The firefighter was blue and unconscious and had maybe 30 seconds to live when a paramedic supervisor with a habit of showing up unsolicited to fires arrived at the burning home.
Because of Capt. Greg Stahmer’s timely arrival at 501 S. High St. and firefighters who carried the firefighter out of the house, Billy Green was cracking jokes again for his wife Wednesday at Denver Health Medical Center.
“He wants to know when he can get back in the firehouse,” said Dawn Green, who thanked everyone who saved her husband’s life. “It’s a great turn of events.”
Denver Fire Chief Larry Trujillo said Billy Green’s protective mask was sent to an outside agency to determine whether a possible malfunction, human error or some other factor caused the firefighter to collapse in the thick smoke.
It could take two weeks to determine what happened, or investigators may never know for sure, he said.
City Safety Manager Al LaCabe said it’s important to learn what happened so that the Fire Department can ensure it never happens again.
Green has no memory of the fire or even going to work Tuesday, officials said.
He was discovered lying on the kitchen floor by a backup firefighting crew that responded to the 11 a.m. blaze. He collapsed no more than two minutes earlier, Trujillo said.
Stahmer heard the fire call and headed to the scene in case someone was hurt.
He learned that a firefighter was down, and his “adrenaline kicked in,” he said.
Almost immediately after he arrived, firefighters carried Green out of the house.
“He was about as sick as you come,” Stahmer said.
He had a pulse, but he wasn’t breathing. Within 30 seconds, he would have been in cardiac arrest, Stahmer said. Realizing that, Stahmer quickly inserted an airway tube into Green’s throat.
“He was very fortunate,” LaCabe said.
The outside agency will look at whether the regulator that controls the intake of compressed air into Green’s mask was faulty, said Lt. Phil Champagne, Denver fire spokesman. He said the device, manufactured by Scott Health and Safety of Monroe, N.C., has never caused problems for Denver firefighters.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
