It had been a long hot day, and Bryan Thomas needed a little rest.
He turned on the television and laid across his bed. Maybe he’d take a shower later, or maybe he’d just wait until the morning before work...
The next thing Thomas knew he woke up coughing, and the room was filling with smoke.
“I didn’t realize that I had fallen asleep,” he said. “When I woke up there was smoke everywhere. There wasn’t much time to think.”
Being a District 3 volunteer firefighter, Thomas had a radio within reach. He called in the fire to emergency dispatch and hit the floor to crawl to safety.
As a firefighter, Thomas was also aware that it’s usually smoke that kills in house fiares. The threat of suffocating or losing consciousness from the smoke is an immediate danger.
Thomas passed out right at the kitchen door leading outside. The smoke inhalation finally overwhelmed him.
“I don’t remember much about that,” Thomas said. “I was just trying to get out of there.”
As Thomas was attempting to escape, his fellow firefighters were already racing to the rescue.
Walker Smith, who lives just a few miles away from Thomas, heard the call on his radio. Smith found his friend lying unconscious in the doorway and dragged him free of the fire.
Smith reported over the radio that a fellow firefighter was down.
At that time Stuart Bass, also a District 3 volunteer, arrived and helped pull Thomas to the road.
“That was the worst feeling ever, hearing that one of our own firefighters was down,” Bass said.
More firefighters arrived on the scene and contained the blaze. Volunteers arrived from as far away as Eden and Bentonia.
“The house is still standing, but the bedroom and bathroom are gone,” Thomas said. “It’s a total loss.”
Some of Thomas’ possessions were saved by the fast response, but the smoke damage was significant.
Thomas was taken to Baptist Medical Center where he was treated overnight and released. He didn’t suffer any life threatening injuries, but the burning that remains in his lungs reminds him of how close he came to death.
“My lungs feel like I smoked a carton of cigarettes in about three minutes,” Thomas said. “Other than that and just coughing a lot, I’m OK. It could have been much worse.”
Jack Willingham, Yazoo County Emergency Management director, said he hopes this situation will cause more people to see the value of volunteer fire departments.
“Those guys answering the calls are your neighbors,” Willingham said. “If Walker Smith and Stuart Bass hadn’t been up listening to their radios, who knows if anyone would have made it in time to save his life? All of our volunteer fire departments in the county need more volunteers. It’s something to think about. These are the people who are going to be coming if it’s your house on fire.”
The cause of the fire had not been determined as of press time.
Thomas said he has been overwhelmed by concern shown by the community, and he will always be grateful to his fellow firefighters.
“I’ve never felt so much love,” he said. “We are all one family.”
