Just plain stupid

Detroit -- A top fire department official minced no words in criticizing a firefighter who parked a truck on a set of train tracks while responding to an accident. The fire truck was subsequently hit by a train.

"I'm very upset," said executive fire commissioner James Mack. "I'm going to make it known that this is not acceptable and we'll do some training."

The fire truck was crushed by a passenger train late this morning in southwest Detroit. The train resumed its trip to Chicago around 3:00.

The driver of the fire truck was injured when he ran back and tried to get his rig off the tracks. He was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital and treated for a gash to his head, said Capt. Steve Kirschner, vice president of the Detroit firefighter's union. No other firefighters were injured.

Also, no serious injuries were reported aboard the train, though a female passenger was taken to a local hospital after complaining of neck stiffness, Mack said.

Officers from the Detroit Police Fatal Squad were on the scene, however.

The crash occurred in the city's southwest side near John Kronk and Lonyo, where police officers and firefighters were responding to an accident involving a car and a tractor trailer. For reasons that are unclear, the fire truck was parked on the train tracks.

Then someone was heard to have screamed: "Train coming!"

"The fire truck was parked right on the tracks," said Willfrido Gutierrez, 27, whose Monte Carlo was struck by the tractor trailer. "I tried to get my wife and kid away from there and I heard a huge explosion."

The truck, Ladder 13, was T-boned by the westbound train and crushed like an aluminum can and dragged a considerable distance before coming to rest on the tracks.

The same ladder truck had been involved in an accident earlier this year, but Mack was unsure if it was the same driver.

"It was a $600,000 truck," Mack said. "We're trained professionals. We should always be thinking. I don't think the citizens of Detroit are pleased that he parked on the tracks.

"I'm very upset. This was a disservice to the citizens. It's their fire truck -- they paid for it."

The commanding officer of the ladder truck was Lieut. Gerard Martinez, according to a fire official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak.

"Right now I can't say anything about it," Martinez said when reached by telephone at the fire house.

Passenger Aaron Timberlake, 22, of Clinton Township said he had a window seat on his way to East Lansing.

"I feel jolts riding on the train all the time," Timberlake said. "I saw a white ladder hit the side of the train and it took out a light pole. It was crazy."

I'm thinking that the Detroit Fire Department needs to be a lot more aggressive with it's drug and alcohol testing programs, and a bit more selective when hiring.

But it'll be ok. Fire Commissioner Mack says that they're going to do some training. Yeah, that should make it all better.I'm thinking that the dumbass operator of that truck should spend the rest of his career standing out at intersections with a boot in his hand, collecting donations to replace that truck. Maybe he could even wear a sign that says: "I'm the best guy Detroit could find for the job. Be afraid."

When everyone else was running out, some ran in.

It's been eight years. Eight years since Muslim terrorists murdered nearly 3,000 American men, women and children here in our own country via a cowardly sneak attack involving hijacked aircraft.

Hell, you know the story, so I won't repeat it. And I'm not going to post pictures of the planes hitting the buildings, either. You can find those anywhere.

What I want to do today is recognize the sacrifice made by my brothers and sisters in uniform--the brave First Responders who fought their way in to the World trade Center site and worked to save other people's lives until they finally lost their own.
I don't have much to say about these heroes. The following pictures give you an idea of what we lost that day.










































On September 11, 2001, 411 emergency workers who responded to the scene died as they attempted to rescue people and fight fires. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) lost 341 firefighters and 2 FDNY paramedics. The New York City Police Department lost 23 officers. The Port Authority Police Department lost 37 officers, and 8 additional EMTs and paramedics from private EMS units were killed.

These Heroes had families. These Heroes had friends. These Heroes had names.
Let me tell you about just a few of them.

NYPD Officer Moira Smith was the first officer to get on the radio and report the first jet strike on the Twin Towers. She stayed and worked to free victims until the towers came down. She was 38 and left behind a husband--also NYPD--and a two-year-old daughter.






Fire Marshal Ronald Bucca didn't have to enter the towers that day. It wasn't his job. But he couldn't ignore all of those victims, and he was one of the firefighters who'd made it all the way to the 78th floor of the South Tower--one floor below the impact area--when the tower collapsed.




Also killed on that day was FBI Special Agent Leonard Hatton. He wasn't even tasked with responding to this disaster but he did. He entered the World Trade Center towers to help evacuate people even though it wasn't his job. He was trapped and killed when the tower collapsed.




And like Special Agent Hatton, Secret Service Master Special Officer Craig Miller rushed in to help, running towards the nightmare instead of away from it. He also gave his life trying to evacuate people when the towers fell.





And there was another LEO killed on that day, one who hasn't gotten much attention or honor since he was off duty and because he wasn't in New York City.


US Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge Manager Richard Guadagno was aboard Flight 93, which crashed and burned in a Pennsylvania field while enroute to another target in Washington DC. Richard was a sworn law enforcement officer, and we can only wonder what he'd have been able to do had he been allowed to carry his firearm aboard that airliner on that fateful day. Perhaps there'd have been one less crashed airliner. Sadly, we'll never know.



Additionally, Sirius, a Port Authority Bomb Detection K9 was killed on that day. Some may say they he was "just a dog", but he was also a police officer and a partner to Officer David Lim. Officer Lim made it out that day. Sirius did not.








These were some of the best, most selfless men and women that America has produced. They died trying to save others, rushing in again and again so that others might live. Never forget them. And NEVER let it happen again.


FDNY Honored Dead Law Enforcement Honored Dead
A Special Tribute to the brave officers of Port Authority