17 Greenwich Firefighters Honored For Response To Crash On I-95

Information via First Selectman's Community Newsletter

GREENWICH, CT — Seventeen Greenwich firefighters have been honored for their response to a multi-vehicle collision that injured three of their own on June 27.

First Selectman Fred Camillo said in his most recent weekly newsletter that the firefighters will be honored as "Employees of the Month" throughout October.

Overall, five people were seriously injured in the early morning hours of June 27 when a tractor-trailer struck a fire truck on Interstate-95 southbound, according to the Greenwich Fire Department.

Around 12:40 a.m., first responders were called to a rollover crash involving a tractor-trailer on I-95 near exit 4, Greenwich Assistant Fire Chief Charlie Lubowicki told Patch at the time, noting firefighters successfully extricated the driver from the cab.

Firefighters from Engine 1 had set up on the right side of the highway by the exit 4 off-ramp to protect the scene; they put out cones and flares and had their lights on, Lubowicki said.

Around 1:10 a.m., firefighters returned to the truck to wait for CT-DEEP to arrive and handle a fuel leak.

While the firefighters were waiting in the truck, a tractor-trailer struck their apparatus.

"The impact moved Engine 1 more than 130 feet with Lt. Jason Jeracka, Firefighter Forrest Edelman and Firefighter Ellery McFarland all inside. Jason and Ellery saw that Forrest was trapped in his seat and even though they had been injured in the collision, they immediately began trying to get him free," Camillo wrote in his newsletter. "Fortunately, Lt. Steven Whittaker, Firefighter Leighton White and Firefighter Roscoe Kent Fawcett were able to get their tools and safely extricate Forrest and Deputy Fire Marshal Steven Cacace, who is also a trained paramedic, were able to render aid to the injured including the driver of the truck and the driver of the other vehicle that was hit."

The crash totaled the fire truck.

Camillo said the Greenwich Fire Department "performed exceptionally" under "adverse conditions" on June 27.

"We owe our first responders in Town a great debt of gratitude," Camillo added.

It's customary for the town to display a photo of the employee or employees of the month in the Greenwich Town Hall lobby.

The honorees are:

• Firefighter Gary O. Benson
• Acting Deputy Chief Ryan Brainerd
• Firefighter Stephen Brennan
• Firefighter Greg Brown
• Deputy Fire Marshal Steven Cacace
• Firefighter Justin Culler
• Firefighter Forrest Edelman
• Fireighter Roscoe Kent Fawcett
• Lt. Jason Jeracka
• Firefighter Miklos Lengyel
• Firefighter Ellery McFarland
• Firefighter Spencer Padget
• Lt. Michael Taubl
• Lt. Michael Varanelli
• Firefighter Leighton White
• Lt. Steven Whittaker
• Lt. Michael Wilson