By Mike Finney

DOVER — A crew of linemen for the city of Dover were headed to Kings Cliffe Mobile Home Park near Dover Air Force Base on March 3 for a routine service reconnect when their day suddenly got a little more exciting than what they had planned.

Jason Bitter and Liam Maher arrived first at the mobile home at 36 Livingston Lane and noticed right away that an emergency was developing. Fellow linemen Matt Espil and Brian Kempista arrived just a couple of minutes later and joined in to assist.

The occupants of the residence were not home, but many nearby residents had noticed smoke coming from the trailer.

“I just remember people everywhere, and vehicles everywhere,” Mr. Bitter said. “I happened to look at my partner Liam and we looked over and saw smoke and then the neighbors and (I think) maintenance guys came over and asked for a fire extinguisher.

“So (Liam) jumped out grabbed our fire extinguisher and started ripping the skirting of the trailer off and climbed underneath and started putting the fire out. Then people were hollering about a dog being inside, so in he went.”

Fortunately, Mr. Maher had experience with working for the Felton Fire Company and didn’t hesitate to put his firefighting knowledge to use.

“When I was putting the fire out underneath the trailer, we broke the water line and put it out with that,” Mr. Maher said. “Inside, the fire was in the bathroom. So we started putting it out in there.”

That’s when things started to get a little bit crazy as they were trying to locate a little, bushy dog.

“(Matt) Espil comes in and tells me to get the dog and then the dog went under my legs and into the fire,” said Mr. Maher, “so I reached into the fire and grabbed the dog and handed it off to him.”

Mr. Espil and Mr. Kempista didn’t hesitate in trying to help put out the fire.

“Liam (Maher) was working underneath the trailer and (Mr.) Bitter was helping him,” said Mr. Espil. “Me and (Mr. Kempista) went up to the front door and shut the door so (the fire) didn’t keep going and that’s when someone said, ‘There’s a dog in there.’ We made one attempt in and walked around and couldn’t find a dog and then came back out.

“Liam then took the fire extinguisher in (to the trailer) and as we were going back in, the dog ran up to us and it went through (Maher’s) legs and we told him to grab the dog. We ended up getting the dog and we just got out of there and shut the door and waited for the fire department.”

The Dover Fire Department arrived just moments after that and the combined work of the Dover city linemen and the firefighters helped to contain the majority of the damage to the bathroom.

“We heard (Mr. Espil and Mr. Bitter) calling on the radio for the fire department and we were about two minutes behind,” said Mr. Kempista. “We went inside the trailer for a second and then backed out and found out it was better to be under the bathroom.

“We disconnected the power in the meantime – it was kind of a scramble. It certainly wasn’t something we had planned on.”

Paul Waddell, electric director for the city of Dover Electric Department, proudly sent an email just hours after the incident to Dover City Manager Randy Robertson, Assistant City Manager Matt Harline and Public Affairs and Emergency Management Coordinator Kay Sass.

In his email, Mr. Waddell explained, “One of our young men managed to pull a dog out of the burning structure and pass it off to another lineman and clear of the fire. Between the four of them, they managed to almost completely extinguish the fire prior to the arrival of the fire department, reducing the damage to the unit.

“Matt Espil, Jason Bitter, Brian Kempista and Liam Maher went above and beyond (March 3) by reacting quickly and selflessly and serving the residents of the city outside the scope of their normal duties.”

Mr. Robertson, who just recently joined the city of Dover’s leadership team, agreed that it was a truly remarkable story in his response to Mr. Waddell.

“This is an extraordinary story; one worthy to share and celebrate with our elected leadership,” he wrote. “Having just had the opportunity to meet most of you Monday, it’s examples like this that demonstrate the pride and professionalism you bring to our city and citizens.

“What is reported here is not only well beyond a job description but reflects a passion to serve others … to do the right thing. On behalf of all of us, thanks for what you did, your cool, calm decision making, and for your service.”