.After crash, Iraq war veteran sprang to action with ladder to help 5 get out of building
AUSTIN – Robin De Haven was driving his truck to another job for the glass company he works for when he saw it – a small plane, flying low over a heavily congested area.
De Haven, a 28-year-old Iraq war veteran, recalled Friday that he then saw black smoke billowing from the office building and rushed to the scene. A pilot furious at the Internal Revenue Service had slammed his plane into the building Thursday morning, killing himself and one other person.
At the building, De Haven said, he hurled his 17-foot ladder off his truck, helping to rescue people peeking through broken windows as thick smoke poured into the air.
"I don't feel like a hero. I was just trying to help," he said.
De Haven retold his rescue efforts outside the Echelon 1 building as investigators picked through the wreckage. About six miles away, arson crews also inspected pilot Andrew Joseph Stack III's red brick home – which Stack apparently set on fire before taking off in his single-engine plane from Georgetown.
Lower floors targeted
Stack, 53, posted an angry anti-government manifesto on a Web site registered to him before the suicide mission. He apparently targeted the building's lower floors, which housed the IRS offices. Authorities said they were trying to determine whether Stack put anything in the plane to worsen the damage caused by the impact and fire.
On Friday, across the street from Stack's fire-damaged home, a representative for Stack's wife, Sheryl Stack, issued a statement on her behalf.
"Words cannot adequately express my sorrow or the sympathy I feel for everyone affected by this unimaginable tragedy," she said, declining further comment.
Stack took off from Georgetown, about 30 miles from Austin, and flew low over Austin before plowing into the side of the building just before 10 a.m.. Flames shot from the building, windows exploded and terrified workers rushed to get out.
Emergency crews have not identified the other body found in the debris. Thirteen people were injured.
Authorities have credited numerous stories of heroism for keeping the death toll low.
De Haven said he extended his ladder and climbed to the second floor but realized it was too unsteady. So, he climbed in to find a better escape route.
There, he found four men and a woman trapped inside as smoke seeped in from the hallway. He and another man broke open a window with an iron rod and made their way to a lower ledge, where the ladder was more secure.
'Not a loner'
Some who knew Stack said he offered little hint of his anger toward the government and the IRS.
"He wasn't obsessed with the government or any of that," said Pam Parker, an Austin lawyer whose husband played with Stack in the Billy Eli band. "Not a loner, not off in a corner. He had friends and conversation and ordinary stuff."
A few hundred people had joined Facebook pages honoring Stack, including one that said while it didn't agree with his actions, it sympathizes with his thoughts on the government.
In his online note, Stack fumed about the IRS and wrote, "Nothing changes unless there is a body count." He also railed against "big brother," the Catholic Church, the "unthinkable atrocities" committed by big business and the government bailouts that followed.
He said he slowly came to the conclusion that "violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer."
Stack's father-in-law, Jack Cook, said he knew Stack had a "hang-up" with the IRS and his marriage had been strained. His wife had taken her daughter to a hotel to get away from Stack on Wednesday night.
Kelley Shannon and Jay Root,
Dallas News
You see...
De Haven, a 28-year-old Iraq war veteran, recalled Friday that he then saw black smoke billowing from the office building and rushed to the scene. A pilot furious at the Internal Revenue Service had slammed his plane into the building Thursday morning, killing himself and one other person.
At the building, De Haven said, he hurled his 17-foot ladder off his truck, helping to rescue people peeking through broken windows as thick smoke poured into the air.
"I don't feel like a hero. I was just trying to help," he said.
De Haven retold his rescue efforts outside the Echelon 1 building as investigators picked through the wreckage. About six miles away, arson crews also inspected pilot Andrew Joseph Stack III's red brick home – which Stack apparently set on fire before taking off in his single-engine plane from Georgetown.
Lower floors targeted
Stack, 53, posted an angry anti-government manifesto on a Web site registered to him before the suicide mission. He apparently targeted the building's lower floors, which housed the IRS offices. Authorities said they were trying to determine whether Stack put anything in the plane to worsen the damage caused by the impact and fire.
On Friday, across the street from Stack's fire-damaged home, a representative for Stack's wife, Sheryl Stack, issued a statement on her behalf.
"Words cannot adequately express my sorrow or the sympathy I feel for everyone affected by this unimaginable tragedy," she said, declining further comment.
Stack took off from Georgetown, about 30 miles from Austin, and flew low over Austin before plowing into the side of the building just before 10 a.m.. Flames shot from the building, windows exploded and terrified workers rushed to get out.
Emergency crews have not identified the other body found in the debris. Thirteen people were injured.
Authorities have credited numerous stories of heroism for keeping the death toll low.
De Haven said he extended his ladder and climbed to the second floor but realized it was too unsteady. So, he climbed in to find a better escape route.
There, he found four men and a woman trapped inside as smoke seeped in from the hallway. He and another man broke open a window with an iron rod and made their way to a lower ledge, where the ladder was more secure.
'Not a loner'
Some who knew Stack said he offered little hint of his anger toward the government and the IRS.
"He wasn't obsessed with the government or any of that," said Pam Parker, an Austin lawyer whose husband played with Stack in the Billy Eli band. "Not a loner, not off in a corner. He had friends and conversation and ordinary stuff."
A few hundred people had joined Facebook pages honoring Stack, including one that said while it didn't agree with his actions, it sympathizes with his thoughts on the government.
In his online note, Stack fumed about the IRS and wrote, "Nothing changes unless there is a body count." He also railed against "big brother," the Catholic Church, the "unthinkable atrocities" committed by big business and the government bailouts that followed.
He said he slowly came to the conclusion that "violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer."
Stack's father-in-law, Jack Cook, said he knew Stack had a "hang-up" with the IRS and his marriage had been strained. His wife had taken her daughter to a hotel to get away from Stack on Wednesday night.
Kelley Shannon and Jay Root,
Dallas News
You see...
posted by madtom at 9:17 PM
4 Comments:
How was that any different from what I said I had seen and heard? Smoke was seeping? Would you sit and watch people in broken 2nd story windows while smoke seeped out while you had a ladder on your truck--- and do NOTHING? I don't think I know anyone who would, so is it Heroic when someone does it or is it just what you expect from decent people? I saw live reports on a Dallas TV station talking to people who saw it as it happened. They thought the guy did a good deed and was commended, but I guess I use the word 'heroic' more selectively. Apparently, he does too, being a Texan and all. When you risk almost certain serious injury or death to aid others, I'll slap a medal on ya...... I just hope they leave the guy alone cuz once they make him out to be the big hero, they'll find some dirt on him just to complete the cycle of build up to tear down.
Come on? He went up into a burning building, helped clear a path to get to a better landing and then got people down the ladder!
That counts where I come from. We award him one (five sided) notch for his ladder and truck....
most people would look and watch, or take video with their phone...
Well, 'you aren't from Texas' is the best way to reconcile the difference. Had he done nothing I would take notice. I'd buy him a beer and we'd talk about how lucky it was for him to be in the right place at the right time, but that's about all he would expect, I bet, and would be uncomfortable with the hero status. I think it's sorta sad that actions like his are considered extraordinary. Looking and watching shouldn't be the expected response to people in peril. That ain't me or anyone I know---- I hope.
I understand that the "hero" thing is a bit over the top, but that don't mean that his actions weren't heroic. It doesn't take a hero to do an heroic act, I know it for a fact.
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