“It’s words that you never want to hear. It’s words that they give you goosebumps,” said Mike Drivdahl.
Drivdahl is the spokesperson for the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association and president of the Fort Worth Firefighters Foundation.
Like others, hearing “Mayday” over the radio on Wednesday shook him.
“We don’t use those words for any other situation, other than a firefighter is lost or trapped or in need of rescue,” he said.
In a post on the department’s Facebook page, the family said Halvorson couldn’t reach his radio and tried “to call out while also praying for help, not knowing if anyone could hear him.”
His team did. Lieutenant Troy Gallagher was injured while trying to save his colleague.
“There wasn’t a single moment when either one of those firefighters was alone. Our firefighters were there with them, taking care of them from the moment that it happened, until the moment they transported them,” Drivdahl said.
Crews tend to Firefighter Caleb Halvorson after he is rescued from the rubble on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Glen E. Ellman/FWFD)
The Mayday call meant there were now two missions: To rescue a fellow firefighter and to continue to put out the flames.
“It’s an interesting dynamic to have half of your incident taking care of the mayday, and half of your incident taking care of the original incident,” Drivdahl said.
The department said it took over 40 trucks and nearly 90 people to complete the missions.
Drivdahl said his team has been with the Halvorson family daily.
“We’re checking on him constantly, we’re in constant contact with his wife, with his mom and his father,” he said.
They’ve been arranging food, and have set up a crowdfunding campaign for the family, who is also still monitoring a baby in the hospital.
“To be at a hospital in a very critical state, and to be dealing with the fact that they’ve got a child in the NICU, is something that doesn’t happen– at all, that I can remember,” Drivdahl said.
He thanked the community for the outpouring of support, including other local firefighter associations.
Fort Worth Firefighter Caleb Halvorson. (Fort Worth Fire Department)
Drivdahl said in true fire crew fashion, Halvorson is in good spirits.
“I do know that he’s been up and joking about things,” he said.
Drivdahl has worked with Halvorson in the past.
“Just a phenomenal person; great attitude, great hard worker, eager to get in and do things—exactly what we expect from our young firefighters,” he said.
He said he knows that once Halvorson wins this next battle, he won’t hesitate to face the flames again.
“I have no doubt in my mind that when Caleb’s ready to come back to work, he’s going to do the exact same thing when he comes back to work,” Drivdahl said.