Intense flames stopped firefighters

To the editor:

Thanks for an article on the Chaffee General Baptist Church that was both informative and sensitive to the congregation and pastor. The way reporter Bob Miller explained what happened when the fire started and how quickly it changed the situation in the basement was very important to realizing the speed fire has, especially in close spaces.

I am sure someone overlooked telling you about the activities of the first Chaffee firefighters on the scene, who were told that the fire was down the stairs from the front entrance and in a furnace room in the rear of the church, a travel distance of about 130 feet. An attack team and a backup team were quickly assembled and went down the basement, encountering hot floor-to-ceiling dark brown smoke with zero visibility. Seventy-five feet from the seat of the fire the heat began to burn their ears through their hoods and earflaps, and water from their hose line was turning to steam. Only then were they forced to back out and return outside. As they came up the stairs, flames followed them.

Efforts were then shifted to a rear door, but the fire had gained so much headway that another entry was not possible. Shortly thereafter, the floor began to collapse, first over the furnace room.

JOHN SACHEN, Fire Instructor, Delta Fire District, Delta, Mo.