By Mari A. Schaefer and Samantha Shepard
The Philadelphia Inquirer
DELAWARE COUNTY, Pa. — For the second time in as many months, a young Delaware County volunteer firefighter is in critical condition with serious burns.
Michael Reagan, 19, of the Sharon Hill Fire Company, was injured when part of a burning garage collapsed on him and two other firefighters late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Parkside firefighter Chase Frost, 21, remains in critical condition with burns to more than half his body. During an Aug. 11 fire, a second floor collapsed, pinning Frost for 15 minutes.
Yesterday, about 25 of Sharon Hill’s members gathered at their small station. Some were getting ready to return to Crozer Chester Medical Center’s burn unit to visit their injured comrades.
“It looked like it was out, and then that quick it collapsed on them,” said Fire Chief Bill Benecke, 40. He heard a swoosh as the garage’s doors and a beam collapsed, then saw fire everywhere, he said.
Firefighters immediately worked to rescue the injured men, using power saws to cut away parts of the wooden door.
The 101-year-old Sharon Hill department has about 40 active firefighters and 200 past active members or 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 for firefighters up to the company, said Ed Mann, state fire commissioner.
Sharon Hill requires active volunteers to complete a Firefighter 1 state certification training program, Benecke said. The 186-hour course includes a structural-burn session and classes on hazardous materials and first aid.
“If you don’t have the certificate, you are not allowed to put on an air pack and go into a building,” Benecke said. He added that the department had weekly training.
Reagan, who lives in Ridley Township, completed the training, Benecke said.
The borough’s workers’ compensation insurance covers medical expenses for the injured firefighters.
The smell of smoke was still in the air yesterday morning in Sharon Hill at the Coates Street home of Walter Timms, where the fire occurred.
Blackened debris remained around the garage, revealing where the front collapsed. But the structural damage was not a worry for Timms.
“I’m more concerned about the guys that got hurt than the fire,” Timms said as he returned from visiting Reagan.
Timms said the fire began around 11 p.m. while he was working on his Kawasaki motorcycle. The gas line broke when Timms removed the tank, spraying fuel on citronella candles he had lit to keep bugs away. Timms tried to fight the fire with a garden hose before calling for help.
The fire did not damage Timms’ two-story home.
Units from Glenolden and Folcroft joined the Sharon Hill firefighters, Benecke said.
The other two who were injured, he said, were Joe Tesauro and Chris Miller. Tesauro, 23, suffered leg and back burns and has been released from the hospital.
Miller, 21, had non-life-threatening injuries to his shoulder and buttock and is expected to be released today.
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