WOODBRIDGE, Va.-- A year ago Prince William County firefighter died in a fire, the first to die battling a blaze in the department's 41-year history.
Kyle R. Wilson, 24, was a career firefighter assigned to Station 12. Wilson and other firefighters were in the home on Marsh Overlook Drive searching for the occupants when he became separated from his colleagues. Firefighters had to pull out of their efforts to rescue him after part of the house collapsed. The family of seven who lived there had escaped safely, something firefighters did not know.
A year after the tragedy, Prince William County is still implementing changes to improve how the fire department operates.
A report filed in January recommended more staffing, better training and better communication.
Fire Chief Kevin J. McGhee says the department has implemented 25 recommendations and requested money 54 more people, including more people to monitor communications.
Monitors the day of the blaze had trouble hearing Wilson's cry for help.
"We want to have dispatchers who are monitoring all the radio traffic that's occurring and then require more than the number of dispatchers we had on duty that morning," McGhee tells WTOP.
The changes are being phased in over several years.
There will be a 10-K run in Woodbridge at 10 a.m. Saturday in honor of Wilson. The money will go toward a scholarship fund at George Mason University, the school he attended.
Copyright 2008 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.
Republished with permission of WTOP Radio.
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