Helping burned victim earns awards for two

Published 1:04 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008

By Teresa Herriman

The Courier-Herald

Lisa Hansen and Jacob McCord never intended to become heroes the night of July 14. Hansen was overseeing a pregnant dog and a pack of children celebrating her son's birthday when she heard the crash.

Over the course of the next several hours, Hansen, and her son's friend Jacob, would assist the dying victim of a brutal murder-suicide. For their courage, Fire District 20 and East Pierce Fire and Rescue presented Hansen and McCord with the Citizen Hero Award last week during a small ceremony.

"The award is given when someone has done something really special," said East Pierce Fire and Rescue assistant chief Dave Wakefield.

District 12 and 20 Fire Chief Jake Doty joined crews at the ceremony that responded to the incident.

Hansen's family had come to the aid of a number of accident victims along the Sumner-Buckley Highway.

"About once every six months there's an accident," Hansen said.

She did what she's done before. She woke up her husband and called 9-1-1. From her window, she could see a huge ball of fire, she said. To her horror, she also could make out the silhouette of what looked like a man on fire and heard screams for help.

Hansen grabbed a jug of water and scooped up a sleeping bag as she ran to her car.

"Jacob, who is the most helpful kid in the world, asked if he could come and help," Hansen recalled.

Unaware of the scene that was unfolding, she agreed. Her husband stayed to watch the rest of the children.

Hansen followed the screams until she and McCord located Antigone Allen. The badly burned woman was standing in a field on the other side of a "no-climb" fence. Hansen did her best to comfort her, although she could not get to the woman.

"She just wanted something cold in her mouth," she said.

"I threw the water jug to her, but her hands were burnt so bad she couldn't lift the jug.”

Unable to climb the fence herself, Hansen asked McCord to slide under it to retrieve the water jug for Allen.

"It was dark. It was scary," she said.

"There's a big fire ball behind us and this woman is screaming in pain."

Despite his fear, 12-year-old McCord marshaled his courage and climbed under the fence.

Even in her pain, Allen, tried to comfort the boy.

"She said, 'I know I look bad, but I promise I won't hurt you,'" Hansen recalled.

"She was so polite. So sweet and kind, but she was in horrible agony."

When McCord returned with the jug, Hansen was able to pour water into the dying woman's mouth.

"That one thing, I believe, is what helped her go on," she said.

Hansen and McCord stayed with Allen until emergency crews arrived, listening as she told them the horrible story.

Just as the first crews arrived, the man Hansen had seen from her window walked towards them and collapsed in front of the her car.

Later, Allen's mother and brother called Hansen to thank her for helping that night.

"We think about them and feel for them and hope they find strength in the fact their daughter was so strong," Hansen said.

"We can learn to live with what we saw, but they have to live without their cherished family members. They are in our thoughts and prayers."

"She called to say how much se appreciated the fact (Allen) wasn't out there alone," Hansen said.

In hindsight, she wonders if she did the right thing taking McCord with her that night, although she's not sure how she would have kept the caring young man from assisting her.

"He's just so helpful," she said. "He wouldn't have it any other way."

Two days after the accident, McCord left for a previously scheduled vacation with his grandmother. When he returned, the firefighters presented him and Hansen with the award.

McCord's mother and brother attended the event. After the ceremony, the firefighters took Hansen and McCord for a ride on the fire engine.

"I can't remember the whole thing," the quiet boy admitted.

Hansen said they made a real connection with those who responded to the call. She even brought in the puppies her dog, Sheba, eventually gave birth to.

Since then, Hansen said, she's been going to counseling and she and McCord talk a lot, she said. They often get the opportunity at Hansen's farm where she watches him and his younger brother.

"You can heal from this, but there's always that sadness," she said.

Recently, a group called Associated Ministries sponsored a healing ceremony at the site, not far from the Hansen's farm. She and her husband, Roger, attended.

"It meant a lot to me to see them," she said.

Hansen is also relying on her strong sense of faith to help her heal.

"This really wasn't me going out there," she said.

"I was just a tool."

Teresa Herriman can be reached at therriman@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald