Fairhope officers make dramatic fire rescue
Three people saved from burning house
Thursday, September 25, 2008
By Russ Henderson
Staff Reporter


Two Fairhope police officers dashed into a furiously burning house just before midnight Tuesday and rescued a man, his wife and a full-time nurse, all of whom were trapped in a rear bedroom and gasping for breath, city officials said Wednesday.

"I don't know how those officers did what they did and survived. They went in there without any fire gear, without respirators, nothing," said Assistant Fire Chief John Saraceno. "Those bullet-proof vests don't protect you from heat."

Sgt. Curtis Sullivan and Officer James Nelson arrived at the burning Magnolia Avenue home of Wayne and Anne Loudermilch about two minutes before city firefighters did, police said.

They learned from frantic neighbors that three people might be trapped inside, officials said. After shouting but receiving no response from within, the officers tried to enter the front door and a side door, only to be blocked by flames and smoke.

Then, one of the officers heard a cry for help: Wayne Loudermilch, 70, had punched out a bedroom window, officials said. He and the nurse had taken Anne Loudermilch to the room by wheelchair to get away from the fire.

The officers finished ripping apart the window, and pulled Loudermilch out. But Anne, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease, could not walk and couldn't be gotten through the opening, Saraceno said. The nurse stayed with her.

The two officers broke open the rear door, crawled to where the women were, and dragged them back outside, officials said.

All five were taken to Thomas Hospital in Fairhope. The officers were treated and released while the others stayed the night. A gash on Wayne Loudermilch's hand from breaking the window had to be stitched up.

"When I got there, there were 70-foot flames shooting off the top of that house," Saraceno said.

After everyone was safe, firefighters set out placing "water curtains" ? essentially huge water sprinklers ? around the home to prevent the fire's spread to nearby properties. The fire was under control within two hours, but continued to burn until nearly dawn, he said.

"The house on the back side was just 15 feet away, and we saved it. No other homes caught fire," Saraceno said.

He noted that Daphne firefighters came to the scene to provide much-needed relief.

The state fire marshal was investigating the fire's cause, he said.

Mayor Tim Kant said he knows the Loudermilchs and that they have received much help from their church, family members and friends.



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