By Diana J. Kelly
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Copyright 2007 Tribune Review Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
PINE, Pa. -- When a backyard bonfire spilled onto the grass of their Pine lawn, Ben and Taylor Whiting watched for their 9-year-old cousin Harry Wilfong’s reaction.
They assumed he would cower from the crackling flames.
But Harry has autism, a developmental disorder that can affect judgment, and he crept toward the fire without fear.
“Me and my sister thought about how we might try to help him if something like this happened on a larger scale,” said Ben, 17, a junior at Pine-Richland High School, where Taylor, 15, is a sophomore. “He might not understand that it was dangerous.”
The Whitings shared their concerns with Pine-Richland junior Matt Hickey, 17, also of Pine, and the discussion resulted in the Wexford Volunteer Fire Company’s Special Circumstances Program, now available to Pine residents.
The program essentially is a computerized registry stored in the company’s two rescue trucks with laptops. It will let emergency personnel know where people with disabilities live so rescuers can adjust their methods accordingly.
People with disabilities and their families can register through the fire company’s Web site.
“This program will give the fire department more information prior to their arrival,” Ben Whiting said. “So, if an emergency did happen at a Special Circumstances person’s house, they would be able to go into that event with other possible things they would need so they could save that person’s life.”
Pine Fire Marshal Tim Flaherty helped the teenagers start the program.
He said disabilities ranging from paralysis to dementia could make rescue more difficult, and emergency personnel need to be prepared.
“If we have this information on our trucks, we’ll be aware if there are people who might need help getting moved out of the house or who might not quite have an understanding of what is going on,” he said.
The program won’t be an extra expense for the fire company, which already planned to install software on the trucks’ laptops that would show firefighters floor plans of larger buildings, Flaherty said. It will use the same software to upload Special Circumstances information.
Harry’s father, Tino Wilfong, said fire departments near his family’s Altoona home do not have similar programs.
“This could help someone like our son, but it’s a lot broader than just autism,” Wilfong said. “I’ve very proud of my relatives for thinking of Harry, but also for going beyond that and taking a step forward to help others too.”