Wednesday, January 31, 2001
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Wednesday, January 31, 2001 |
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New firefighter proves his mettle off-duty By JOHN
MUNFORD Kenneth Doyal, a rookie firefighter with the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services, had just graduated from firefighting class the day before. But a quick test of his firefighting instincts revealed his willingness to put his life in danger to save others. The proof came when he happened upon a large house fire in Henry County while driving along the interstate with his fiancee, Stacey Randazzo, just before Christmas. When Doyal got there, the entire rear of the structure was engulfed in flames. There were dogs barking inside the home. No fire crews in sight. And his turnout gear was elsewhere. Still, Doyal decided to charge into the house to let the dogs out. He burst open the front door, and the smoke billowed out. Once the smoke cleared, he spotted a man lying on the floor, unconscious. Doyal made two unsuccessful attempts to rescue the man. Two bystanders assisted on the third try while parts of the roof began to fall nearby and the rescue was complete. A minute later, the room "flashed over" as the excessive heat caused everything to ignite. That minute was the difference between Doyal living and dying. "I wasn't thinking about it at the time," Doyal said when asked about the potential danger. He noticed the room get bright, one of the signs a flashover is imminent a fact he picked up in firefighter training. Soon after the victim was removed from the home, Henry County fire trucks arrived on the scene and knocked down the flames. Doyal pitched in, helping set up the hoses, but not before Randazzo took a moment to express her anger that he'd taken such risks. "I think she took a swing at me," Doyal said with a chuckle. "And she said a few choice words and freaked out a little bit more." The two are still engaged, Doyal happily reported. "She's seen me fight car fires by myself," said Doyal, who is also a volunteer with the McDonough Fire Department. "She's just never seen me run into a burning house." Doyal's only injury came after the fire, when he got a paper cut filling out paperwork after the incident. The fire training helped him stay calm and be as safe as possible, he added. Unfortunately, Doyal's heroic actions came too late to save the fire victim. And he doesn't know if the dogs ever made it out. He does know, however, that he did the best he could. Particularly given the difficult circumstances. And that's all the comfort a firefighter can expect in this type of situation. "I did what I could," he said. "Any other firefighter would have done the same thing."
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