2nd firefighter improves after shooting

WASHINGTON — The Prince George’s County Fire Department said it’s not uncommon for them to force entry into a home in an absolute emergency as they continue to mourn one of their own, shot and killed Friday night while trying to conduct a welfare check.

“We’re trained whether an emergency situation exists or if we have the ability to force entry into the home,” said the Prince George’s County Professional Firefighters Paramedics Association President Andrew Pantelis.

Sunday, the union president said John Ulmschneider, 37, and his team followed all protocols when they responded to a Temple Hills, Md., home in the Washington suburbs.

Firefighter fatally shot, 2nd wounded in Maryland

Their intention was to possibly save a life after a family member raised concerns about his unresponsive diabetic brother, said PGFD spokesperson Mark Brady.

The caller said his brother had trouble controlling his blood sugar and recently had blacked out. He told authorities he was worried because his brother wasn’t answering the phone or the door yet his car was parked in the driveway, Brady said.

When firefighters arrived, the person inside was unresponsive, so they decided to force entry, police said. As that was happening, the person inside fired several rounds, striking two firefighters and the man's brother, authorities said. Police said that once officers got into the home, the gunfire stopped.

Ulmschneider was shot and killed. A second firefighter, Kevin Swain, 19, was shot four times and transported to a Baltimore hospital. He was moved out of intensive care Sunday and continued to show signs of improvement.

The brother was not seriously injured, Prince George’s County police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said at a news conference. Police have not released the brothers' names.

Neighbors said Sunday they opposed forced entries.

“To break down the door ... not knowing what’s going on, I think that needs to stop,” said Dylan Taylor, who also said he was not upset to hear police released his neighbor without filing any charges.

“I know he’s not that type of person, and I know he had some medical issues,” Taylor said.

Authorities said Saturday that they are still working to determine why the 61-year-old man allegedly opened fire. But a county fire spokesman said it may have been a tragic mistake — the man possibly thought that the rescuers were intruders seeking to break into his house, the Washington Post reported.

Brady said Ulmschneider was described as a “good old hard-working country boy who loved his job.” Officials initially told media that Ulmschneider was 39, but corrected his age to 37 on Sunday.

Diana Krieger, whose daughter is married to Ulmschneider’s brother, told the Post that he was a “caring man” who had dreamed of being a firefighter since high school.

“He wanted to help others, he loved doing what he was doing, being a paramedic and a firefighter, and I really believe that he was doing God’s work,” Krieger told the newspaper.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan ordered the state’s flag to be flown at half-staff in Ulmschneider’s memory.

Contributing: The Associated Press