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'Everything happened so fast'
Nathan Key, Managing Editor The skies were blue and calm on a sun-splashed afternoon as firefighters took a break while waiting for aerial support to help them fight a wildfire in the mountainous Buffalo Cove region of northeastern Caldwell County. That tranquility came to an abrupt halt with one loud boom. The fire they had been fighting was no longer as significant as the fight for survival of eight men who were struck by lightning, Three of the eight are firefighters from Caldwell County. They, like their five companions, survived the unexpected strike, but it left an indelible mark on them. Their injuries serve as a reminder of nature's awesome power. Caldwell County Assistant Ranger Ken Robbins and firefighters Alex Smith and Travis Coffey realize how fortunate they were to survive the strike, which came from nowhere. No thunderstorm activity was reported in the general vicinity of their location on that June 28 day, and they had no warning they were in danger until it was too late. Lightning hit a snag, ran through its root system and underground to the area the eight men were resting. "I heard a loud clap, about 10 times louder than any explosive I've ever heard; it was deafening," Robbins recalled. "Everything happened so fast; it was too late to react. The next thing I knew, all the guys were on the ground. Once it hit me, I couldn't get up. It knocked me about 10 feet from where I was." Robbins remembered his feet burning, "like they were on fire," and pain coursing through his legs. What he felt was similar to what others around him felt when their bodies also were charged with electricity brought on by the strike that churned a trench toward them. Smith, an 18-year-old who just graduated from high school June 6, was serving as a pre-arranged firefighter for the North Carolina Forest Service that day. He was sitting idle when the bolt jolted him. "My legs tightened up; they were tingling really bad," Smith said. "To be honest, I looked down to make sure my legs were still there." But Smith was more concerned about others around him, primarily his buddy Preston Story, a smoke chaser for the N.C. Forest Service's District 2 office in Lenoir who also was working the fire that day. "I immediately was wondering where he was and if he had been struck, too," Smith said. "(Story) was checking the fire line and was not there when the strike hit." Story was fortunate. Travis Coffey was not. Like Robbins and Smith, the Caldwell County EMS paramedic and Hudson firefighter found himself dealing with a charge of electricity that was sent through his body. "I didn't see it, I didn't hear it. The first thing that popped in my mind was that my legs were on fire and hurting," said Coffey, also serving as a pre-arranged firefighter for the NCFS that day. "I couldn't move from the chest down. I remember I went flying backward, and it felt like I'd been struck by a train." When he came to his senses, Coffey said he looked around and saw his fellow firefighters lying on the ground, just as he was, and he heard some of them screaming in pain, crying out in agony as they dealt with the strike. "I heard someone scream, "Are we going to die?' and I said, 'We're alive, and we're going to be OK,'" Coffey recalled. As the incident commander, Robbins said he was intent on making sure the firefighters injured were given as much medical attention as could be given in such a remote area, and he noted how Coffey responded to help the others. Robbins radioed for assistance once he had a full grasp on the situation, and the task of moving injured firefighters through the steep and rocky terrain some two miles out of the woods began. A Kubota all-terrain vehicle was used to carry the injured firefighters out of the woods, but it took some 45 minutes to get them to a transport area and waiting ambulances. Then the ATV was taken back in to bring out the rest of the injured men. "My main goal was to see to it that those men got out of the woods," said Robbins, one of the last to leave. "I was the incident commander, and I was not leaving the scene until I knew my men were out OK. I was responsible for them. I would not go out until the last man was out. That's just how I do business." The men were hospitalized, some for several days. Coffey was treated and released, but Robbins spent two days and Smith three in the hospital. Their primary injuries were burns to the feet and legs, and Smith spent an extra day in the hospital because his enzyme levels needed to be monitored. Smith said things could have been much worse for those involved in the harrowing events of that fateful day. "You always think about what could have happened," he said. "I'd rather not gone through it, but I'm glad it wasn't any worse than it was." There certainly was that possibility, especially with the unpredictable nature of lightning. "Lightning can be a likely source of death, and I have a great respect for it," Coffey said. "I've been close to (lightning) before, but when you actually feel it, it wakes you up and lets you know it's something you can't control." That was the case with this incident. There were no signs of any impending danger for the firefighters, and yet they ended up in the hospital because of a freak occurrence. "I've always respected thunder and lightning; we have to respect Mother Nature," Robbins said. "But this was just a freak accident. We had no control over it. It was just one of those things that happened, and we all were lucky." Smith and Coffey shared that assessment of the situation. "God was definitely watching over every one of us that day," Smith said. "Everyone on that mountain is lucky to be alive." Coffey added, "It gave us all a wakeup call that we're not promised tomorrow. For all of us to come out with just the injuries we had, we were just very fortunate." But none of the three injured firefighters from Caldwell County would change anything about that day or the careers they have chosen in fire and rescue service. "It's my job, and I love it," Robbins said. "I'd go right back to the same fire under the same conditions we were working in the day it happened. This is the first time I've known of anything to happen like this, but it's part of the job and what we do." Smith still plans to pursue a career in fire/rescue despite his brush with nature's power. "I'm going to stay involved; it's what I want to do," he said. "But when you walk outside now and hear a thunderstorm, you start thinking, 'Do I really want to go out in this?' It's not like I'm going to hide or anything, but it is in the back of my mind." Coffey can't shake the thought, either. "I'm not skittish about the fire and rescue service, but lightning is a little different story," he said. "I've got my gear packed and ready to go for the next fire, but this is something I'll always remember for the rest of my life." While the strike itself stands out and always will, Robbins said the prompt attention and support given to the injured firefighters by medical and rescue personnel and others simply expressing their concern is what he won't forget. "We had a lot of people there that day who volunteered their time to help us out," Robbins said. "I'm glad that I can help someone in need of help, and I'm glad there were people there that day to help us. There have been a lot of prayers that have gone out for us, and a lot of people have offered well wishes and shown us support. I'm grateful for that and very thankful for those people who have shown that concern. That means a lot." And it means a lot to the firefighters to know they did not experience their demise in the mountains of Buffalo Cove. "The Lord was smiling down on us," Coffey said. "He was watching over us."
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