By Matt Deyoung
Grand Haven Tribune
GRAND HAVEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Shawn Schrader has worked in emergency services for 30 years. Part of that time was spent as a night-shift paramedic in an ambulance in Grand Rapids.
He’s seen his share of tragedies.
But nothing compares to what Schrader experienced Friday morning.
Schrader, now the chief of Grand Haven Township Fire/Rescue, was first on the scene at a house fire on Riverside Trail. He was one of the firefighters battling the fire when the bodies of the home’s eight occupants – parents and six children – were found dead of gunshot wounds. Police say the father, Kristopher Karolkiewicz, killed his wife, Amanda, and kids before starting fires in the home, then taking his own life.
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When arriving on the scene, Schrader and his team had no idea what awaited them inside the home.
“The first thing we do is we evaluate what is in front of us – a size-up report,” Schrader said. “I was first on scene, so I gave a size-up and quickly developed a plan of how we’re going to handle this. We had a lot of staff at the station that morning, so we were able to get a lot accomplished in a hurry. We quickly realized we had a fire in the basement, along with a possible fire on the main floor.”
A big concern with a basement fire is the structural integrity of the floors above.
“Our crew went into the basement, and our goals are obviously to look for anybody possibly trapped in the fire, and to put that fire out – life safety and fire suppression,” Schrader said.
“The crew started putting out the bulk of the fire downstairs, and any time we have a basement fire, we’re concerned about floor collapse. As soon as we got the bulk of that fire out, a crew went in on the main floor to do a primary search for potential occupants. That’s when we started coming across victims.
“We quickly realized this was more than just a fire scene,” he continued. “Our job at that time is to continue to search for potential survivors and also protect the scene as a crime scene. And our crews did an amazing job. I cannot praise them enough for the professionalism they displayed.”
During a conversation with the Tribune on Wednesday morning, Schrader said he’s never seen anything like this in his three decades on the job.
“Hopefully this area will never have to go through something like this ever again,” he said. “Certainly, our hearts go out to the families, people who had relationships with the families. It’s horrible, tragic – words can’t describe it. For me personally, I pray for our community and the family members every day.”
Schrader is also caring for his firefighters who were in the home.
“Certainly, this has ripples through our department,” he said. “That was something that was in my thoughts even when we were on scene, because it was very apparent what was going on. My heart broke for our community.”
Schrader said there has been peer support available for the firefighters, as well as other services.
“Just leaning on each other, checking in on each other, and debriefing sessions,” he said. “We’ve had unbelievable community outreach, offering us different services.”
As he talked in the fire station Wednesday morning, another firefighter walked in holding several boxes of cookies and other snacks, along with a card from a community member – one small act among so many that have come their way over the past few days.
“We definitely feel that” love and support from the community, Schrader said.
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