Well done!
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Brave girl!
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Wow.
She is a brave girl but in no circumstances should she have been allowed to do this.
I will forever remember responding to a structure fire as a volunteer firefighter where a young adult succumbed to smoke inhalation. It was nighttime, he was out of the house, and went back in to get dressed.
I donāt think everyone realizes how quickly things can progress in a structure fire.
This story could have had a very different outcome.
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But it didnāt. I canāt imagine not trying to get the horses out, even at that young age. Letting horses burn without trying to get them out is something most horse people just canāt do.
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For clarity:
They pulled over and RĆ©ka called the fire service as she and her daughter ran to help. A hay barn was on fire and there were horses in nearby stables, just a few meters away.
She didnāt run into a burning building. She ran into a horse barn next to a burning building, which is still dangerous but not nearly as deadly.
Iām not pointing this out to diminish her heroics, she was increadibly brave and a hero! Good job!
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Genuinely asking - do you have any background in emergency response? Have you ever witnessed how quick a structure fire can spread? Do you know what flashover is, and have you ever witnessed it?
Survivor bias (ābut it didnātā) isnāt something that should be taken into consideration in this situation. Your comment about her young age - thatās my biggest issue with the matter. An adult risking their life is different than a teenager making that decision.
I know this might come across as rude, and I promise thatās not my intention. I have personally witnessed the outcome of a person that entered a burning building which is why I feel so strongly about this. I feel that this story glamourizes risking your well-being because it ended well, and want to share the flipside of when it doesnāt.
I understand that some people are more risk averse than others, but I canāt imagine anyone who has experience with horses not doing their damnest to get those horses out.
The young lady felt the same way. She didnāt think of herself a āheroicā. She felt she did what any other horse person would have done.
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I agree.
Although I was present at an active barn fire once (like the actually horse barn itself was on fire). I saw it from the road and got there mere minutes after it broke out. There was absolutely no way to run into that barn to let the horses out. The heat alone from the engulfed barn was unbearable from 20-50ft away.
I was told by the point I arrived that the horses were likely all already dead (which seemed to be the case from my vantage point), if not from the heat and flames from asphyxiation from smoke/lack of oxygen.
It was awful and no one in their right mind was running into that building, not even the firefighters.
I understand your concern about her age.
I have no experience as an emergency responder and I have not witnessed a flash over but I do know what one is. I have personally witnessed house and barn fires and severely burned human beings and horses.
I wouldnāt jump into a strong river current to try to save a drowning person because Iām not a strong enough swimmer, just as I wouldnāt enter a structure that was fully engulfed in flames. That is for experts with the proper training and equipment.
Yes, what she did was dangerous, but she knows how to handle horses and did what came naturally to her as a horse person. Many 16 year olds are mature for their age. I was.
I do understand your point but if I was a mother (Iām not but Iām also thinking of what my mother would have done), there would be no way that I would try to stop my 16 year old from doing what she did, until the barn itself was burning. Itās incredibly traumatizing to hear horses screaming as they burn, and to have not even tried to get them out?
It would be hard for many people to live with themselves.
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Incredibly traumatizing - I couldnāt imagine. I appreciate your response a lot, I gives a lot of insight to how those who have never been a first responder would react to a situation.
Iām glad we can have this conversation and share āboth sides of the fenceā so to speak.
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Iāve been a paramedic in a combination service for over a decade.
I would have tried to get them out.
So while I respect your choice, @c0608524, itās not as easy as āfirst responder vs not,ā and with all respect to your service, itās a bit reductionist to paint it that way.
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And as an adult, with appropriate training and years of experience with risk management, I have no qualms with you making that choice.
If you read back, I like to think Iām fairly clear that my issue is with a teenager making a decision to enter a dangerous situation. Perhaps I wasnāt, and thatās my fault.
My first responder vs non first responder comment was more so to highlight the fact that those who have not had experiences with structure fires may not have the knowledge of how quickly dangerous situations can progress. As a first responder yourself, Iām sure you can appreciate that. Iām unsure what you mean by ācombination serviceā - could you expand on that?
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I understand the difference you made between teenagers and adults. I think this teenagerās experience with horses was a factor. It would have been different if a 16 year old person unfamiliar with horses had rushed in to āhelpā.
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I have been teaching as well for close to a decade now, and in my state, 16yos can receive certification as EMTs and be charge EMTs. When the bells go off, it isnāt always life or death. It often isnāt. But sometimes it is. Mostly for patients. But sometimes, when things go wrong, for you.
Some of my 16yos have been people to whom I pay the highest compliment I can provide, the one my medic preceptor gave me at the end of my training: I would let you work on my loved ones.
We ask 18yos to fight and die for their country andāagain, in my jurisdictionāthose same 16yos can also go to fire class and run into burning buildings with PPE. Which helps! But isnāt the be-all end-all.
So while I understand where youāre coming from, opinions can vary, and I donāt think it can be reduced to āyouāre only okay with this because you donāt understand the danger.ā There are some very sensible people on this thread, to the extent that anyone involved with horses can be said to be.
Re: combination service: all-hazards/both fire and EMS. I specified since I indicated that I myself was a paramedic and we were talking about the fire side.
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