Broadcasts.com - "SAM 035 | Interview with close call survivor Lionel Crowther

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SAM 035 | Interview with close call survivor Lionel Crowther - Part 1

Published: Dec. 23, 2014, noon

This is part 1 of a 2-part Interview.

Feb. 4, 2007, is the day that changed the lives of Lionel and Joanna Crowther forever. A firefighter with the Winnipeg, Manitoba, Fire Department, Lionel was off duty when he got called in for an overtime shift. Early into the shift his company, Engine 101 was dispatched to a reported residential dwelling fire.

Within minutes of responding to the call, a flashover occurred. Flames engulfed the entire house, trapping several firefighters on the second floor. Lionel managed to escape by jumping out of a second-story window.

When the smoke cleared and the flames were extinguished, two fire captains had been killed and four firefighters, including Lionel, were severely burned.

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Take aways from this two-part interview include:\xa0

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1.\xa0\xa0\xa0 Department members received RIT training but were not trained on how or when to call a mayday, a missing component that would prove critical to the outcome of this incident.\xa0

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2.\xa0\xa0\xa0 The importance of being a student of every fire.

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3.\xa0\xa0\xa0 The need to acknowledge our own weaknesses and see where we have opportunities to improve.

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4.\xa0\xa0\xa0 The importance of not judging others, regardless of their opinions.

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5.\xa0\xa0\xa0 The value of learning from LODD reports and near-miss reports.

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6.\xa0\xa0\xa0 How many little mistakes add up and lead to catastrophe.

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7.\xa0\xa0\xa0 How brain function changes under stress and how our apparent \u201ccommon sense\u201d will be non-existent.