NEW MARKET, MD – “This was the last piece for me. I now know everything they know. There will be no more surprises…”
That’s how Celeste Flynn summed up her feelings after an analysis of her husband’s final call with Howard County Fire and Rescue was presented Thursday.
Lt. Nathan Flynn was killed July 23, 2018 while operating at a house fire. He plunged through the floor into a burning crawl space.
Investigators determined that failure of corrugated stainless-steel tubing (CSST) caused flames to ignite combustibles.
Within days of the tragedy, she started not only asking questions but reading about CSSTs and the training firefighters receive about basement fires.
When she was handed her husband’s Apple Watch by the staff in the medical examiner’s office, she thought it may contain data about his last movements. It did.
When she visited the house a few days after the incident, she asked investigators specific questions based on the data she had downloaded.
During the training session – co-hosted by Howard and Frederick counties – ATF Special Agent Adam St. John said the information was forensically exported from the device, then graphed and analyzed by ATF engineers.
She lauded St. John and the team for their tireless comprehensive work. “They did such a phenomenal job…”
“I experienced firsthand what Nate experienced. It was like being there in his final moments. For me, it (the analysis) brought me closure, an emotional closure…”
Sara Laird, whose husband, Frederick County Battalion Chief Josh Laird, was killed under identical circumstances three years later, said after watching the presentation, she is more determined as ever to educate firefighters.
She also praised St. John for his expertise, diligence and compassion.
Both widows were provided a link to watch the powerful video before it was released to the public which happened after the training session.
The two now single mothers took their case to Maryland legislators last year and were successful in getting the Flynn-Laird Act signed by former Gov. Larry Hogan.
It requires non-arcing CSST lines to be installed in houses and other structures.
But, they’re not finished.
There are plans to share their experiences with firefighters and their families across the country.
“I think when firefighters hear us telling them about Josh and Nate, they pay attention,” Laird said.
The two say by sharing their stories with sister and brother firefighters, they are honoring their husbands’ legacies.
Susan Nicol | News Editor
Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.
