BREWSTER, Ohio — The Brewster Fire Department in Stark County is getting some attention on social media for a Facebook post about alleged actions from drivers while crews worked to clear the scene of a crash.
Here was the fire department’s message as posted on Wednesday, June 7:
For all the motorists that screamed at, cursed at, and flipped the bird to our firefighters for having the road shut down at SR 241/US 30 we would like to sincerely apologize. We fully understand that your minor inconvenience on the ride home to your families far outweighs the safety of our crews and the trauma patient we were working on. We will try to do better next time.
The post also included two images from the scene of the crash, which you can see below:
Upon request for additional comments about the situation, Brewster Fire Chief Chris Colucy expanded upon the Facebook post with the following statement to 3News:
The post is to bring awareness to firefighter safety and pt safety. We have a job to do at any moments notice and scene safety is one of the most important factors when treating an injured patient. When attending to an injured person or persons we do not need any distractions while doing so. We block off roads so we can concentrate on giving the best care possible without having to worry about traffic going around the scene. It's a minor inconvenience for what is going on at that time. Again it's about firefighter and patient safety to do the job right. You hear about ff getting hit on accident scenes for whatever reason and we try to mitigate that circumstances when we can. It's easier to shut down all traffic so it's one less thing to worry about for everyone involved.”
No additional details of the crash were provided.
The post has since generated an outpouring of support with dozens upon dozens of comments. You can read some of the reaction in the Facebook comments below:
- Prayers for the victims of this accident. I'm so sorry that in today's society people only care about themselves. Thank you for your service.
- Thank God for those who serve our communities. You are appreciated!
- Thanks is not enough to make up for the disrespect shown to you and those injured people who needed you. Bless you. Thank you.
- Thanks for everything you do. Some people just don’t care anymore. But you are appreciated!
- God bless you all!! And the people that did that need to learn patience & respect!!
