain, and Capt. Joel McKeen on March 1 about his Feb. 13 rescue from his house fire. Skov and Mullvain went into the burning house to pull Vella out while McKeen and Clallam County Sheriff deputy Steffen Estep brought him outside.
Photo by Mike Mingee/ Clallam County Fire District 3 This house was deemed a total loss after a fire on Feb. 13. Clallam County Fire District 3 firefighters helped rescue its lone resident that night.
