PORT ORCHARD — As firefighting crew members from Kitsap County took an assigned break after battling the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, California following a grueling 24-hour shift, South Kitsap Fire and Rescue firefighter Lt. Terry Geiselman found a comfortable spot in the grass next to a fire truck so he could take a quick nap.
What happened next only added to the shock and uncertainty already experienced by the Kitsap County visitors while witnessing the devastation wrought by the huge fire.
Just after midnight on Nov. 14, a civilian truck arrived near the resting firefighters and drove around the fire truck. The driver, however, didn’t see Geiselman, 46, lying on the grass before running over him.
Crews on the fire engine quickly called in the incident to their command and requested help, said Jeff Faucett, SKFR assistant chief from Port Orchard. Washington state strike team No. 2 engines were brought over and provided aid to the stricken lieutenant, as did paramedics assigned to the Gig Harbor fire engine who are part of that team. A helicopter arrived and transported Geiselman, a 22-year SKFR veteran, to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The firefighter reportedly suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident. He is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days.
Faucett said that in the meantime, the Kitsap firefighters were taken care of by CAL-FIRE and Ventura County Fire crew members during the day.
“We are very thankful the outcome is as good as it was,” he added. “We wish him a fast recovery and look forward to seeing him and the rest of the team get home safe.”
The injured firefighter, he said, is an SKFR veteran with more than 21 years of firefighting experience.
Geiselman’s unit, Washington Task Force 2, has been taken off-line and is resting, he added. It was reported Nov. 17 that the strike team was headed home to Kitsap over the weekend.
“The fire district has made contact with the firefighter and the rest of the team,” Faucett said in the statement. “Our focus at this time is on the firefighter, his family, our fire district and our community.”
Faucett said SKFR Fire Chief Steve Wright has briefly spoken with the firefighter after his condition was stabilized. The fire department, he said, is “thankful for the outpouring of support from our community and those in California, including the Ventura firefighters who stood by with our crews at the hospital.”
A joint unit, or strike team, left Kitsap County Nov. 10 to help contain the wildfire, which has consumed more than 150 square miles, an area the size of Seattle. Firefighters from Kitsap County, including those from the North, Central, Bremerton, Gig Harbor and South Kitsap agencies, were dispatched along with fire engines and other equipment.
