EDITORIAL: Tragedy on the East Side: Heroism and Sacrifice Evident in Loss of City Firefighters
25 de agosto de 2009 -- By The Buffalo News, N.Y.
Aug. 25--There are no words that truly can express the sense of loss a community feels when duty exacts the ultimate price from those who have chosen to serve despite danger. There is even less, beyond prayer, that can be said to ease the pain of those they leave behind.
But the thoughts of this community must be with the firefighters who died here Monday while searching a burning East Side building to find a victim reportedly trapped inside, and with their families. Comfort may be difficult to find, but rememberance is a duty.
The deaths of Lt. Charles "Chip" McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom also are a reminder of the dangers of the occupation they chose, and to which they necessarily brought a willingness to sacrifice much for the chance of saving lives. This is a high degree of heroism; all of us who live here should stand humbled before it.
This fire demands investigation. Initial reports raised the possibility that a burglary may have played a role in the deli fire at 1815 Genesee St. Tragedy would only be compounded if the deaths of two city firefighters stemmed from wrongdoing, as did the life-changing injuries suffered two summers ago by another city firefighter, Mark Reed, in a fire set by an arsonist very near the site of Monday's tragedy.
The deaths also were the first loss of multiple firefighters for the Buffalo Fire Department since a propane explosion killed five firefighters and two civilians on North Division Street in 1983 -- a scar that, for city firefighters, never has fully healed.
Monday, the firefighters first on the scene after the 3:49 a.m. alarm reacted both professionally and heroically to reports that a person was trapped in a basement, and had been heard calling for help. McCarthy and Croom crawled through the first floor to search for the victim, and initial reports indicated the floor collapsed beneath them. Their bodies were removed by stunned and stricken colleagues a few hours later; there were no reports that anybody else was inside. Investigators will look for any evidence that someone -- perhaps a burglar -- could have fled safely before firefighters arrived.
The immediate focus, though, must remain on the loss, on support for the families, on dealing with the pain felt by members of the city department and throughout the close-knit community of the fire service in this region. These deaths are a tragedy, but they also serves as reminders of the courage demanded of firefighters and the risks they face. As Mayor Byron W. Brown said at the scene, "every day they go to work, they are heroes."
Service in the fire and police departments can turn from the routine to the tragic with little warning. Monday, that proved true once more, and two brave firefighters sacrificed their own lives in hopes of saving another. This community mourns today, and must remember always.
25 de agosto de 2009 -- By The Buffalo News, N.Y.
Aug. 25--There are no words that truly can express the sense of loss a community feels when duty exacts the ultimate price from those who have chosen to serve despite danger. There is even less, beyond prayer, that can be said to ease the pain of those they leave behind.
But the thoughts of this community must be with the firefighters who died here Monday while searching a burning East Side building to find a victim reportedly trapped inside, and with their families. Comfort may be difficult to find, but rememberance is a duty.
The deaths of Lt. Charles "Chip" McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom also are a reminder of the dangers of the occupation they chose, and to which they necessarily brought a willingness to sacrifice much for the chance of saving lives. This is a high degree of heroism; all of us who live here should stand humbled before it.
This fire demands investigation. Initial reports raised the possibility that a burglary may have played a role in the deli fire at 1815 Genesee St. Tragedy would only be compounded if the deaths of two city firefighters stemmed from wrongdoing, as did the life-changing injuries suffered two summers ago by another city firefighter, Mark Reed, in a fire set by an arsonist very near the site of Monday's tragedy.
The deaths also were the first loss of multiple firefighters for the Buffalo Fire Department since a propane explosion killed five firefighters and two civilians on North Division Street in 1983 -- a scar that, for city firefighters, never has fully healed.
Monday, the firefighters first on the scene after the 3:49 a.m. alarm reacted both professionally and heroically to reports that a person was trapped in a basement, and had been heard calling for help. McCarthy and Croom crawled through the first floor to search for the victim, and initial reports indicated the floor collapsed beneath them. Their bodies were removed by stunned and stricken colleagues a few hours later; there were no reports that anybody else was inside. Investigators will look for any evidence that someone -- perhaps a burglar -- could have fled safely before firefighters arrived.
The immediate focus, though, must remain on the loss, on support for the families, on dealing with the pain felt by members of the city department and throughout the close-knit community of the fire service in this region. These deaths are a tragedy, but they also serves as reminders of the courage demanded of firefighters and the risks they face. As Mayor Byron W. Brown said at the scene, "every day they go to work, they are heroes."
Service in the fire and police departments can turn from the routine to the tragic with little warning. Monday, that proved true once more, and two brave firefighters sacrificed their own lives in hopes of saving another. This community mourns today, and must remember always.
EN CASTELLANO
EDITORIAL: Tragedia en el lado del este:
Heroísmo y sacrificio evidentes en la pérdida de bomberos de la ciudad 25 de agosto de 2009 -- Por las noticias del búfalo, N.Y.Agosto. 25--No hay palabras que pueden expresar verdad el sentido de la pérdida que una comunidad se siente cuando el deber exige el último precio de los que han elegido servir a pesar de peligro. Hay incluso menos, más allá del rezo, que se puede decir para facilitar el dolor de ésos que salen detrás.Pero los pensamientos de esta comunidad deben estar con los bomberos que murieron aquí lunes mientras que buscaban un edificio ardiente del lado del este para encontrar a una víctima atrapada según se informa adentro, y con sus familias. La comodidad puede ser difícil de encontrar, pero el remembrance es un deber.Las muertes del teniente. Charles “viruta” McCarthy y bombero Jonatán Croom también es un recordatorio de los peligros de la ocupación que eligieron, y a cuál él necesariamente trajo a buena voluntad de sacrificar mucho para la ocasión de las vidas del ahorro. Éste es un alto grado de heroísmo; todos nosotros que vive aquí debe estar parado humillada antes de él.Este fuego exige la investigación. Los informes iniciales levantaron la posibilidad que un robo con allanamiento de morada pudo haber desempeñado un papel en el fuego del deli en St. 1815 de Genesee La tragedia sería compuesta solamente si las muertes de dos bomberos de la ciudad provinieron fechoría, al igual que lesiones vida-que cambiaban sufrieron hace dos veranos por otro bombero de la ciudad, caña de la marca, en un fuego para fijar por un incendiario muy cerca del sitio de la tragedia de lunes.Las muertes también eran la primera pérdida de bomberos múltiples para el cuerpo de bomberos del búfalo puesto que una explosión del propano mató a cinco bomberos y a dos civiles en la calle del norte de la división en 1983 -- una cicatriz que, para los bomberos de la ciudad, nunca ha curado completamente.Lunes, los bomberos primero en la escena después de 3:49 mañana. el alarmar reaccionó profesionalmente y heroico a los informes que atraparon en un sótano, y había sido el llamar a una persona oído para la ayuda. McCarthy y Croom se arrastraron a través de la primera planta a la búsqueda para la víctima, y los informes de la inicial indicaron que el piso se derrumbó debajo de ellos. Sus cuerpos fueron quitados por los colegas atontados y pulsados algunas horas más adelante; no había informes que cualquiera era adentro. Los investigadores buscarán cualquier evidencia que alguien -- quizás un ladrón -- habría podido huir con seguridad antes de que llegaran los bomberos.El foco inmediato, aunque, debe quedar orientado la pérdida, en la ayuda para las familias, al ocuparse del dolor sentido por los miembros del departamento de la ciudad y a través de la comunidad unida del servicio del fuego en esta región. Estas muertes son una tragedia, pero ellas también los servicios como recordatorios del valor exigido de bomberos y los riesgos que hacen frente. Como alcalde Byron W. El marrón dijo en la escena, “diario van a trabajar, ellos son héroes.”El servicio en el fuego y los departamentos del policía pueden dar vuelta de la rutina al trágico con poca advertencia. Lunes, ese verdad probada una vez más, y dos bomberos valientes sacrificaron sus propias vidas en esperanzas de ahorrar otro. Esta comunidad está de luto hoy, y debe recordar siempre.
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