Retired Firefighter Chris Fields Reflects on Oklahoma City Bombing Response

Remembering April 19th, 1995

• 🗓️ 30 years have passed since the bombing of the Alfred P. Mura Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people, including 19 children.
• 💥 The truck bomb, detonated by former Army soldiers Timothy McVey and Terry Nichols, sparked a national conversation on domestic terrorism.
• 🚒 For first responders, it was a day that would forever define their service.

The Iconic Photograph

• 💔 Firefighter Chris Fields is featured in one of the most haunting images from that day, cradling the lifeless body of one-year-old Bailey Alman.
• 🌍 This photo became the face of the tragedy, seen around the world.
• 😥 Fields admits the image is still tough to look at 30 years later.

Navigating Trauma and Support

• 🤝 Fields emphasizes the crucial support he received from his brotherhood and sisterhood on the fire department.
• 💡 He struggled with being singled out due to the photo, but retired Chief John Hansen helped him gain perspective.
• 👨‍🚒 Hansen explained that the photo represented all first responders and the innocence lost, not just Chris Fields.

Personal and City Transformation

• 🏙️ Fields notes that much has changed personally, for his family, and for the city of Oklahoma City over the past 30 years.
• 📈 He describes the city's recovery as rising like a phoenix from the ashes, with an upward trajectory since the bombing.
• 🙏 He hopes people remember the resilience of Oklahoma and its people as the 30th anniversary approaches.