FUMES LEAVE A BURNING MARK

Volunteer Firefighter Suffers Severe Respiratory Damage From Lab Vapor

It was a freezing night in January 2003.

With the fire out and smoke clearing, volunteer firefighter Darien
South took off his breathing gear. He thought the danger was over.

South, 31, opened a panel leading to the crawl space under the house
to check what he thought might be a hot spot.

An acrid odor overcame him. He could hardly breathe. Within minutes,
he was coughing and throwing up blood.

"My chest was on fire. It was just like a constant burning," he said.
"I've had second-degree burns on my arms, and it's 10 times worse than
that."

The crew didn't know the Deep Gap home had a methamphetamine
lab.

In the past two years, 27 N.C. law enforcement officers have been hurt
responding to meth-related calls, said N.C. State Bureau of
Investigation agent Van Shaw, the head of the state's lab response
unit. The S.C. State Law Enforcement Division hasn't tallied that
state's injuries.

Most of the injured N.C. officers inhaled smoke or suffered minor
chemical burns, Shaw said. South was hurt worst.

After a week in the hospital, he was released but couldn't walk around
his Ashe County home without losing his breath. Until he had surgery
last September, he was bedridden for two or three days each week with
severe headaches caused by swelling in his sinuses.

South completed three months of physical therapy to strengthen his
lung tissue, though he still has only about two-thirds of his lung
capacity. He uses an inhaler twice a day.

The accident cost him his delivery job with Coca-Cola and his place in
the Deep Gap Volunteer Fire Department, a job he loved. He doubts
he'll ever be able to fight fires again.

"These people who manufacture meth have no regard for their lives, and
they definitely have no regard for anyone else's," he said.

"And people who do it who have kids, they have no regard for their own
children. If they do it and injure someone, be it emergency personnel
or their kids, they should pay a price," he said. " 'Cause my life's
changed, and all I was trying to do was help someone out."

Staff writer Alice Gregory contributed to this article.