Vienna firemen give testimony of injuries, pain

Travers’ case bound over on felony assault, arson charges for house explosion last August

By Laura Schiermeier, Staff Writer
Posted 7/8/20

VIENNA — Six of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Protection District’s firefighters who received burns and other serious injuries in the house explosion last August testified at the preliminary …

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Vienna firemen give testimony of injuries, pain

Travers’ case bound over on felony assault, arson charges for house explosion last August

Posted

VIENNA — Six of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Protection District’s firefighters who received burns and other serious injuries in the house explosion last August testified at the preliminary hearing of the man who is charged with arson and assault in the crime.

In a very warm Maries County courtroom last Tuesday, the case against Gary “TJ” Martin Travers, 36, of Jefferson City, was bound over to circuit court.

Maries County Associate Circuit Judge Kerry Rowden said the court found there is enough probable cause to believe a crime had been committed and the case now goes to Circuit Judge William Hickle with arraignment set for July 6. Travers is facing some heavy charges and a possible maximum prison sentence of 95 years for the crime that destroyed his family’s home and seriously injured six Vienna firemen.

Travers is charged with six counts of second-degree assault, special victim, for the assault on the firemen and one count of second-degree arson resulting in serious injury. These class B felonies carry a range of punishment from five to 15 years in prison.

Once the preliminary hearing was underway Tuesday morning, the first witness called by Maries County Prosecuting Attorney Anthony “Tony” Skouby was Marilyn Peterson of Rolla. She is an aunt to Travers, his mother’s sister. He stayed with her following the house explosion, staying at her home Aug. 18, 19 and 20. She said it was unusual for him to stay at her home as he’d not done so since he was a kid. Peterson is a registered nurse.

She said Travers told her about the fire and house explosion, telling her he was the one who set it and that it took four times to be successful. Peterson testified that he told her he set the fire to get insurance money because it was insured for a lot of money and that he thought he could get away with it.

Skouby asked Peterson if she wanted to be there in the court that day and she said she did not and was being made to testify. She stated that she didn’t want to testify against her sister’s son, but she does not want to go to jail. She said this case has been disruptive to their family.

Jim Thomas of Waynesville was the attorney for Travers and he questioned Peterson. Her sister’s name is Beverly Oaker and as sisters, they are not very close but occasionally have lunch or go to family functions together. The attorney asked why they are not close and she said there were many things that happened over the years such as problems with their parents, financial problems, and that her sister has many kids.

Thomas asked if she used drugs and she said in the past she used marijuana. She has taken pain killers for many years but they are by prescription. She never used meth nor was she ever in drug treatment. She’s an RN and works in home-health care.

Peterson said her relationship with Travers was distant as they “never hung out.” There was a trip to Texas in 2018 with herself, her sister Bev, Travers and his friend Mike. She said he never stayed with her and she was not sure why he did in August 2019. He was driving a Jeep and brought two male friends, a black guy and a white guy. The black guy stayed at her home with him while the white guy went to stay with some friends nearby.

They were in her living room and the black guy was there as well and Travers talked about the fire and how the house was blown off its foundation and that it took four attempts to do it. She didn’t know if it was the truth or if he was bragging about it.

He told her he thought he could use the propane to catch the house on fire upstairs. He thought the propane would rise up from the basement. He opened up the furnace to leak propane.

Thomas asked who Peterson told what Travers told her and she said her nieces, her daughter, her son, her boyfriend and some friends. She also told his mom, Bev Oaker, who had a mild stroke not long after that.

She spoke to law enforcement soon after the incident. Peterson said Travers told her his intention was not to get firemen hurt. During the three days he was at her house, they had a lot of conversation. She didn’t know what he used to start the fire. He told her the house was insured for $175,000. His mom would get the insurance money.

Skouby asked if the black man spent the night also and Peterson said he did as one of them slept on the couch and the other in the recliner. He also heard the conversations.

All of the firemen took the stand and told about their injuries, the pain, the limitations the injuries have caused, and the mental stress of the violent explosion. First Assistant Fire Chief Mark Buschmann said he suffered serious physical injuries at the scene of the explosion. He had injuries to his hand and face. One of the firemen was having trouble with his mask and they were working with him on it. They were about to go in the front door when the explosion occurred, throwing him about 30 feet away. He was left with second- and third-degree burns, which are a continual impairment on his hands and he has lost some function because of the burns.

Thomas questioned Buschmann who said he never wore gloves before but now if it’s below 50 degrees he has to because his hands freeze.

He said he was the third fireman to arrive at the scene of the fire that morning as Mark Honse and Tommy Pickering were already there. They were doing an evaluation of the scene, shutting down the gas tank, getting the electricity off, and seeing if anybody was in the house. He said they were ready to enter the house when the explosion occurred at the front door. He never saw flames but saw smoke coming out of the turbine on top of the house.

Chad James was fully geared but with his mask off as they broke the door jam then quickly shut it until they were ready to enter. He said they didn’t want the fire to have air until they were ready to enter. They thought there was a small fire they wanted to “knock it out before it spread” but didn’t have the chance because of the violent explosion, which put the fire out. He did not smell gas.

Honse was wheeled into the courtroom strapped in a wheelchair. Skouby asked him about his injuries and Honse said he was severely burned on his ears, neck, leg and right hand. He still suffers impairment because of the explosion injuries. Also, his blood pressure became a problem. At the ER he was told his body released potassium into his blood because of the burns and this caused his blood pressure to elevate and he had a stroke. He is still suffering from the stroke.

Thomas questioned him and Honse said he currently is intensive therapy with a personal trainer to help him be able to walk again. His blood pressure is under control. He can’t be out in the sunlight and his wrist hurts as he tried to catch himself when they were flung through the air by the explosion.

Thomas questioned Honse and all of the other firemen about whether or not they saw smoke, where it came from, what color it was and if they smelled propane.

Honse said when the explosion occurred, he was at the front of the house going to be the engineer on the pumper truck and was about 20 feet from Buschmann who was in the vicinity of the front door.

Charles Lenning was the next fireman to take the witness stand.

In the explosion, he suffered burns to his arms, face, neck and back. He was impaired for a long time and was out of work (Quaker) for a month, which caused a serious financial hardship. The injuries still cause him limitations and pain today.

When Thomas questioned him about his healing, Lenning said he has scars and they hurt. He can’t go outside without being covered or around high heat.

Several firemen were on the scene when he arrived. He got to work unloading and coupling hoses and was dragging them when the explosion happened.

James said he suffered second-degree burns to his arm, stomach, legs and his shoulder was dislocated. It has been over a year and the burns and his injuries still trouble him.

He was near the front door when the explosion occurred and he was tossed about 30 feet away. He said he could have died.

Thomas asked him how he got to the scene that day and James said he drove the fire truck. He said he was at the front door and the next thing he knew, “we were out in the yard.”

He’s been a fireman for 20 years and works as a professional fireman for the Jefferson City Fire Department. He was helping get hoses into the house for the guys who were suited up to go in.

Volunteer Fireman Todd Jeremy talked about the injuries he received that day. He had first- and second-degree burns that caused him pain for two to three months and he continues to have lingering pain.

Jeremy told Thomas he works for an insurance company. He was in the last fire truck that arrived on the scene and his responsibility was to enter the residence and extinguish the fire. There were about a dozen firemen there. He said James opened the door initially and quickly shut it. He didn’t feel heat or smell propane. He was about 10 feet away from the door and saw a flash.

Mason Smith took the witness stand and said he had second- and third-degree burns on the outer portion of his hands and had a lot of pain, which lasted about a month. He could not work or use his hands which were wrapped in gauze. He said the incident scared him and he thought he might die because he was pretty close to the house when the explosion occurred.

Thomas questioned him about the color of the smoke, which he saw but did not see flames or feel heat. He was busy putting on protective gear and not analyzing smoke conditions. He did not notice Travers at the scene. He was taken to the hospital any Assistant Chief Josh Sandbothe.

Tiffany Fox from the Missouri Division of Fire Safety was a witness. She investigated the fire at the Highway 28 home of Jack and Bev Oaker. She interviewed them and learned Travers had keys to the place. Through the sifting process, she saw the fire originated in the kitchen area on the floor and was able to eliminate accidental causes. There was an unusual burn pattern and she determined an accelerant was used to start a fire in the dining room and kitchen area.

They found a backpack outside, which Sheriff’s Detective, Ken Kilmer, took as evidence. There was a key only lock on the back door to prevent theft and it was unlocked. Oaker said he locked it. The following day, Fox followed up at the residence and the lock was gone. Travers was there. She said they found the lock in a flower bed with a bucket over it about 50 feet from the door. The lock had been removed and taken apart. Oaker said Travers did it to prove it was in the locked position during the fire. She thought it was tampering with evidence.

Fox said Peterson told her Travers showed up at her house with two other people to do maintenance and didn’t and appeared to be under the influence of something. Travers admitted he tried to burn the house on multiple occasions. Fox said it was a set fire as there were no accidental causes. She said it was possible the fire was smoldering and possible that when the firefighters opened the front door the fire took off.

Thomas questioned her about accidental causes and Fox said there weren’t any in this fire. A fire has to have an ignition source and there was not one, she said. She sent to the lab samples of the carpet and an accelerant was not found on the carpet. She found a burn pattern. There were available combustibles there that included paper, cardboard, clothing and a sack.

Fox said the Propane Commission came out and said propane was responsible for the explosion that came from the basement, caused by the fire from upstairs.

Thomas asked about smoke color and she said a heavy material will cause a darker smoke and lighter material a lighter colored smoke. She said the explosion was on the lower level of the house as the walls were pushed out at the bottom. There was nothing in the basement to ignite as nothing was plugged in.

Skouby asked her what she found in the dining room and kitchen area of the house and Fox said a lighter was found on the floor.

Skouby told the court there is probable cause of arson and that six firefighters suffered injury and assault as Travers recklessly committed crimes that caused serious physical injury to them.

Rowden said there was probable cause a crime had been committed and Travers was bound over to circuit court on the charges.