I'm Glad I Retired

I retired from the the fire department one year ago. This happened in what used to be my first alarm area a couple of days ago.

From cnn.com

Unable to rescue a man devoured by a giant sinkhole, workers started demolishing his Florida home Sunday -- three days after the ground under his bedroom opened up and swallowed him.

Crowds watched as a backhoe plunged its bucket into the home's blue walls, leaving wreckage of wood beams and cinder blocks where rooms once stood.

Some snapped photos with cell phone cameras, said John Gauntt, a reporter for CNN affiliate Bay News 9. Others turned toward the ground with tears in their eyes.

Demolition of the house lasted for about three hours on Sunday and was expected to continue on Monday morning, Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill told reporters.

Here is the link sinkhole swallows sleeping man

I'd consider retiring from living in that area.

Sinkholes in Florida are mostly caused by humans sucking too much water out of the ground. A couple of years ago, strawberry growers in the Hillsborough area sucked over a billion gallons of water a day, causing dozens of sinkholes and making some homes uninhabitable. And all of those green lawns are probably even a bigger contributor to the problem.

But if nothing changes, nothing changes. So look for the risk of sinkholes just to be the price for living in certain areas of Florida. Just like with pythons.

Like mudslides and earthquakes in Ca. Tornados in the Midwest. Hurricanes in the south.

I hate to say it, but I think they should have started the rescue operation way before they did start it. If the brother wanted to keep digging for his brother they should have let him keep digging. If he wanted to risk his life to save his brother...they should have left him alone.

Can't believe they would not recover his body. How "important" a person would you have to have been for the government do this? What if it was the governor of that state? A fireman or policeman? I think its bull that they dont recover his body. Its not impossible.

Did they stop the operation to continue looking for him when they had hopes of him being alive or are you saying they will not go through the area to recover him now that they are pretty sure he has died?

All I know is that the one brother trying to rescue his brother could still hear him screaming. Screaming equates to his being alive.

I'm not on the scene and do not know all of the details. I suspect the house was/is incredibly unstable and there is likely legitimate concern of it collapsing into the hole and on top of any rescuers. I probably would not have stopped the brother if thats in fact what they did...but its prudent to consider the risk of losing other lives.

My grandparents former housing complex near New Port Richey, FL has had over 5 homes bulldozed due to sinkholes. Fortunately, no fatalities were involved.

what a nightmare

The one brother who was trying to rescue his brother almost became a victim himself. He was just about to be pulled under when a deputy arrived on the scene and saved him. Having been to many sinkhole calls in my career I can vouch for how unstable and unpredictable they are.

I can tell you everything was weighed out with some of the best rescue minds in the nation before the decision was made not to go into the hole. No officer wants to turn to the family and tell them "we are not going to try to save your family member." I was a member of that very rescue team that was on the scene. The leader of that team is well known in rescue circles throughout the world. The engineer we work with is a huge assert who really knows his stuff. He lives and works right here in the Tampa Bay area. He knows sinkholes and collapse hazards inside and out.

The grim reality is that environment cannot sustain life and the basic rules of rescue / recovery are risk vs. benefit. How much risk am I willing to take and what is the gain. I hate to say it but in all likely hood the victim was dead less than five minutes after the hole opened up. A five gallon bucket of sand weighs 70 to 80 pounds. Set that on your chest and try to breath. Now imagine how much weight he had on him as he was swallowed up.
As far as recovering his brother, emergency workers are just that,emergency workers. The emergency phase of this was over days ago. Any rescue worker that was out there after the brother was deemed unviable went above and beyond. They stuck around out of compassion for the family. Also a relief fund has been set up by the responders..
I am sure every rescue worker that was out there will be affected by this. There is nothing worse than not being able to save someone. Just as there is nothing more rewarding than saving a life.