FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Fort Drum firefighters involved in a potentially fatal confrontation with an intruder on post last year have been recognized for their heroic actions at the Installation Management Command level of the DoD Firefighter Heroism Award competition.
The crew's actions now advance to the Armywide level, where only one command will be named the Department of the Army recipient of the DoD Firefighter Heroism Award.
The chilling event, which sent shockwaves through the post's tight-knit community of first responders and law enforcement, began as a routine call to Fort Drum's Fire and Emergency Services Division.
"I would say it was a typical day," said Lt. Dean Yauger, a fire officer with Fort Drum's Fire and Emergency Services Division. "But in today's world, nothing's normal or typical anymore."
Lead firefighter Yauger and his crew -- Travis Donelson, Ron Watson and Scott Sanford -- were at Station 1 on the night of Sept. 24 when they received a call about a tripped fire alarm -- an often daily occurrence on post, according to fire officials.
Speeding down streets lined with dormant motor pools and barracks full of sleeping Soldiers, Engine 1 rushed to the corner of 45th Infantry Division Drive and Iraqi Freedom Drive.
Yauger said as the sound of an alarm echoing in a motor pool grew louder, he could see lights on and an overhead door open in the building.
"But that's not out of the norm," he noted, "because this place is alive 24 hours a day."
Once on the scene, Yauger entered the building's mechanical room, where an alarm panel indicated a fire pull station had been activated. When Yauger's crew rounded the back of the building, they encountered a middle-aged civilian man slowly pacing the lot.
Yauger immediately engaged the man, asking him if everything was alright. The man did not answer. Yauger walked past him, to a door propped open with a battery. When he peeked inside the building, all ideas of "routine" were shocked right out of him.
It turned out the overhead door had not been pulled open; it was in shambles on the floor. A minivan with Canadian plates had punched a hole through it before slamming up against a two-and-a-half-ton military truck inside, spreading glass, antifreeze and pieces of metal across the bay floor.
As the extreme danger of the situation dawned on him, Yauger turned to command his men back out. But the unidentified man was now standing inches behind the lieutenant.
Yauger said the hair bristled on the back of his neck as the tension of the situation was now tangible.
The veteran firefighter reached out his hand to introduce himself, hoping to convey composure. The man said nothing. Yauger's mind reeled, wondering how he would alert law enforcement without upsetting the subject.
Finally, the man who had not uttered a single word, calmly made his point to Yauger: "'I am Canadian citizen. I hate America. I hate everything that the military stands for.'"
The man also said he had nothing personally against the firefighters; he just hated their country.
After the rant, Yauger realized it was likely safe to radio law enforcement. He led the man back outdoors and deliberately tried to put the stranger at ease, chatting with him charitably, even asking him if he was injured from crashing through the building.
Police pulled up shortly thereafter and took the man into custody.
"Things could have been completely different," Yauger said. "He could have had a gun, detonated the vehicle … I'm very confident if he had become agitated, there would have been a confrontation."
Professional heroes
Since the incident, installation fire and law enforcement officials have hailed the actions of Yauger and his crew as exceptionally brave, professional and self-controlled.
Fort Drum Fire Chief Donald Striejewske said the majority of his department's responses are fire alarm activations -- some 80 percent of them accidental.
He said Yauger, a well-trained, extremely safety-conscious and take-charge type of an officer, detected trouble and reacted appropriately during the routine call.
"He quickly identified that the situation was not normal," Striejewske said. "He took precautions. He backed the crew out from the building. This guy could have had a bomb in there, a chemical device -- they could have walked right into it."
Joe Margrey, director of emergency services, said even after the intruder assured the firefighters that no booby traps were set, Yauger was smart to not trust the man and to use his instincts to head off any bluffs.
"It's a great credit to (Lt. Yauger and his crew), because they could have backed out and waited for the police," Margrey said. "Instead they stayed in contact and relayed vital information to our dispatch center and responding patrols.
"On face value, one could say this was not a big deal," Margrey added. "But from the big picture perspective, it was huge, and the implications of 'what may have been' are far-reaching."
Yauger and his crew took what seemed like a routine call and using "progressive thinking" to piece together a complex puzzle, said Jason R. Brunet, an assistant fire chief.
"It was a lesson learned," he said. "There is no routine call.
"The crew did everything correctly that night," Brunet added. "Lt. Yauger did not let the situation get out of control. One poor decision could have jeopardized not only Yauger's own life, but the lives of his crew as well."
Re-evaluating protocols
Yauger said he heard the man tell police that night that he would bring a bomb next time.
Striejewske said some people think Fort Drum is a place where nothing like this could happen.
"The bottom line is this showed how vulnerable the installation can be," Striejewske said. "But you know what? There are people out there who just don't like us," which further exemplifies the need for everyone to remain vigilant.
Law enforcement said the man, who is actually an American citizen married to a Canadian, is facing a myriad of charges in the federal courts system.
The man allegedly had a condition requiring certain medications that he apparently was not taking properly, Margrey added.
"The entire event made us relook at all protocols and make appropriate adjustments," Margrey said. "It also showed us our firefighters are facing many of the same uncertain situations our police and many DA civilians could or do face daily."
Yauger credited firefighters Donelson, Sanford and Watson for being professional, alert and disciplined throughout the unusual incident.
"I'll tell you what -- my crew that night stayed beside me and behind me the entire time," Yauger said. "They knew. As soon as they saw that vehicle in there, they knew things were bad. But nobody overreacted. Everybody stayed calm, (and) never raised their voice."
Capt. Thomas McDonald, acting assistant fire chief that evening, said Yauger and his crew reacted to a "truly potentially dangerous situation" by, most importantly, not escalating the incident.
"I am proud of how the situation was recognized and controlled by the crew on scene," McDonald said. "(They did) a truly professional job."
The annual DoD Firefighter Heroism Award recognizes an individual or team of individuals for single acts of heroism that are clearly above and beyond the call of duty while performing fire and emergency services duties, according to official regulations.
Although his superiors say Armywide recognition is well-deserved and justified, Yauger prefers not to think of himself as a hero. He said he simply did the job expected of him: to protect lives and property on Fort Drum.
"In the eyes of my children I am a hero -- that's what matters to me," Yauger said. "To receive (recognition) is a great honor. But to know that my crew and I went home safe to our families means even more."
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