OrangeCo. Vol.FF in Critical Condition after Drill

[Guest hoss]

My prayers and thoughts are with FF Bob Brooks ' family and friends at this very difficult moment.

March 28, 2005

Firefighter collapses at drill

Volunteer hospitalized in critical condition

   

By Dave Richardson

Times Herald-Record

drichardson@th-record.com    

   

Montgomery – A volunteer firefighter is fighting for his life after apparently suffering a catastrophic brain injury during a training exercise Saturday.

   

Bob Brooks, 42, of Montgomery, a married father of five who moved to Montgomery from Long Island in the past year, collapsed during the final phase of basic firefighter training at the Orange County Fire Training Center.

 

"This one really hit home, because he's a fairly new firefighter," Montgomery fire Chief Jim Ferguson said. "This guy has real heart and real enthusiasm for the job. He loves his family, the community and his firefighter family."

 

Brooks was with other firefighters, in full protective gear, as they prepared to complete a live-burn exercise – extinguishing a fire deliberately set in a training building – when he collapsed.

 

 Witnesses and firefighters said it appeared Brooks suffered a grave brain injury, although medical details were unclear. Brooks was rushed by ambulance to the Horton campus of Orange Regional Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition.

 

Ferguson said Brooks' family and the fire department are devastated.

 

 "It was my worst nightmare come true when I got paged for this," Ferguson said.  

   

Ferguson said he heard initial calls about the incident on his police scanner and raced to the training center to find a frantic scene.  

There, firefighters and training-center staff were working desperately to save Brooks' life.

 

Brooks has been a volunteer firefighter with the Montgomery Fire Department since September, Ferguson said.

   

Montgomery firefighters made Easter baskets Saturday for Brooks' children – one girl and four boys ranging in age from 3 to 12. They also cooked an Easter dinner for the family yesterday.

   

The department was already saddened by the loss of former department President John W. Matthews, 78, who died Monday at Horton.

   

About a dozen members of the Montgomery Fire Department turned up in uniform at the hospital yesterday, offering comfort to Brooks' relatives.

   

Ferguson said his department was deciding what steps to take to help support Brooks' family as they struggle to cope with the tragedy. He said the incident would be considered a "line-of-duty" accident, qualifying Brooks and his family for certain state benefits.

   

"The important thing is to do the right thing for him and for his family," Ferguson said. "We are all a family, and we always do right by each other."

   

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