Firefighters take stand, describe scene of fatal 2014 blaze

May 03--Toledo fire Lt. Aaron Hague could not contain his emotions Tuesday as he recalled his futile efforts to save his friend and fellow firefighter, Pvt. Stephen Machcinski, at the scene of an apartment-house fire on Jan. 26, 2014.

"Once we got him on a stretcher, ... I checked for a pulse and was unsure if we had one or not, but we initiated CPR," Lieutenant Hague said, fighting back tears on the witness stand in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

Mr. Machcinski's gear was charred and crumbled in his hands. A private ambulance was waiting, and Lieutenant Hague climbed in to help his friend and colleague as the ambulance raced to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center.

"We tried to resuscitate him on the way to St. V's," he said, finally giving in to the memory and breaking down in sobs.

VIDEO: Lt. Aaron Hague on stand in Abou-Arab trial

Lieutenant Hague was one of three firefighters who took the stand Tuesday at the trial of Ray Abou-Arab, 64, of Oregon who is charged with setting fire to a Magnolia Street building he owned -- a fire that took the lives of Mr. Machcinski, 42, and Pvt. James Dickman, 31.

After regaining his composure, Lieutenant Hague told the jury he and two other firefighters performed chest compressions on Mr. Machcinski.

"We tried intubating him, which means putting a plastic tube down his throat so we could breathe for him, but due to the injuries he sustained, his throat was swollen shut," he said. "So we had no way of breathing for him. So we just continued with compressions on the way to the hospital."

Pvt. Stanley Woody, Jr., who helped carry both Mr. Dickman and Mr. Machcinski from the burning building, had been inside the same second-floor apartment where the fallen firefighters were found.

He described intense heat and a feeling of panic that nearly overcame him.

Lieutenant Hague helped guide him outside, he said, and they soon saw Lt. George Simko dive outside of the fire onto a wooden deck.

Asked by Robert Miller, chief of the criminal division for the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office, what he remembered about Lieutenant Simko, Mr. Woody replied, "The look on his face and the thing that he said: 'I still have two firefighters in there.'"

Mr. Woody had only been on the fire department just over a year at the time. He said he helped carry both of his "brothers" down to the waiting ambulances.

"It's really hard to describe that sight," he said slowly. "It's like something that you know is a possibility. It's nothing that you ever really want to see. It's something I'll never forget."

Mr. Abou-Arab, held in the Lucas County jail for more than three years awaiting trial, is charged with two counts each of aggravated murder and murder, eight counts of aggravated arson, and a single count of tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors contend he was having financial difficulties and set the fire to collect on a $420,000 insurance policy.

Toledo Fire Lt. Rob Swartz testified that firefighters initially entered the building in search of occupants and in search of the fire's source. He said he'd just climbed a second time to the top of a ladder at a second-floor window where three firefighters had entered when the conditions suddenly changed from gray smoke to heavy black smoke and intense heat.

He said he yelled for the firefighters inside to get out and shined his flashlight in hopes they would see the light and get back to the window to escape.

"From that point, it all kind of went downhill," the lieutenant said.

He testified that he tried to enter through the window, but the heat kept him out.

"In seconds it went from being tenable to the most extreme heat I have ever felt," Lieutenant Swartz said.

After the morning break, a juror was excused after she was seen dozing off during testimony. That leaves 15 jurors: 12 who will deliberate and three who are alternates.

Judge Stacy Cook told the remaining jurors to let the court know if they were having problems or to elbow their fellow jurors if any appeared to be falling asleep.

"If any of you are struggling at any point, ... raise your hand and we'll try to be attentive to that," she said.

Earlier in the day, Emily Bishop of Point Place testified that she came to the fire scene after her mother, Tracy Bishop, called her frantically yelling that her apartment was on fire and she needed her to come get her two dogs.

VIDEO: Witness Emily Bishop testifies in Abou-Arab trial

Miss Bishop said after she arrived, Mr. Abou-Arab spoke to her and the others standing across the street from the burning building.

"I had just found out I was pregnant like two weeks before, so everything was heightened -- my emotions, my senses," she said. "The first thing I noticed was the smell of alcohol and gasoline on him."

Tracy Bishop testified Monday that she too had smelled gas on her landlord that day, though she didn't tell investigators until a few months ago.

Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.

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