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NJ firefighter suspended for striking pole during fire truck joyride

Connor O’Grady allegedly sideswiped a telephone pole after taking the fire truck out for a ride with another firefighter

By FireRescue1 Staff

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. — A firefighter was suspended after allegedly crashing a fire truck while on a joyride.

NorthJersey.com reported that Connor O’Grady and a firefighter from another town allegedly took the fire truck out and hit a pole.

“When they went around a turn, they sideswiped a telephone pole,” Mayor and public safety commissioner George Fosdick said. “The best way I could describe it was – they were scared to death and didn’t know what to do.”

No one was injured in the incident, and Fosdick said that while the fire truck sustained damage, it is still able to remain in service.

The department did not find out about the incident until O’Grady told his father, a fellow firefighter.

O’Grady was suspended for six months, and will be responsible for any repair costs that insurance does not cover.

“This is a young man who heretofore has been a valuable guy and just made a stupid mistake,” Fosdick said. “I’ve been a member of the fire department now for 54 years, and we work very hard to try to establish high standards of performance and everything else we do. And something like this is very upsetting for all the guys.”

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