By Mike Linn
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
PINE BLUFF, Ark. — A Pine Bluff firefighter remains hospitalized after the wall of a Main Street business fell on him during a fire nearly a month ago.
Lt. David Curlin is recovering from his injuries at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences but still has a long way to go, said Lt. Shauwn Howell, a spokesman for Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services.
Curlin was seriously injured when a wall and support beam fell on top of him during a Jan. 3 fire at the Clements Office Center, Sixth and Main streets in Pine Bluff.
Curlin was fighting the fire with other firefighters outside the building when the wall collapsed outward, toward the street, pinning him under the beam and brick for about a minute and a half before firefighters freed him with a combination extrication tool.
The building, which was a total loss, showed no signs of collapse, said Mike Hipp, an engineer with Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services.
“It was an uncontrollable incident,” Hipp said. “I’ve been here 14 years, and it’s the worst situation we’ve been in.
“The reason why he’s alive is that tool and our response to get him out quick,” Hipp added. “It saved his life. I’ll tell you that a million times.” Hipp said that after firefighters freed Curlin, he was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center and later to UAMS.
He had two broken arms, a broken pelvis and left femur, broken ribs and a punctured lung. He also suffered damage to his arteries, Hipp said.
Fire departments in Oklahoma, Pine Bluff, Sheridan, Little Rock and North Little Rock hosted blood drives in Curlin’s honor, Hipp added.
“Fire departments stick together,” Hipp said. “There’s been a lot of support.” Efforts to reach Curlin’s family through UAMS were unsuccessful. Phone messages left for family members at the patient visitors’ center and with nurses were not returned.
Nobody answered several phone calls to Curlin’s hospital room.
Firefighters with Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services did not know how to contact Curlin’s family.
Howell said it’s a sensitive time for Curlin’s family, noting that Curlin still has a long recovery ahead of him.
“From a medical perspective, with all the injuries he’s had, he has a lot of recovery time and rehabilitation time yet to come,” Howell said. “In my 11 years here, we’ve had people injured, of course, but nothing of this magnitude.” Howell said he can’t say how long it will take for Curlin to recover, noting that he’s had several surgeries, including one in recent days, according to hospital staff.
Howell said the cause of the fire is undetermined. The fire department and the business’s insurance agency are investigating the cause of the fire.
Samples from the fire have been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for review, Howell said.
Copyright 2010 Little Rock Newspapers, Inc.