We caught up with the first fireman, Jim Henson of Ladder 19, who made it on the scene with his crew of 2 others.
"It really wasn't all that bad," Henson said, "I just really wasn't feeling it. I definitely could have saved the guy, but I was out really late last night. Me and the guys only had about 3 hours of sleep when the alarm to come to this fire went off inside the station. About 20 minutes later, ya know, after we arrived and after a cup of coffee, we felt good enough to go inside the nearly-incinerated house to see if Mr. Kendrick was still alive. When we found Mr. Kendrick, he was unconscious--likely from smoke inhalation. We weren't too sure if he was dead at that point, so we figured it might be best to push him closer to the fire and let the high temperatures do the rest." The other firemen were not available for comment.
"It really wasn't all that bad," Henson said, "I just really wasn't feeling it. I definitely could have saved the guy, but I was out really late last night. Me and the guys only had about 3 hours of sleep when the alarm to come to this fire went off inside the station. About 20 minutes later, ya know, after we arrived and after a cup of coffee, we felt good enough to go inside the nearly-incinerated house to see if Mr. Kendrick was still alive. When we found Mr. Kendrick, he was unconscious--likely from smoke inhalation. We weren't too sure if he was dead at that point, so we figured it might be best to push him closer to the fire and let the high temperatures do the rest." The other firemen were not available for comment.
This happening only two and a half weeks after the fire-debacle in Richmond, VA where two--a mother and father--in a family of five, died while three surviving members: two sons and a daughter, were left battered and bruised. Fire-Captain Harvey Killmawr was video-recorded by the children beating their parents to death--a video that has since been uploaded to the internet--while they thought the fireman was there to save them.
In an interview late last week with a CBS affiliate, Renee Jenkins, daughter of the parents that were deemed "killed by fire" in the Richmond 3-alarm house-fire, told reporters, "It was horrifying!"
"I can only imagine! Fires are very dangerous!" the reporter, Diane Fox, interjected vehemently.
"I can only imagine! Fires are very dangerous!" the reporter, Diane Fox, interjected vehemently.
"No, no, not the fire, the firefighter who(m) was beating our parents to death! After them (my parents), he found a way to get to us, a room over, through the flames. My brothers, Dillon and Joey, noticed that one of our side-windows was beginning to crack from the fire, so right before the fireman got to us they went to save themselves and broke through the glass. I was with them but wasn't as swift, so the fireman caught me, but instead of hurting me he brought me through more flames and to safety outside. I had no idea what was going on!"
As Renee began to cry hysterically, the CBS affiliate blacked-out the rest of the interview.
Since then, protests began in big cities around the country in support of the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins. People from Seattle, WA to Jacksonville, FL showed up with signs outside of their city halls demanding that firemen be held to higher standards.
"This is unbelievable," Vince Gallifrey, a Richmond protester announced, "I had no idea firemen, hired to fight fires and save lives, could waltz into someone's house and (allegedly) kill people for no reason!"
"Otha' then these protestas being really inconvenient to the rest of us hard working people, I don' see what the big problem is," Boston native and wife of a fireman, Leah Bartoli, remarked, "Listen, fiafightas should be respected no matta' what happens. These protestas are absolutely pathetic, if'ya ask me. They betta' not call my Johnny the next time 'dey gotta fia. 'Dey can burn in hell f'all I care."
"Otha' then these protestas being really inconvenient to the rest of us hard working people, I don' see what the big problem is," Boston native and wife of a fireman, Leah Bartoli, remarked, "Listen, fiafightas should be respected no matta' what happens. These protestas are absolutely pathetic, if'ya ask me. They betta' not call my Johnny the next time 'dey gotta fia. 'Dey can burn in hell f'all I care."
Harvey Killmawr has yet to be indicted for his alleged heinous acts, but after talking with Richmond Fire Chief Henry Dumbourne there seems to be no worry of that potential.
"Oh, this is a slam-dunk case," Dumbourne told reporters last Thursday, "Fire-Captain Killmawr entered the emblazoned home and did whatever he could to get everyone in the house to safety. I thank God that he was able to save Renee."
There's no telling what will happen to fireman Jim Henson and his crew after what seems to be yet another fire-catastrophe. On-lookers have provided mixed emotions over this developing story as it looks like Jim and his crew are the only surviving members and witnesses of this story.
"Wow," neighbor Pete O'Leary empathetically resounded, "when something like this happens so close to home it really opens your eyes. If what they are saying is true about this fire and the fire down in Virginia, then this country may have a serious problem on it's hands."
"Oh, here we go," retired fire-captain Keith Hunter angrily stated with beer-in-hand, "Now, I'm going to have to hear about how awful firefighters are for the next who-knows-how-long. There is NO WAY these allegations are true--and that video from a couple weeks ago was edited to make it LOOK like the firefighter was beating people senseless. Firefighters never act outside of proper conduct, and, frankly anyone who thinks otherwise is just stupid."
No firefighters have yet to be arrested for these events. The Jenkins' siblings are in the beginning processes of taking their case to court against Harvey Killmawr. No word, yet, from the family members of Ken Kendrick on whether they will file a lawsuit against Ladder 19 or Jim Henson with the local authority.
More on this as it develops.
- PatInTheFireHat
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