Firefighters badly injured when burning wall fell on them share their stories of survival
Three seriously injured Broussard firefighters are sharing their stories of survival after a 30-foot-tall brick wall fell on top of them as they were battling a fire.
By Wil Herren
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BROUSSARD, Louisiana (KADN) — Three seriously injured Broussard firefighters are sharing their stories of survival after a 30-foot-tall brick wall fell on top of them as they were battling a fire.
The recovered firefighters explained that despite the traumatic experience, they still get up and put the uniform back on. One of the firefighters explained that when they got there, the fire had been burning the bricks for a while, so when they fell on him, the bricks actually burned through the protective gear.
“I just had a lot of pain through my back; I just decided I wasn’t going to move,” said Nicholas Stancliff with the Broussard Fire Department. “At first, I was going to be pulled out but I started feeling the heat through the bricks. The bricks were on fire for quite a bit of time so they were a couple hundred degrees and they were actually burning me through my fire gear, so I decided to get up and try to crawl to the nearest person I saw.”
Stancliff added the person who he crawled to was a Lafayette firefighter from Engine 13.
“I don’t even know how much fell on us,” said Cole Champagne with the Broussard Fire Department. “There parts of it that fell. I didn’t even see anything fall on me. It actually hit me in the head and just that’s when I went down. I didn’t see any bricks fall.”
Captain Erik Mannting, who was also injured in the fire, spoke about seeing his family for the first time afterward.
“So, they know dad works in a dangerous job; they just know I was hurt,” said Mannting. “Unfortunately, they were not allowed to come see me, so that made it a little bit more difficult, but with the help of Chief Champagne, we were able to get down to the lobby and meet with them.”
The firefighters were asked how were they able to get back in the fire truck and go back to work after a burning 30-foot brick wall fell on them a little more than a month ago.
“It’s a weird feeling, for sure. It’s a weird feeling when you come off the shift. A big incident happens and you have to go home and it’s business as usual. It’s odd but you just have to keep working,” explained Champagne.
The firefighters explained the outpour from the community was intense. The meal train provided so much food that they can’t remember how long it took them before they had to cook again, and they are very thankful.
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