FedEx driver who sought to aid fire victim honored
'Gallant' Heussler fights for own life

BY MEREDITH FISCHER
RICHMOND (VA) TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Feb 14, 2002

Eddie Heussler Jr. could have kept driving that day. He didn't have to
stop his Federal Express delivery truck.

He didn't have to try to rescue 79-year-old Helen Newcombe from her
burning house. He didn't have to risk his life.

But he did. And for that, Chesterfield County officials say Heussler
is a hero who deserves to be honored.

"There is no bolder act than to risk your life to save another human
being," said Chesterfield Fire and Emergency Medical Services
Chief Stephen A. Elswick. "Eddie is the most brave and selfless
person I have come in contact with. We can all learn from him."

During a ceremony last night, Board of Supervisors Chairman Kelly E. Miller
presented Kevin Holmes, Heussler's best friend and FedEx supervisor,
with a framed resolution, applauding Heussler for his "gallant and dedicated
service to others in need." It called him an "inspiration to all."

Heussler, 42, is still fighting for his life in the burn unit at Virginia
Commonwealth University's Medical College of Virginia hospitals.
His father, Ed Heussler, had originally planned to attend last night's
ceremony, but elected to stay at the hospital after his son took a
turn for the worse, Elswick said.

"At this time, Eddie is now fighting for his life," Elswick said.

"Eddie made a split-second decision at great peril to himself to help
someone, and it cost him dearly," Miller said. "He didn't know who
was behind that door. He just knew it was another human being.
How many of us would do something like that?"

Heussler suffered second- and third-degree burns to 45 percent of his
body last month when he tried in vain to rescue Newcombe after
running through the front door of her home at 8530 Woodward Drive.
The most severe burns were to his arms, hands and back. He also
suffered burns to his head and face.

Ed Heussler stays with his son all day and all night. He's scared
but remains hopeful.

Most of all, Ed Heussler is proud.

"I think about it over and over again," he said. "I could never do
what he did. It was a magnificent gesture."

During last month's blaze, Eddie Heussler apparently reached
Newcombe but had to retreat after the living room flashed over in
flames, burning him. Newcombe was later found dead just beyond
the front door.

"Flames were probably rolling over the ceiling. Temperatures were
about 1,000 degrees," Battalion Chief Bill Harding said. "He probably
went in there, tried to pick her up and the flames rolled over,
completely engulfing the room. The intensity of the heat was just
too much."

When the fire crew pulled up, they found Eddie Heussler standing
in a neighbor's front yard.

"We knew we had to save him," Harding said.

Eddie Heussler, who has worked for FedEx for about 10 years,
moved here from New Jersey seven years ago and works out of the
company's Mechanicsville station. He and his fiancee, Sharon Green,
live in Henrico County's West End.

The Fire Department plans to hold a fund-raising event March 2 for
Heussler at Chesterfield Towne Center to help pay for his medical
treatment. Firefighters will park their trucks from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
outside the mall to collect money.

Lamp blamed in fatal fire

BY MARK BOWES
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Feb 02, 2002

A fire that killed a 79-year-old Chesterfield County woman last week
and severely burned a FedEx courier who tried to save her apparently
was caused by a lamp that brushed against some draperies in the
woman's home, a fire official said.

"We're not exactly sure whether the lamp was knocked over or there
was something on top of the lamp" that caught fire, Assistant
Chesterfield Fire Marshal Robbie Dawson said yesterday.

The lamp will be examined to determine whether it malfunctioned,
Dawson said. "But more likely than not [the fire was started] when
something, like the curtains, came up against the lamp, or the
lamp fell out of the picture window" in the front living room.

Although the precise cause hasn't been determined, Dawson
said, the Jan. 22 fire that killed 79-year-old Helen C. Newcomb
"was associated with the lamp."

The small, desk-type lamp with a glass shade was kept in the
picture window of Newcomb's home at 8530 Woodward Drive in
the Brookfield subdivision. Newcomb, who suffered from a
debilitating illness, was found dead just inside the front door
after firefighters extinguished the blaze.

The fire, Dawson said, was purely accidental.

FedEx courier Eddie Heussler, 42, tried in vain to rescue
Newcomb when he drove by the house while making his
rounds. He suffered severe burns to his arms, hands, back
and head and is still listed in critical condition at Virginia
Commonwealth University's Medical College of Virginia Hospitals.

Newcomb's grown daughter, Pat, and Pat's 4-year-old godson
 - whom she was baby-sitting that day - escaped unharmed.
The boy first discovered the fire and ran into the kitchen to
tell his godmother, who was making lunch.

Pat Newcomb tried to pull her mother out but couldn't.
Heussler stopped his delivery truck in the street and ran
through the front door to try to save Helen Newcomb after
the boy apparently flagged him down from the front yard,
Dawson said.

Heussler made contact with Newcomb but he was forced
to retreat when the living room apparently flashed over in
flames, catching him on fire. Heussler already has
undergone one skin graft operation for his badly burned
arms and hands.