An off-duty WSCFF member ran to a burning home at 4 a.m. on February 26 and brought his elderly neighbor out alive. The WSCFF is proud to share the story of Local 1747 Puget Sound Firefighters member Derek Konzelman, a firefighter of five years and an engineer on Rescue 7. “You never know when a mayday is going to be called, or you on-view an ALS car wreck, or your neighbor’s house is burning down, but if you’re ready and you choose to do the right thing, you will never regret it.”
Derek, 38, lives in a historic part of Sumner with his wife and two young children. “Sumner is a special place. What makes it special is the small things we do every day to be good neighbors, to be kind, to help each other.”
On the night of the fire, his wife first realized something was wrong. “Kate woke to the sound of a fire burning and a faint orange glow in our bedroom. This is a sound she remembers keenly, as she had a similar experience as a child when her barn burned to the ground in the middle of the night. We got out of bed and ran to the front windows to see what was happening. To our shock and absolute horror, across the street was our neighbor’s house fully involved with flames. In that moment, with only the eerie sound of the fire crackling, I feared the worst: that it was already too late and my neighbor may be dying or already dead.”
The street was empty, and there was no sign the elderly woman who lived in the home had made it out. Derek moved immediately – grabbing his phone, calling 911, getting dressed. After handing the phone to his wife to provide a more detailed report to the dispatcher, one thought ran through his mind: “I have to get Joyce.” Derek ran straight toward the fire. “Until I knew Joyce was safely out of the house, something had to happen immediately. There was not a doubt in my mind as to what needed to be done. The only question running through my head was whether I would be able to get to her based on the fire conditions within the rest of the house.”
Approaching the residence, Derek noticed the fire was spreading up to the eaves to the second floor on the Bravo and Delta sides. “I made it through two gates to get into the back patio area on the Charlie side. It was very dark, smoke was coming out of the eaves and what appeared to be an open window.” Calling out her name, continuing around the house, Derek made his way to the Charlie-Bravo corner and onto the Bravo side, where he found an entry point- a small porch with an open doorway. “Smoke was rolling out about waist level. As I stood in the doorway I could see her feet, she was standing about five feet inside the doorway. She appeared to be confused and wandering around.”
Derek called her name, grabbed her, and led her to safety out of the smoke and onto the driveway. “As soon as I had her away from the smoke Joyce pleaded with me to go back into the house and save her family. This was at odds with what I knew about her living situation. While she often had her daughters visiting during the daytime, I knew she lived alone in her house. I asked who was in the house, and she responded, ‘my family, they are in their bedrooms sleeping.’”
As he continued moving Joyce to safety in front of the home, Derek met up with his wife, Kate, and neighbors Steve and Leslie. Together, they worked to confirm whether anyone might still be inside. Based on what they knew about Joyce living alone, along with an empty driveway and no unfamiliar vehicles nearby, they felt confident she was the only person in the home. Joyce was taken in by neighbors to stay warm and out of the smoke. Derek was later told Joyce has dementia and was extremely confused under the circumstances.
“Within a minute or two the first unit arrived, East Pierce Fire Ladder 113. They have a pump and so they deployed a handline and got a good knock on the fire while they masked up to go interior through alpha. I told them that I was confident everyone was out of the house, however they should still do an aggressive primary search.”
Even off duty, stepping away didn’t come easy. “It is very strange to be in civilian clothes and not on duty in the middle of a fire scene. Everything inside you, all your training, your instinct is to jump in and help… Then it was time to step back and let the professionals do their thing, which they did with excellence.”
Joyce was transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation and low oxygen levels. She was released later that same day and has since made a full recovery.
For Derek, the preparation was in the training. “Without a doubt, my training played a large role in my actions. I felt very comfortable reading the fire and smoke conditions, looking for means of ingress, having some idea what I might be able to accomplish if I had to attempt an interior search.” And to a mindset every firefighter understands. “In my department we calculate our risk threshold based on what is at stake. We have the saying ‘risk a lot, to save a lot.’ In that situation with a known victim, it was an obvious situation where risk was necessary.”
“There is a significant tactical difference with this entire event because I was by myself. I obviously had no bunker gear or SCBA, no handline, no standby crew, no one knew where I was exactly. I was so thankful to God that I didn’t have to make the decision to push deeper into the house… It really was a best case scenario: she was conscious and within a few feet of an open door. After the full fire response was on scene and Joyce was with the medics, Kate and I walked back across to our house. We made a pot of coffee and then stood on the front porch watching the scene and I think that is when the adrenaline calmed down and we had a moment to say, ‘what in the world just happened?’”
At a recent Sumner City Council meeting, Derek was formally recognized at Sumner City Hall for his actions. He was commended by Sumner Police Chief Brad Moericke and East Pierce Fire Deputy Chief Kevin Stabenfeldt.
“The best part of the ceremony was getting to see Joyce in person and to give her and her three daughters a hug. My wife also got a well-deserved shout out, if she hadn’t woken me up, I might have slept through the whole thing! I was also amazed by the support from my department with several guys from the rescue showing up, including Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority Chief Mark Jones, Deputy Chief of Operations Jeff Ziegler, and Assistant Chiefs Norm Golden and Sean Penwell.”
When asked what motivates him day to day, Derek points to his crew.
“The men and women I work with. They grind hard and stay humble. They are real heroes and I am honored to get to work alongside them and learn from them.”
Derek also emphasized the role unions have played in his career. “I have a great appreciation for the IAFF union and Local 1747. I’ve been a member since I was hired. Several of the guys on the rescue are also very involved with our leadership team and it gives me a great appreciation for all the hard work they are constantly doing behind the scenes.”
And to his fellow WSCFF union member, Derek shares, “I still feel like a new guy, and I am surrounded by much more experienced and talented firefighters on my crew, so I will speak to what this experience has instilled in me. It has reinforced my desire to train hard, to be a student of my craft, and to stay healthy. I think the longer you stay in your role, the more important it is to fight complacency. Surround yourself with folks who want to get better at the job and who will sharpen you.”
Please join us in congratulating Derek for his courage and for exemplifying the values of the fire service and our union.
