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Injured fire captain
By Susan Kreifels
set to leave hospital
Star-BulletinFIRE Capt. Jeff Young spoke quietly and briefly yesterday. But then, only half of his lungs was working.
The other half was burned from toxic gases Young inhaled Saturday while fighting Hawaii's worst high-rise fire.
"At night there have been flashbacks," said Young, 58, surrounded by his family at Queen's Hospital.
The firefighter of 34 years still said, however, that "if I have to do it again, I'll do it again."
Young was scheduled to go home today, and Dr. Carl Hallenborg, a pulmonary specialist at Queen's, said the chances for a full recovery are good. But the next week will require careful monitoring for infection because the chemicals stripped away Young's natural immunity.
Young was one of 11 firefighters hurt battling a seven-alarm blaze at the Interstate Building at 1314 S. King St. Twenty-three fire companies sent 125 firefighters to duty, and damage estimates have reached millions of dollars. The entire 16th floor was lost.
Capt. Richard Soo, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department, said a number of appliances from the floor have been sent to a lab for testing as the probe for the cause of the fire continues.
The building lacked a sprinkler system, a fact Young regretted as he thanked all those who had helped save his life.
Young, who had held the end of a water hose during the battle, described the ordeal that has caused him nightmares.
He and partner Sean Tataishi, a firefighter who had been recruited only three weeks earlier, were on the 15th floor with two other teams of firefighters. When the alarm on Young's air tank went off, warning him his oxygen supply was low, he pushed Tataishi through the stairwell door and yelled for everyone to leave. But a gust of wind hit. "Suddenly smoke came in, and I lost my sense of direction. I was going down. That is the story."
Firefighter Keith Kanno also had become disoriented and ran into Young. He heard an alarm on Young that indicated the captain was down. Kanno and acting Capt. Aaron Akiona helped Young to safety.
Hallenborg said Young could possibly return to work in one or two months but would need to stay away from dust and fumes. As for returning to firefighting, it could take six months to a year for Young's scars to heal.
Soo said the department would accommodate Young with light duty as long as necessary.
