(Photo by Kimberly Finnigan)
Bigar Clarifies Details Regarding Treatment of Two Firefighters
CLEARFIELD – The Lawrence Township firefighter who was seriously injured while battling a house fire Tuesday has been identified by Clearfield County Emergency Services.
The township firefighter was identified as Jeff Buck, 18. Buck “remains hospitalized in UPMC Altoona and is with family,” said Joe Bigar, director of emergency services for Clearfield County. “I haven’t heard of any change in his condition.”
At approximately 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Buck was among a contingent of firefighters from the township fire department who responded as mutual aid to a third-alarm structure fire in the 700 block of Daisy Street, Clearfield, according to previous GantDaily reports.
According to previous GantDaily reports, Buck was one of three township firefighters who were trapped when a porch roof collapsed while crews battled a house fire. Buck was seriously injured and transported to UPMC Altoona.
A spokesperson at UPMC Altoona has confirmed that Buck remains in serious condition at this time.
The other two township firefighters who were trapped while battling the house fire were “looked at,” at the scene, said Bigar. So far as his knowledge, he said these two firefighters weren’t treated at the Clearfield Penn Highlands Hospital for their injuries. Bigar said he didn’t have the firefighters’ names for release.
A “critical incident stress management meeting” will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at Third Ward, according to Bigar. It is open for any first responder who was impacted by the Daisy Street fire.
A gofundme page was started for Buck. Its creator writes: “I’m starting this local hero’s donation for a young man named Jeff Buck. I don’t know him personally, but I would like to take a minute to recognize this young man.”
“I recently found out that Jeff is only 18 [years old] and just starting to live his life. [He] has a bigger part of his life on the way of course – that’s a baby,” the gofundme page creator writes.
“I’m doing this to help a young local, brave firefighter, hoping we can all pull through together as a community and help this young man with medical bills and upcoming expenses.”
The creator continued: “Anything helps. Prayers to you Jeff and your family and close friends; may God bless you in your journey to recovery.”
At press time, the gofundme page showed $1,920 in donations and 472 total shares.
