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THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS Fireman Dies Speeding To Aid Family of Twelve A 37-year-old Dallas Fire Department captain was killed Wednesday on the way to a fire that left a family with ten children homeless. Capt. A. E. (Gene) Russell, promoted to captain only a week ago to the day, met death when the fire truck on which he was riding was hit by a pickup truck at the intersection of Elam Road and Buckner Boulevard shortly after 9 am. The truck was going to the blazing 4 room frame home of Ray J. Faires on St. Augustine Drive near the corner of Oak Drive. Six other persons were injured in the accident. At 9:09 am, a motorist driving down St. Augustine noticed the roof of the Faires residence aflame and sounded the alarm. Faires had gone earlier to his mechanic's job at Texas Tool Traders. Mrs. Faires was washing the dishes. The children were sitting around the wood fire in the living room. ("They were sitting around when they had a bigger fire over their heads," slender Mrs. Faires said afterward. There was no smoke inside. Mrs. Faires took 1 year old Raymond outside and propped him, wrapped in a quilt, on a pile of shingles. She put one of her girls beside him. Some of the boys tried to get water from a hose in front, but the hose was frozen up. So was a hydrant. They could do nothing but form a brigade to haul as much as possible out of the burning house. Fire fighting equipment, summoned in the meantime, was on the way. There was a truck from Station 32 in Urbandale, a pumper from Station 24 at Poplar and Waldron. And another truck behind it. The truck from Urbandale arrived at the Faires home, but the fire was beyond control. With Captain Russell—a fireman of ten years—in command. Company 24 was going east on Elam. W E Thompson was driving. D J Masterson and Burl W Martin were standing on the rear end. R O Cauley was sitting in the bed. At the same time, three Terrell employees of United Gas Pipe Line Company were going south on Buckner in a 1950 Ford pickup truck. With Driver Vernon Eugene Hamby were E F Scott and Eber Smith. It was chilly and the windows were rolled up. They didn't hear, Hamby said later, the siren of the fire truck. The pickup truck hit the left rear wheel of the fire truck at the intersection, said Accident Investigator L V Patterson, and spun around. The fire truck turned over once or twice; nobody remembered about that. All the firemen but Captain Russell were thrown clear. The captain was pinned underneath as the truck rolled over. Scott and Smith were thrown out of the pickup truck, but not Hamby, the only man to escape injury. All were taken to Baylor Hospital. Captain Russell was dead on arrival, Thompson, the fire truck driver, had a broken left leg. Cauley had a back injury. Martin suffered a pelvis injury and mild shock, and Masterson received multiple bruises. Of the gas company workers-on their way to a job at Rylie-Smith was the worst hurt. He was in serious condition with possible head and chest injuries. Scott received only bruises. Back at Central Fire Station, there was gloom. Everybody remembered how well liked Gene Russell was, how he had been proud of the promotion he got only a few days ago. They recalled that he was a hard worker. "Otherwise," one of the men said, "he wouldn't have been promoted that fast." Gene Russell had signed up to be a fireman, after being a painter for a while, on June 17, 1942. That was three months after his younger brother, Robert George Russell, became a fire fighter. "I like it," the 32 year old brother said Wednesday, "and I guess I talked him into it." On June 16, 1948, Gene Russell became a lieutenant. And then, last week, came in the captain's rank. He was born in Dallas on December 10, 1914. He is survived by a wife and two children-Jerry Gene, 10, and Glenda Sue, 8. They live in the home he was paying out at 2226 Ledbetter. Robert Russell said his brother had arranged his affairs so well that he did not believe the family would be in financial distress. There was an insurance policy, he said. Fire Chief C N Penn noted that the Russell family would receive a pension of about $142 monthly, plus about $1,000 in a burial fund to which firemen contribute $3 every time one of their number dies. Roy Faires, surveying the burned-down home in which he had lived eight months, rubbed his whiskered chin and shook his head. He had heard about what happened to Gene Russell. "That's far worse than the little dab of stuff we lost," Faires said. "We can replace all of ours." And said Mrs. Faires: "God willing, we'll find a way." It was the second time the Faires family was without shelter. Two and one half years ago their home, which, coincidentally, stood at the corner where the accident took place, burned. Then, the Faires discovered how many friends they had as people brought things to replace the belongings that went up in smoke. Wednesday, even though the word of their plight had not appeared yet on any radio program or in any newspaper, people came once more with loads. The Faires children had worked steadily at removing the things the family would eat and wear and sleep on. But much of that was scorched, as was the family car parked alongside the house. Mrs. R H Potter, who only has a small house herself, took the Faires family in for the night. Half of the children were sick from flu and chicken pox. "This," announced Mrs. Faires, "is the best neighborhood in the world to live in. I thank God no one was hurt." Faires guessed that a spark flying out of his chimney had ignited some shingles. The house, owned by Mrs. J E Scott of 9101 Elam Road, was insured. None of the contents-estimated at $1,200 by Chief Penn was. Thursday afternoon at 4 o'clock, funeral services for Captain Russell will be held at Fernwood Street Baptist Church, 1638 Ann Arbor. Burial will be in Laurel land Memorial Park. FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 1952 MANY STAND OUTSIDE Firemen Attend Rites For Victim of Collision Ablert Eugene Russell, the diligent fireman whose hard work made him a captain after only ten years on the force, was buried Thursday afternoon—thirty-two hours after he was killed in a collision in line of duty. About 200 firemen—wearing black suits and ties and white shirts—watched the burial at laurel Land Memorial Park as the sun set and one or two birds chirped nearby. An estimated 500 persons had attended services in Fernwood Baptist Church. The weathered white frame building, standing beside a wind-blown hill, could not hold all those who would pay respects to Gene Russell. Many had to stand outside during the 20 minute service. Russell's colleagues, their hats held to their hearts, stood solemnly. City Manager Charles C Ford and Fire Chief C N Penn represented the city. County Judge W L (Lew) Sterrett was there. Inside, the Rev. Henry D. Rutledge read psalms. "Even though we don't understand," he said, "we pray that in our hearts we will conform to Thy way." He asked blessings for all those who serve the city and risk their lives to protect others. There were many children present—including uniformed members of Cub Scout Park 134 of Lisbon School. That's the pack to which the son of the late captain, 10 year old Jerry Gene, belongs. Meantime, a charge of murder without malice was filed against Vernon Eugene Hamby of Terrell, who drove the pickup truck that crashed into Captain Russell's fire truck Wednesday morning at Buckner Boulevard and Elam Road. Hamby insisted he had not heard the fire truck's siren or seen the truck as the vehicle approached the intersection. The windows of his truck were rolled up, he said. The impact caused the fire truck to turn over, pinning Captain Russell underneath. The fire truck was headed for the flaming frame house of the Roy J Faires family of St. Augustine Drive near Oak Drive. The family of ten children, whose belongings burned with the house, except for what little they could save, were given money and clothing Thursday by friends and strangers. Before word of their plight got out Wednesday neighborhood people already were bringing them things. After the Dallas News printed their picture on the front page Thursday the Faires received gifts from all over the city. They got about $100 from workers at Texas Tool Traders, where Faires is an air tool mechanic. Then there were gifts of furniture, clothing and groceries. Girl Scouts in the neighborhood helped round up gifts. So did churches. Faires had calls of offers from all over the city—so many he could not go after them all. "Everybody's been swell," he said, "I want to thank everybody." |