CLEARFIELD – One year ago, on a cold, snowy morning, a young man answered the call for help, as a family’s home and worldly possessions were burning.
On March 3, 2015, 18-year-old Jeffrey Scott Buck Jr., was seriously injured as he fought a fully-involved structure fire on Daisy Street in Clearfield Borough.
As Buck and members of the Lawrence Township, Clearfield Borough along with other local fire departments battled the fire, conditions became too dangerous and interior crews were called out of the building.
As Buck attempted to get out of the building, the porch roof of the house suddenly collapsed, trapping Buck under the rubble. Buck was rescued from under the fallen debris by his fellow firefighters and rushed to the hospital.
On March 9, 2015, Buck succumbed to his injuries and passed away. As firefighters from all over the state gather to honor Buck on the one-year anniversary of his death, plans are in the works for a memorial, not only for Buck, but also for other fallen firefighters.
“It’s going to be built for Buck, but we’re looking to make more general,” Jeremy Ruffner of Lawrence Township Fire Company said. “We’re still not exactly sure what we’re looking to do and we’re still in the design phase.”
Ruffner said the department has recently purchased a piece of property adjacent to Lawrence Township’s Mill Road fire hall and plans to build the memorial there, once the designs and plans have been completed.
Ruffner said the departments have had a few drawings and estimates from contractors, but no final plans have been decided at this point.
“We’re going to be looking for donations for the construction, but we aren’t going to begin approaching businesses and potential donors until we have something more concrete.”
He said the fire department is hoping to have the memorial completed this year, but said a lot will depend on the availability of contractors to do the work and the cost of the project.
For more information, e-mails can be sent to lawrencetwpvolfireco@gmail.com or visit Lawrence Township’s Facebook page.