Indianapolis Fire Department

The second explosion also complicated the rescue because firefighters and volunteers now had to work around an additional fire, damage structures, and the possibility of more propane tanks in the area.

Within a minute of the first explosion, an off-duty firefighter, who was in the audience, telephoned the headquarters of the Indianapolis Fire Department and informed them of the situation, immediately identifying the accident as a gas explosion.

This call also alerted IPD, Indianapolis Police Department, as they shared the same dispatch as the fire department.

And they regularly would monitor each other's calls because, you know, there's times that you have to have police or EMT and a fire truck, vice versa.

So the one good thing is we have a bad disaster that we didn't expect.

But right off the bat, you've got people acting and getting the ball set in motion to visit a rescue.

At 11.11 p.m., Indianapolis Fire Department contacted IPD directly and To ensure that they were aware of the situation, a police car arrived to the scene around 1115.

Additional cars were dispatched to the scene shortly after.

That panel, uh, was made up of four individuals, uh, a retired chief, uh, Eric Vallie- Valliere, who is the, um, who is the CEO of the Fire Department Safety Officers Association, FDSOA.

Chief Ernest Malone, who is the chief of the Indianapolis Fire Department but also the first vice president of the IAFC.

John Cunningham, who is the executive director of the North American Training Directors, and Sarah Lee, who is the CEO of the National Volunteer Fire Council.

A nice cross-section of the fire service.

I want him to know that I have the best crew in all of FDNY." And he made it happen, and that's the way I am.

Like, I want the best battalion the Indianapolis Fire Department has to offer, and I believe I have it, 'cause I have a battalion full of rock stars.

But it's like, you know, you have other places that they just, they're just there.

They're just surviving.