Small but mighty
Tuba City’s only paid firefighter saves man trapped in burning trailer

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

TUBA CITY — The job is dangerous for any fireman. The challenges are even more pronounced on the Navajo Nation, where there is only one paid fireman for each district, no rural addressing system and unpaved roads, so it’s no wonder that Lt. Travis Becenti is being called a hero for his actions to save a man during a recent fire in Tuba City.

“If that’s what they want to call it, I’ll gladly accept it. If not, it’s just another day in the fire service,” Becenti said in a telephone interview with the Independent.

Becenti got called out to a trailer fire the evening of April 1.

He was on the scene within 10 minutes, he said, but it took awhile to get there because of the dirt roads that the fire truck had to travel to reach the fire.

“It was actually very difficult to get to the scene,” he said.

When he arrived, the trailer was fully engulfed in flames. The neighbors were able to get a woman out but her husband was still inside.

“Neighbors and police officers were reporting that the guy was still yelling for help,” Becenti said.

Emergency medical technicians and Navajo Police officers were on the scene as Becenti donned his protective gear, prepared his hand tools and went into the burning trailer.

“By that point I kind of lost hope that the guy was already gone and all of a sudden I heard the wife saying, ‘He’s still in there. He’s still yelling.’ That’s when I got into rescue mode and made entry into the house,” he said.

Becenti made his way through the trailer and found the man in the bathroom of the home.

“It was very hot and very smoky,” he said.

An off-duty firefighter from the city of Page assisted Becenti by helping to breach the wall from the outside.

“We dragged him away from the structure. There was flames shooting out. It really came down to seconds,” Becenti said.

From there, emergency medical service took over and the man was taken to the local hospital and then flown out to Flagstaff.

The air pack that Becenti used was new and it really made a difference, he said.

“The fire equipment that the fire chief and supervisor really worked hard and argued for, it really paid off,” Becenti said.

The fire districts on the Navajo Nation only have one paid firefighter per district and back up was not available, and the rescue could have easily turned out another way.

Becenti noted that the Navajo Nation Fire and Rescue has been struggling for many years.

“I’d like to remind the people that we’re here. We are small but we’re mighty,“ he said.