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Officials Await Firefighters'
Autopsy Results
State Continues Fire
Investigation
Posted: 12:34 p.m. EDT July 31, 2002
Updated: 2:33 p.m. EDT July 31, 2002
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Medical experts are
performing autopsies on two Osceola County firefighters Wednesday, hoping to
find out their exact cause of death during a training exercise.
Lt. John Mickel, 32, and Dallas Beggs, 20, were on
the lead team in an exercise to rescue a mannequin inside an abandoned home
that was set on fire Tuesday morning, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.
Investigators with the state fire marshal's office
want to be sure all necessary precautions were taken to protect the fallen
firefighters, who somehow became detached from their backup crew, officials
said.
Part of the investigation will focus on the sequence
of events that led up to the fire on the campus of the Florida Bible College
in Kissimmee. Both of the firefighters suffered severe burns and attempts to
revive them were unsuccessful, investigators said.
Osceola County Fire Lt. Joe Long was with Mickel and
Beggs just minutes before the exercise began.
"He was talking to him about what they were going to
do when they [got] inside, how he should stay with him and continue to talk
to each other, and how to keep the communication lines open once you [got]
inside," Long said.
Fire department leaders worked with union
representatives and the families of the victims at the public safety
building to finalize funeral arrangements Wednesday. Exact plans have not
yet been released.
 To
comment on this story, send an e-mail to
Sally Kidd.
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