To the editor:
I am one of the “bystanders” who attempted to save Steve Allen when he fell into the water at Devils Churn on Sept. 9, 2021. The group of us who were there at the time believe we have a right to have our voice heard about what happened that day.
There seems to be some miscommunication as to what we are looking for. Let me see if I can clear that up.
Steve slipped and fell in — and that was his mistake. We are not blaming someone for that. What we are looking for is an after-action review where all agencies who responded that day are present so we can share our side of what happened.
Any changes being made now or any currently implemented were decided upon before we sent our letter to four agencies asking for a review involving us.
The after-action review that was held between the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service did not take our side into consideration nor does anyone want to hear it now. We had no influence into their decisions – and that is our point.
We didn’t expect a fleet of highly trained personnel to enter the scene from parachutes. I live in Portland, I called 9-1-1 a couple of weeks ago and as usual I was put on hold. So no we aren’t expecting responses like on television, like we have been accused of as big city folk. We aren’t looking to shut the place down or put more signs up or change anything like that. I wouldn’t be doing this if that is what was being asked.
What we want to do is to let people know how poorly the first responders reacted to the situation. They did absolutely nothing. They didn’t take control of the situation. They didn’t attempt to calm anybody down. They were inconsiderate in their comments to the bystanders who were trying to rescue Steve Allen. When the people were asking them to use the tools they carried with them to help, one said “Rope, we brought rope” and held up his throw bag in the air.
Why is it that the first responder who stood directly across from me at the churn said nothing to me about being careful or stop for my own safety? I was attempting to get a rope around Steve, to tether him so he didn’t float out to sea (which he ended up doing) when I asked him to help with the rope. He just said no. Why didn’t he tell me to stop for my safety? Why didn’t he tell me to be careful until I turned to leave?
These are the actions that we want addressed. We are only asking that those actions (or non-actions) be looked into and possibly changed so, heaven forbid, if this happens again that the next group of people won’t have to go through what we went through.
If there had been some compassion and understanding of the feelings that Steve’s wife, Linda, and for those of us attempting to save Steve and for any of the citizens who were only able to watch, then we wouldn’t be asking for anything. A man who was just alive (and he was alive when they arrived) and is now dead was quite traumatic to all of us. Sure, maybe the first responders have seen so many tragedies that they have become callous to the feelings. But we haven’t had that experience. Maybe they are volunteers and don’t want to risk their lives to help. But I was a volunteer risking my life to save another. Several of us who had never met before joined together as a team to help save a human life.
We have started a petition at www.Change.Org to seek a formal after-action review of the response that day. Please sign it. Please read all of the articles on YachatsNews. Please inform yourselves. We just want to be heard.
— Marty Gaughan, Portland
No, I will not sign your petition because in the end we are all responsible for our own actions. It is too bad that you refuse to see that. The area was and is a dangerous area. There are signs clearly posted warning people to stay back from the edge of moss covered rocks along a steep chasm with rocks, wave action and hydraulics, hence the name, Devil’s Churn. You are very fortunate you did not fall in, but in the end you need to let this go because the only response elicited will be to block that area off to everyone to prevent someone from making the same mistake.
Thank you for creating this petition. Many first responders, both professional and volunteers, would benefit greatly as you so kindly suggest, from better training in communication skills, better empathic responses, and development of greater emotional intelligence, as would the community at large. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Marty. Your efforts are appreciated by many of us.