(Riverton, WY) – Seven local residents were recognized this week for their efforts during the fatal April 30 house fire in which two young children were rescued from a burning home.
The blaze resulted in the death of mother Macey Bowlsby, who “ran through the flames to get to her children” during the incident, Riverton Police Department Chief Eric Hurtado told the Riverton City Council this week, citing “indicators” from the ongoing investigation.
“We want to acknowledge that she did what any other parent would have done to save them,” Hurtado said. “Her actions, (along) with the courageous acts of several citizens of our community, helped make a difference.”
‘Accidental ignition’
The investigation into the fire is still ongoing, Hurtado said, but preliminary indicators “point towards an accidental ignition inside one of the bedrooms” as the cause of the blaze, which was reported at about 1:30 p.m. April 30 when “smoke started coming out of a home” at 601 North Broadway.
Many passing motorists called 911 when they saw the smoke, Hurtado said – and some even “stopped their vehicles and ran towards the home” to render aid.
Four of those people were honored for their actions this week, including Paul Bailey, Leonard Kosirog, Tad Davidson, and Carley Clausen.
Hurtado said Bailey and Bowlsby’s brother Saben Bowlsby – who was also recognized this week – worked together with Kosirog, Davidson and neighbor Dan Adcock – another honoree – to rescue the two small children from the burning home, pulling them out through a window that Bailey had helped Bowlsby to break.
Both Bowlsby and Bailey were injured in the rescue effort, Hurtado said, and Bailey suffered cuts from the broken glass – but regardless, “he continued to help as he noticed one of the children had stopped breathing.”
“He started CPR and was able to get the child breathing again,” Hurtado said “(He then) handed care of this victim to an off-duty nurse while he continued to try and search for other victims inside the home.”
That off-duty nurse was Clausen, who had seen Bailey and Bowlsby pulling the children out through the broken window, Hurtado said.
“While she was treating the toddlers, she noticed that one of them stopped breathing again, and she also performed CPR and cleared his airway,” he said. “She was able to get the child to breathe again, (and) she cared for the victims until law enforcement arrived to rapidly transport the critical victims to our hospital.”
Adcock assisted in the first aid effort, Hurtado said, and as first responders continued to arrive, Adcock and another neighbor, Lisa Cook, who was also recognized this week, provided supplies like water hoses and other tools to help local police officers with the initial response.
Specifically, Hurtado said Cook noticed that the officers “had quickly used up their fire extinguishers from their police vehicles,” so she offered to let them “use her garden hose to help douse themselves as they repeatedly tried to advance to the home to rescue others who were reportedly trapped inside.”
Bowlsby, who lived next door, showed the first responders where to look for his sister in the house, so when firefighters arrived wearing protective gear and self-contained breathing apparatus, they were able to “get through the dangerous fire and smoke” and locate her within about 10 minutes.
By that point, however, the growing flames had “cut off” the firefighters’ exit path, Hurtado said – so “in order to escape the flames” they had to leave the home through “the same window that Saben had broken out” to save the children.
Macey Bowlsby was then transported to the local hospital, where she died a short time later, Hurtado said.
He also reported that the children’s conditions have improved since the blaze, and they are now off life support.
Moving forward, those children and their family continue to need support from the community, Councilmember Mike Bailey said, encouraging people to do what they can to help.
“They’ve got a big road ahead of them to battle,” Bailey said. “So the little bit of stuff that we can help them with I think will be deeply appreciated.”
‘Heroes’
Councilmember Eric Carr referred to the residents being recognized this week as “heroes.”
“(We) live in a community where citizens banded together to help those in need, versus waiting for those first responders to show up,” he said. “They took action and saved lives. How lucky are we?”
Councilmember Karen Johnson suggested that the individuals were “strategically placed among us” to “do God’s work” – and Councilmember Rebecca Brothers agreed.
“That was not by accident that they were there,” Brothers said. “We all appreciate them and their service to the children that survived.”