By Mari A. Schaefer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
SHARON HILL, Pa. — A 19-year-old Sharon Hill volunteer firefighter died yesterday of injuries he suffered Wednesday when part of a building collapsed and pinned him.
Michael Reagan, of Ridley Township, had been on life support at Crozer-Chester Medical Center since taking a turn for the worse on Friday, hospital spokesman Grant Gegwich said. Reagan's parents were by his side when he died.
"Mike was an outstanding member of the Sharon Hill and Holmes Fire Companies," Fire Chief Bill Benecke wrote in a statement. "His dedication to serving his community as a firefighter was an inspiration to all of us, and we are deeply saddened by his passing."
"He was a great guy, funny, outgoing," said George Faulkner, president of the Sharon Hill Fire Company. "He would do anything for you."
On his MySpace page, Reagan described himself as a criminal-justice major at Delaware County Community College who enjoyed watching and playing football and basketball, hanging out with friends, and being "the life of the party."
The fire began around 11 p.m. Wednesday in a detached garage on Coates Street in Sharon Hill. The homeowner was fixing a motorcycle when fuel spilled onto a burning citronella candle. The two-story house was not damaged.
With the fire largely extinguished, firefighters were working to put out hot spots when the garage doors and a support beam collapsed on three of them.
Firefighters and police immediately worked to rescue the men, using power saws to cut away parts of the wooden door.
Firefighters from Glenolden and Folcroft and the Collingdale police were also at the scene.
The other two injured Sharon Hill firefighters, Joe Tesauro and Chris Miller, have been released from the hospital. Tesauro, 23, suffered burns to his back and a leg; Miller, 21, injured a shoulder and buttock.
Two Collingdale police officers suffered minor injures.
Reagan was the first firefighter from the 101-year-old Sharon Hill department to die in the line of duty. The department has about 40 active firefighters and 200 past active members and support staff. It responds to 10 to 15 fires a year.
Of Pennsylvania's 2,400 fire companies, 95 percent are run by volunteers. The state leaves the level of training up to each company, said Ed Mann, state fire commissioner.
Reagan was the second volunteer firefighter in Delaware County to be critically injured on duty in the last two months and the seventh in Pennsylvania to die this year.
Parkside firefighter Chase Frost, 21, remains in critical condition with burns over more than half his body after an upper floor collapsed during an Aug. 11 fire, pinning him for 15 minutes. Another firefighter trapped at the same time is recovering at home.
On Sept. 9, George Crotts, 70, a Willow Grove firefighter, died after he fell while loading an antique pumper onto a trailer before a parade.
A fireman's funeral with full company honors is planned for Reagan. Details were not yet available.
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