Brave scout.Shortly after midnight on December 30, 2003, a fire ignited ig·nite v. ig·nit·ed, ig·nit·ing, ig·nites v.tr. 1. a. To cause to burn. b. To set fire to. 2. To subject to great heat, especially to make luminous by heat. in Joni Wedekamm's two-story Parkersburg, West Virginia
Parkersburg is a city located in Wood County, West Virginia, United States at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha Rivers. , residence. Mrs. Wedekamm and two of her three daughters (ages 11 and one) were asleep upstairs, and the oldest daughter, age 13, was in her own first-floor bedroom. Mrs. Wedekamm's son, 12-year-old Michael, was in his second-floor room. At around 1:40 a.m., Michael beard his oldest sister running upstairs screaming, "Fire!" The blaze had begun in her bedroom. Mrs. Wedekamm woke up and called 911; the dispatcher Software that determines what pending tasks should be done next and assigns the available resources to accomplish it. It may execute other programs or generate a list for human operators to follow. See scheduler. told her to get everyone out of the house. Due to the fast-spreading flames, the family was unable to exit via the front or back doors. They were forced, instead, to escape through an upstairs window onto the front-porch roof, then jump to the ground. Mrs. Wedekamm and the older girls jumped to safety, but Michael stayed behind to find and rescue his baby sister, Allisson, who remained trapped in an upstairs room. Darting through smoke and flames, he reached the bedroom and found Allisson awake and already suffering some burns. He grabbed the infant, crouched crouch v. crouched, crouch·ing, crouch·es v.intr. 1. a. To stoop, especially with the knees bent: crouched over the grate, searching for his keys. down so his body covered hers, and tried to protect her from the suffocating suf·fo·cate v. suf·fo·cat·ed, suf·fo·cat·ing, suf·fo·cates v.tr. 1. To kill or destroy by preventing access of air or oxygen. 2. To impair the respiration of; asphyxiate. 3. smoke, which by then was so thick he could not see his own hands. Locating a window, he kicked out the screen, climbed onto the porch roof, and handed Allisson down to one of his sisters. Then he jumped to safety. Five Parkersburg Fire Department stations responded to the blaze. The firefighters were able to prevent it from spreading to another nearby home, but it completely destroyed the Wedekamm residence. Happily, however, all members of the family, including baby Allisson, suffered only relatively minor injuries from which they quickly recovered. Even Michael (despite a few burns, a bit of soot soot, black or dull brown deposit of fine powder resulting from incomplete combustion of fuel of high carbon content, e.g., coal, wood, and oil. It consists chiefly of amorphous carbon and tarry substances that cause it to adhere to surfaces. around his ears, and some smoke inhalation Smoke Inhalation Definition Smoke inhalation is breathing in the harmful gases, vapors, and particulate matter contained in smoke. Description Smoke inhalation typically occurs in victims or firefighters caught in structural fires. ) was virtually unharmed. Michael credits his Boy Scout training with helping him to cope with the situation and choose the most appropriate escape route. As reported by the December 31 online edition of The Parkersburg News and The Parkersburg Sentinel, "Michael said he remained calm during the fire because of the fire safety lessons he learned in Boy Scouts such as having a fire escape plan." And about risking his life to save Allisson, he told the papers: "She's my sister, and I'm supposed to take care of her." |
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