A year after Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services experienced their first-career line of duty death while battling a massive house fire in Clarksville, a review committee has returned a series of recommendations to improve safety and accountability in the department.
Lt. Nathan Flynn was part of the first team of firefighters to respond to the house in the 7000 block of Woodscape Drive at about 2 a.m. on July 23, 2018. Firefighters were told people were in the house when they arrived. Flynn entered the home but fell through the first floor. A mayday was called, and a rapid intervention team was deployed to find Flynn among heavy smoke conditions in the basement. Once found, Flynn was rushed to Howard County General Hospital in critical condition. He died later at the hospital.
The blaze grew to a 7-alarm fire, as multiple companies responded.