Macon-Bibb fire memorial going up one year after Lt. Randy Parker's death

It has been a long 12 months for Macon-Bibb County Fire Chief Marvin Riggins.

A year ago Thursday, Lt. Randy Parker died fighting a house fire at 2320 Fairview Drive.

Parker was the first firefighter killed under Riggins' tenure as chief.

"We're still healing from that," Riggins said Wednesday. "That was certainly a moment that is just etched in my spirit, in my mind, along with all the other members of the fire department."

In the weeks and months following the fatal fire, a team of fire investigators, led by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, conducted a thorough review of the blaze.

The fire department also conducted its own probe of procedures and found all the proper equipment was in place.

"From our vantage point, I don't see that there was a flaw in what took place as far as operations was concerned," Riggins said.

Fire commanders had been battling the blaze for about an hour on the night of Feb. 11, 2015, and the flames appeared to be contained.

No one initially realized the fire had gotten into the heavily cluttered basement.

"It was just one of those situational circumstances that was just hidden," Riggins said. "There was nothing that presented itself that gave them any type of clue that there was something else that was imminent that was going on at that time."

Battalion Chief Stephen Stafford said he called for a "Code Red" as soon as he heard what sounded like an explosion 56 minutes after the first crews arrived.

That command alerts firefighters to clear the building.

Parker's crew was preparing to knock a hole in the floor to vent intense heat in the cellar.

"Before it could be breached in a controlled way, it gave way," Riggins said. "I don't see, from what I saw, any way that they even knew it."

But by the time Stafford got to the front door, five men had fallen through the first floor into the basement.

"I can hear yelling and hollering, 'Help me please,'" recalled Stafford, who retired in August and is still recovering from injuries he sustained that night. "There was so much smoke and heat coming from that area."

Firefighters got a ladder down to the men and managed to rescue four of the five.

Parker, though, was trapped by debris and couldn't climb to safety.

"We certainly won't ever forget that, and it's been a trying time for us," Riggins said. "That was difficult because that was one of our own. ... Randy was a just really a good person and a nice person to be around, and we certainly do miss Lt. Parker, his presence and his leadership being around us."

Parker, 46, left behind his wife, Sandie, and two sons, Andrew and Chandler.

Last spring, Riggins commissioned a memorial pin to remember him and the 10 other Macon-Bibb County firefighters who had been killed in the line of duty in the history of the department.

A memorial wall also was designed for outside the fire administration building along First Street. Construction is underway on the patio that will feature a plaque on the building and a bench nearby.

"That wall's going to be there for families and friends for perpetuity," Riggins said.

Parker's death has been sobering for those who forge their way into burning buildings.

"We know that what we do on a day-to-day basis is a very dangerous, hazardous job that we do, and we just always have to be vigilant to that," Riggins said. "And we train hard and we go to classes and we try to stay abreast of the newest and the best techniques for mitigating fires and emergencies, and I think those things were executed that day."

To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter@liz_lines.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 8:32 PM with the headline "Macon-Bibb fire memorial going up one year after Lt. Randy Parker's death ."