Retired PWCDFR Fire Chief Mary Beth Michos told me her follow-up story involving the aftermath of Kyle Wilson’s line of duty death (LODD). As Chief of the department, she was responsible for making all the decisions to get 300 people through the aftermath of that incident. When she was en route to the scene, one of her firefighters radioed that a firefighter was lost, and then radioed again when they found him. She remembered asking over the radio, “How is he?” The firefighter replied, “Not good.” She knew then that Kyle was dead.
She told me she thought, “I am the chief of the department. What do I need to do in this role?” The answer was clear: She had to take care of the people.
The processes were in place for the investigation of the fire incident, but she knew that she needed to help her people get through this loss. She learned this lesson from another line of duty death experience in 1976...