This afternoon Assistant Chiefs Rick Hammerschmidt, Scott Taylor and I will go to Melrose Minnesota to attend a visitation for Kyle Weisbrich a 22 year firefighter. Kyle was killed while responding to the fire station for a call. Responding to the fire station in a personal vehicle and responding to calls in a fully marked fire vehicle rank as the number 3 cause of firefighter deaths annually. Fighting fires is a dangerous business on so many levels, but this kind of death is particularly tragic in that it could have been easily prevented.
I didn’t know Kyle personally, but I was once in Kyle’s same place as a new firefighter 20 years ago, eagerness needs to be tempered with discipline and care. Initial reports indicate that Kyle failed to stop completely at a stop sign and collided with a car in the cross traffic. A split second decision can be the difference between life and death. Kyle was on a motorcycle and wasn’t wearing a helmet. This is a line of duty death, as Kyle was responding to a fire call.
I feel deeply for Kyle’s family and the firefighters from Melrose Fire. I also feel a deep sadness for the person who couldn’t avoid hitting Kyle and that person’s family members. The impacts on everyone involved will last a lifetime. Last night at training myself and my command staff met with all of our firefighters to remind them or their responsibilities when driving in their personal vehicles to the fire station and driving fire apparatus to emergency scenes. We have very specific policies in place regarding driving behavior, but this sad event was another opportunity to revisit the topic.
This is a grim reminder to all of us that our decisions can have grave consequences for ourselves and other around us. Please drive safely for your own sake and everyone else’s.
Original post by George Esbensen and software by Elliott Back
