Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Two firefighters caught fire while responding to a garage fire in Riverton.
- Quick action by fellow firefighters prevented severe injuries.
- The incident strengthened bonds among firefighters, highlighting their shared commitment and camaraderie.
RIVERTON — Two Unified Fire Authority firefighters who caught on fire themselves while fighting a fire are speaking out about their experience.
On Nov. 9, Beau Fisher and Alex Thompson responded to a routine garage fire. The fire appeared to be out, and everything seemed fine. The two went into the garage along with a Draper firefighter and started to take out cans of gasoline to get them away from the heat.
The next thing they knew, they heard a boom.
"All of a sudden, I hear, 'woosh,' and it gets real hot real fast, and I turn around, and I see Beau on fire," Thompson said. "I hear, 'You are on fire' and I look down and see my turnouts, my gloves, everything from the waist down just had flames all over it. It was a little scary."
A bystander caught the scary moments on video as the pair caught on fire.
"I was covered in gasoline, so everything went up all at once," Fisher said. "It started getting pretty hot as I noticed my hands were on fire, and as it went up, I started to get pretty warm. My head was really, really hurting."
Fortunately, everything was in place to get them out of harm's way. Firefighters around them can be seen in the video jumping on them and putting out the fire.
The fact that we were able to pull them out, that their turnouts were soaked in fuel, and we didn't send anyone to the burn unit is a miracle.
–Capt. Kevin Wilkey, Draper Fire Department
Draper Fire Capt. Kevin Wilkey was also on the scene and helped get the pair out of the garage and extinguished the fire. He said if they had not cut access into the garage and had the hose lines pulled, this could have ended tragically, if not deadly.
"The fact that we were able to pull them out, their turnouts were completely soaked in fuel, and we didn't send anyone to the burn unit is a miracle," Wilkey said. "We probably would have two firefighters severely burned or wouldn't have made it."
Fisher suffered some minor burns on his ear and neck, while Thompson received burns on the back of his legs. They both said they were so grateful for their fellow firefighters who jumped into action to save them.
"Those guys were so quick to drop what they were doing and run over and help me," Fisher said.
Several fire agencies from different cities were on the scene that day, but everyone worked as one.
"Everyone just takes care of each other, no matter what," Thompson said.
"The (fire department) patch doesn't matter. We are all going for the same job, we have the same goals, and all of us want to go home," Wilkey added.
Before that day Fisher and Thompson had never met, now they are best of friends.
"Whenever we see each other, it's awesome. It's like seeing a brother," Thompson said.
