A Rush to Save History
By Janina Parrott Jacobs
Four of Southfield Fire Department’s firefighters were able to save far more irreplaceable artifacts than Oakland Hills’ staff or members had ever expected, but still, Lieutenant Zachary McKee had one regret.
“We could have removed everything……if the ceiling hadn’t come down in the main lobby,” said McKee, who plays golf and was aware of the club’s historical displays and had asked for his crew to be assigned to that duty five minutes after they arrived at the scene.
It’s no surprise firefighters love golf. With the profession’s standard 24-hours-on, 24-hours-off schedule, there’s ample time to play. Southfield FD is no different. LT McKee enjoys playing with his kids. Firefighters Mike Petry and Patrick Kerr and Paramedic Nate Herr have favorites including Treetops Resort, Boyne Highlands, Birmingham CC and Coyote Preserve.
Good thing. That love of golf saved treasured historical items while an active fire consumed the elegant clubhouse.
Southfield, one of 14 departments battling the massive fire, got there at 10:30 a.m. ‘when the weather was still nice’ according to McKee. “By the time we left at 10:30 p.m. there was six inches of snow on the ground.”
Millions around the world saw the inferno in real time, and while relieved that no one was injured or killed, most presumed much of its preserved history was lost.
But during those twelve hours, a minor miracle happened.
“When we arrived and observed the conditions, there was concern about the amount of water needed to control the fire,” McKee explained, knowing it could destroy the rare items. He asked the Bloomfield Township Chief in charge if anyone was retrieving valuables from the building. McKee was directed to club officials and stated, ‘I have a crew of four and we are going in to get your stuff, what do you need?’”
Both officials provided guidance and McKee asked them to gather people at the front doors so the firefighters could hand off the items. Immediately, the ‘bucket brigade’ began.
“When we made entry into the lobby, the conditions weren’t bad,” McKee said. “We broke the main glass trophy case, then Herr, Petry and Kerr carried out trophies. I grabbed a bust and photo from the wall. After several trips we’d removed everything in that area. We then took items from the smaller cases and walls, grabbed the largest picture frame, then stacked smaller frames and trophies on top.”
However, the initial conditions soon deteriorated.
“We continued working until the ceiling in the main lobby fell onto the chandelier and railing for the staircase,” McKee said. “At this point it was too dangerous and I pulled the crew out. We’d cleared the main lobby and most of the wing directly left, which had three or four trophy cases and photos covering those walls.”
While the remaining first and second floor artifacts were now beyond reach, club officials asked if it was safe to get paintings from the basement, then directed the crew to an outside entrance by the main lobby.
“We found a storage room in the basement with more trophies and paintings,” McKee said. “We had no idea of the value of the artworks. Now, it was raining so we placed the paintings face to face for protection and carried them upstairs to the staff. We loaded a kitchen cart with as many of the remaining items in that area. On the last trip, we had embers falling into the exterior stairwell and the roof looked bad. I was concerned the wall might collapse onto the stairwell so we carried out what we had, and I ordered my crew out.”
Still, McKee wanted more work for his ‘aggressive young crew’. They got it: stop the fire from inside and on the roof of the Men’s Locker Room.
Upon entering, McKee recalled, “There was just too much fire…. and conditions prevented us from staying inside and on the roof. We were covered in ice and very cold by this time. The club’s staff sent us to the 1st tee building and provided dry towels and hot coffee to warm us up….but we were very disappointed we had to abandon that Men’s Locker Room.”
While firefighters save lives and physical structures, they also attempt to salvage personal property, if they can. And this is where the Oakland Hills employees and members were invaluable.
McKee and his men summed it up: “They treated us great. Those guys at the 1st tee house left before us. We did leave a note thanking them for taking care of us on probably the worst day they could possibly imagine for the club. The amount of gratitude we received from all the OHCC staff and members we met on scene was amazing.”
Imagine that. Firefighters who saved 100 years of golf history thanked the staff. Forget labeling first responders as heroes; they simply prefer to be known as people doing what they were trained to do…..and humble about doing it.
