• A mass shooting at a Genesee County church unfolded quickly Sunday morning.
• Dispatch recordings reviewed by Bridge detail a harrowing, urgent response as the shooting turned deadly and the church burned
• At least six victims were trapped inside as fire fighters called for waves of help 

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Emergency crews responding to a mass shooting and fire at a Mormon church near Flint raced to the scene on Sunday with the barest of details: An active shooter. A truck that slammed into the crowded building. A gunfight.

That grew into cascading horror for first responders whose urgency grew by the minute. 

“Give us a third alarm with a lot of people,” a firefighter urged dispatchers, asking for more crews to fight the growing fire while they tried to find six children in the smoke-filled church.

“A lot of people.”

Audio recordings from Genesee County emergency dispatch escalated Sunday from a quiet weekend morning before 10:25 a.m. to chaotic urgency from the moment police requested help.

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Police say Thomas “Jake” Sandford had driven his pickup into the Grand Blanc church, coming out of the cab firing from what a witness described as an assault rifle. He then set fire to the church.

The attack left five dead, including the shooter, and at least 11 injured, authorities said Monday.

There were early hints that fire and rescue first responders were called to a mass shooting likely to be deadly, according to the dispatch recordings reviewed by Bridge Michigan. 

“(There’s) only one patient seen so far but they’re expecting others,” the dispatcher told the first ambulance crew called. 

On the ground, police were confronting the scenario, relaying it back to the fire and ambulance dispatchers. 

“Unsure how many injured (people) we’ll have at this point,” one first responder said.

A moment later, he asked for more ambulances: “We’ll need three more.”

Almost immediately, he pressed again:  How many ambulances could be available?

“I have six and I do have plenty more to send,” the dispatcher said.

Even that seemed too few for the scene: “See if any Oakland County departments have any ambulances available,” the dispatcher was told.

Around that time, the Grand Blanc Fire Department was called out. 

“There’s an active shooter at the church, and (police are) on scene saying the building’s on fire,” the dispatcher said. 

Word that the shooter had been killed — stopped by a state conservation officer and a local police officer, authorities later confirmed — blurred with news that the church was on fire. 

Even the initial word of Sandford’s death made the first responders consider other shooters. 

“They have one in custody right now,” the dispatcher said. “They’re trying to confirm that there’s no more.”

Dispatchers directed both firefighters and EMS medical crews to wait until the scene was safe, some at a nearby hotel and others at Holly and McCandlish roads, about a half-mile from the church.

The first trucks allowed at the scene sent a chilling message about what they found as they’d expected to pull into a parking lot: Patients were on the ground.

“I’ve gotta leave it open” for the ambulances, one firefighter said. 

By then, smoke was showing, according to the recordings. A second alarm went out, requesting more firefighters to help with the working fire.

But people were still inside.

“I need manpower up here ASAP,” a firefighter said brusquely. “I have people trapped in the building. Repeat. People trapped in the building.”

By 10:41 a.m., he was assured that “I’ve got guys coming.”

But the firefighters also learned “We’ve got children inside, too.”

They asked for more help: “We’ve got six missing.”

A third alarm went out. Soon, a fourth alarm was called, as a breathless firefighter inside the building asked dispatchers to send more trucks and firefighters to the scene. Fenton Township, Mundy Township, Burton and other departments rushed to help.

“I need you now,” a firefighter told a colleague racing to the scene.

A day later, authorities have not yet released identifying information about the victims. However, a medical official said eight people ages 6 to 78 were treated at Henry Ford Health Genesys Hospital in the aftermath of the attack at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township. 

Five of those victims had suffered gunshot wounds and three had injuries from smoke inhalation, Dr. Michael Danic, medical chief of staff at the facility, told reporters at a Monday press conference.

Police have not yet disclosed any suspected motive for the attack. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday joined local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in thanking medical professionals and first responders who treated the victims. 

Besides the life support ambulances and firefighters, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officer and a local Grand Blanc police officer who worked to “take down the shooter” outside the church were cited.

“I think we can see the best of public service in all of these individuals,” the governor said. 

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