WHEN young firefighter Shahine Nelson left work last Friday night she called her sister to let her know that she was on her way home and would call again when she was nearby — a signal to open the gate and prepare for her arrival.

But the gate to their home remained open that tragic night as Nelson never made it home. She died in a car crash her stepfather Garnett Douse said occurred less than 400 metres from their residence.

A grief-stricken Douse, also a firefighter, shared that the act of calling home after work was a common practice for Nelson, who always made it her mission to let her family know where she was and that she was safe.

“We are just trying to cope. It’s so difficult, but we are just trying to cope with everything,” he told the Jamaica Observer on Saturday.

According to a police report, Nelson was driving home sometime after 9:00 pm when she collided with a tractor trailer at the intersection of Brunswick Avenue and Angels Toll Plaza Road in Spanish Town, St Catherine. It stated that the trailer, travelling north on Brunswick Avenue, was turning right onto Angels Toll Plaza Road when its rear wheels reportedly struck Nelson’s 2018 Honda Fit, crushing it under its massive weight.

Douse, who is an assistant superintendent in the Jamaica Fire Brigade, said he was at a barbershop close by when a colleague called to inform him that there was an accident at the Angels Toll Plaza, and the vehicle looked similar to that of his daughter’s, whom he knew and loved since she was three years old.

“I said, ‘What you mean?’ and dem say, ‘Yes, it looks like Shahine car.’ I hastily went out there, and when I reached there, once I saw the licence[plate] number, I went under the truck just to see if there was any glimmer of hope, but it wasn’t possible to save her. The impact was too severe,” he said, sighing heavily as he recounted the moment.

“I was told that she ran over the cones in a blank lane and hit down the barrier with her horn blowing, just honking her horn from before she reached the toll, so it’s obvious that she was in some form of distress, but what I don’t know,” said Douse.

“I’m just here wondering what really happened, because up to this minute I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what the cause is, but that is not like her; she is a little girl that just takes her time and drives,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Douse shared that his grief is further compounded by the fact that he recently lost his son, firefighter Lorenzo Douse, who was killed in a bizarre accident when a speeding vehicle crashed into him, pinning him to the back of a fire unit in St Ann in November 2022.

At the time of her stepbrother’s demise Nelson was in training to become a firefighter. Her mother is also a member of the brigade, working as a civilian member of staff in the St Catherine division.

“It’s just so difficult. Having lost a son just one year and eight months ago, tragically in Ocho Rios, and then this now. It’s just hard to cope, but I’m trying,” he said.

Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie, in expressing shock at the untimely death of Nelson, extended condolence to the family.

“I remember firefighter Nelson very well. I presided over her graduation ceremony in 2022 and recall speaking with her about her training experiences. This tragic news is even sadder for me as she was the stepsister of firefighter Lorenzo Douse who was killed while on duty in Ocho Rios in 2022. Once again, this family of firefighters and the wider Jamaica Fire Brigade community is enveloped in mourning,” said McKenzie.

“I share that deep sense of loss and disbelief. I trust that her loved ones and friends will experience solace, peace, and personal strength as the days progress,” he said.

Jamaica Fire Brigade Commissioner Stewart Beckford shared that Nelson officially became a member of the brigade one month after her stepbrother’s death. She was initially assigned to the Spanish Town Division before being transferred to the Stony Hill Division, where she was serving until the time of her death.

“The family, based on the information I have gotten, they are in deep distress. We have been providing support in terms of counselling for them and, of course, the team members at the Spanish Town Fire Station. We’re also making arrangements to speak with the team at the Stony Hill division to also provide some level of counselling for them to help them get through this difficult period,” Beckford told the Sunday Observer.

He shared that the firefighters who responded to the call were from the Spanish Town division, and many are rattled with grief as they process the loss of one of their own.

“Her time with us was very brief but, from all indications, she was well-loved by her colleagues at the different stations that she would’ve worked during her very brief career with us,” said Beckford.

“We are doing all that we can to make sure that their health and mental well-being is being taken care of because we understand the effect that this can have on them over the long term. We have seen it, we have experienced it, and so we are mindful that if they don’t get the appropriate support it can create some negative impact down the road,” he said.

The commissioner said this period is particularly difficult for members of the fire brigade as they are still mourning the loss of firefighter Shamare Myrie, who was tragically killed in Gaylord, Michigan, in the United States in August.

According to the Gaylord Police Department, firefighter Myrie, who was assigned to the Trench Town Division, was fatally stabbed during an altercation with another Jamaican man in the US. He was on vacation leave at the time of his death.

“His body was flown into the country [last week] Thursday, and we’re actually in the process of making funeral arrangements with the family to lay him to rest. To have this happening so soon, it has been very traumatic for the team members — particularly those who would’ve responded to the call [Friday] night and discovered that it was one of our own,” said the fire chief.

A first responder who was working on the scene of the fatal crash said that it was utter devastation and sadness when firefighters learned that it was one of their own who had been crushed to death.

“Firefighters from Kingston and St Catherine would’ve come on scene because Shahine was a very nice person. It was a solemn occasion. We even had somebody from St Thomas who drove from St Thomas and came on the scene,” the first responder told the
Sunday Observer.

“Everybody was just crying. The firefighters were crying, the medics were crying, and the emergency medical technicians were just out of it. Firefighters were just sitting in the road, and we lost it. We were just sitting on sidewalks leaning up on cars, and it was just a sad occasion,” he recounted.

“This is what we do. We respond to fire calls — both structural and residential — bush fires and motor vehicle accidents, but when you’re called to a motor vehicle accident and you turn up and it’s one of your colleagues, how do you deal with that?” he questioned.