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Valor & Bravery
In
this year of volunteerism, there is one group that has for
many, many years been available at all times, day or night,
for any type of emergency: the volunteer fire companies. Every
time these men and women put on their gear to answer a call,
they also put their lives on the line.
On Aug.
20, 1996, a tragic fire occurred at a group home at 219 N.
Locust Lane, in the Meadowbrook Manor section of West Whiteland
Township. Three developmentally challenged men and their resident
supervisor perished.
The first
year anniversary of this tragedy is upon us, and there are
some facts that have never before been-made available to the
public.
The West
Whiteland Fire Company was dispatched at 2:28 a.m. on that
summer morning. Although the majority of volunteer firefighters
live at least a half-mile, or as much as two miles, from the
firehouse, and al- though the fire scene was located one and
one-half miles from the fire- house, our first-in pumper (Engine
6-1) was on the fire scene within six minutes of the dispatch.
This in it- self is a great response time. |
This fire was 'dispatched as a working
house fire with entrapment,"
and
there was heavy fire, especially in the front of the house.
Upon arrival, Assistant Chief Ken Beans and Firefighter
Jim Kelch made initial entry into this inferno and located
and brought out three of the four victims. Lt. Ken Walker,
Jr. and Training Officer Steve DiLuigi located and brought
out the fourth victim-.
At
the West Whiteland Fire Company's annual banquet, held on
April 19, Assistant Chief Beans, Firefighter Kelch, and
Lieutenant Walker,
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Training
Officer DiLuigi were
honored for their Valor with "Bravery in the Line of
Duty" awards. As Chief Bill Miller stated, these men
literally .put their lives on the line." In addition, DiLuigi was
honored for finding, and with the help of a First West Chester
firefighter, rescuing an individual from a house fire in
The Woodlands development in West Whiteland Township. This
individual survived. Prior to the West Whiteland Town- ship
Board of Supervisors' meeting on June 10, Chairman George
DAmbrosio, Vice-Chairperson Diane Snyder, and Supervisor
Jerry Poletto honored these same four firefighters with first-ever
Hero Awards. In the 44-year history of the West Whiteland
Fire Company, only eleven individuals have been honored for "Bravery
in the Line of Duty." In addition to those mentioned
above, they are Chief Bill Miller, Deputy Chief George "Bud" Turner,
Frank Getz, Bill Tobin, Jay Sieter, and Gary Hartung. |
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RECOGNITION OF VOLUNTEER FIREMAN
By George Turner, Fire Chief
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On the evening of August 9, the West Whiteland
Fire Company was dispatched to the report of a building fire at the Whiteland West
Apartments. Arriving on the scene within two minutes of the alarm, Assistant Chief Norman
Shirk reported heavy fire in the apartment at 194 Apple Drive. Residents then
advised him that the occupants of the apartment were trapped in the rapidly expanding
fire.
In advance of the arrival of the first engine,
Assistant Chief Shirk, without the protection of a hose line, entered the apartment and
located an unconscious victim and removed her from the apartment.
Due to initial confusion, the residents reported
that an additional victim was still inside. As the first engine arrived, under the command
of Captain Mark Moses, they were immediately ordered to initiate a search. Temperatures at
this point were well over 1000 degrees, and without hesitation Captain Moses Lieutenant
Mark Koenlg, Lionvllle Assistant Chief Mike Chapman, and West Whiteland firefighters, Rob
Wirtel. Kevin Beans, and Matt Curran, supported by Engineer Ken Walker, advanced a hose
line into the apartment and utilizing an infrared imaging camera, conducted two searches
of the apartment. Fortunately, the only occupant of the apartment was the victim that was
removed initially.
In recognition, of their actions, West Whiteland
Fire Chief George Turner has recommended the awarding of citations as follows:
The Medal of Valor - Assistant Chief Norman
Shirk, for his performance above and beyond the call of duty, who at extreme personal
risk, was instrumental in rescuing and saving another’s life.
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The Medal of
Courage - Captain Mark Moses, Lieutenant Mark Koenig, Firefighters Rob Wirtel, Kevin
Beans, Matt Curran Engineer Ken Walker, and Lionville Assistant Chief Mike Chapman, who
demonstrated their bravery through initiative and capability.
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| West Whiteland fire
victim critical |
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By CAROLINE BURNS
Staff Writer
WEST WHITELAND - A man taken from his townhouse
after a fire there was in critical condition at Crozer-Chester Medical Center Friday.
Police are investigating two fires in the first floor of the house that were reported by a
next-door neighbor at 10:20 a.m. The fires apparently started on both a kitchen table and
in a living room fireplace and are being investigated as possibly suspicious.
Timothy Reardon, 44, was found by firefighters laying on the living room floor of the
house at 1447 Aspen Court in The Woodlands development off Boot Road.
Police and fire officials said paper and possibly magazines were being burned in the
living room fire place and that a next door neighbor had seen ash falling from Rardon's
chimney onto her rear deck. The fire on the table apparently involved part of a Christmas
tree, clothing and books.
The neighbor on the other side of the house, Eva Roeschlein, said she saw smoke coming out
of Reardon's front Windows at 10:20 a.m. She said neighbors last saw him at around 9 a.m.,
when one of them went to tell him he'd left his car door open.
"He's a really nice guy, he's a divorcee and he lives alone. He's a nice guy, private
guy, quiet," Roeschlein said. She said Reardon has two children who
live with their mother and visit regularly, and that he works as a computer
programmer project manager.
West Whiteland Fire Chief William Miller said the case was being investigated
by county fire and " township police officials as possibly suspicious
because of its circumstances.
"There's nothing that indicates one caused the other right now ," he
said of the two fires.
The house is part of a development of stucco and stone attached houses. Miller said damage
to the building was estimated at $50,000, with fire damage to the first floor, and smoke
damage to the second, floor. Its contents were valued at $25,000.
The West Whiteland fire department was assisted by the Fame and First fire companies of
West Chester. Medic 91 and the Good Fellowship Ambulance. |
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The West Whiteland Fire Company 227 Crest Avenue
Exton, PA 19341 Phone: 610.363.9066
Fax: 610.363.9473
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©2006 West Whiteland Fire Company
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Updated:
February 03, 2006 |
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DISCLAIMER |
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