No, I was one of many.

I was working on a paper in my dorm when I heard the tone for the Farmville Fire Department on my voice pager. It beeped then said, "Attention Farmville Company One Firefighters, need you to respond to a structure fire at Longwood College in the Rotunda.

I grabbed my equipment from the back of the truck and went to the engine [in front of the Rotunda.] They told me the Chief was on the way. I decided the first thing was to get to the third floor of Grainger.

I went with two others from the truck that came in. One of them was Jeff Newton, a freshman. I went up the stairwells with a hotel pack of 150 feet of hose over my shoulder. Most buildings have stand pipes for hooking up fire hose.

I was up there about 20 minutes, then the dropped ceiling started coming down and our air packs were running low, so we had to come down. We went back to the engine and had new bottles put on.

From there I went up in the ladder truck [a two-person bucket connected to a ladder]. From about 70 feet up we sprayed water on the roof of Grainger. I was up in the ladder truck for about 30 minutes.

Then the Chief assigned me to Tabb, to assist Hampden-Sydney firefighters with hooking up to a hydrant and to organize the efforts in that building. I stayed right in front of Joanie on the Pony 'til early into the next morning."

Later that morning, Jeff and I went back into Tabb to check for flare-ups. We found Jeff's room on first floor Tabb, but he didn't have his key to get his wallet or anything. That was frustrating for him.

When the last engine left, around one in the afternoon, I returned to my room, showered and ate. By that time the engine was already back at the college because of flare-ups, so I reported back to the scene.

I spent the rest of the day going back for flare-ups and cleaning equipment at the station.

That evening [Wednesday], my girlfriend and I went out to eat at Pino's. I was wearing a fleece jacket with the fire station emblem, and I was falling asleep at the table.

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." - Arthur Ashe

A gentleman walked over and asked if I was a firefighter. I said yes and he said, 'Don't worry about your bill. I'll take care of it.'

I slept from 10 Wednesday evening till 6:37 the next morning when we were called back to South Ruffner [Minor flare-ups brought back firefighters twice more]."

And were you ever afraid?

I was afraid when I went into third floor Grainger and looked into Ruffner. That's the first time I've ever been afraid. It was just unbelievable. It was frightening."

Based on later estimates by the state fire marshall, Johnson's view into West Ruffner was a look into the core of a fire that exceeded 2000 degrees.

Johnson was a member of the Farmville Volunteer Fire Department for his sophomore, junior and senior years at Longwood. He was also a certified Emergency Medical Technician. Last year he ranked fourth in the number of calls responded to within his department even though he was away three months of the year. Elected a 2nd Lt., Johnson was the first Longwood student to hold an office. He was named the 1999 Farmville Firefighter of the Year. One week before the Longwood fire, he completed Firefighter 2 certification. Two and one-half weeks after the fire, Randall Johnson received a bachelor of science degree in business administration at Longwood commencement.

In addition to Johnson and Newton, Longwood students Walter English and Chris Warner also fought the fire as members of the Farmville department. Hampden-Sydney volunteer firefighters included 20 HSC students.

Heroes, all.

Judy McReynolds
Associate Editor