An Upper Dublin Crossing Guard Injured On The Job Receives Help From Passersby

UPPER DUBLIN, PA — Bob Fry spent nearly 30 years as a Philadelphia firefighter.

The Northeast Philly native has undoubtedly helped countless individuals throughout his time with the fire service.

But on Wednesday, it was Fry himself who was on the receiving end of help after he took a nasty spill in the middle of an Upper Dublin intersection while trying to help kids get across the street in his role as part-time community crossing guard.

“I never made the middle of the intersection,” Fry said. “I don’t know what I tripped over.”

What came next was a crazy happenstance. A man wearing scrubs came over to Fry’s aid. He was one of many individuals at the scene to stop and lend a helping hand.

“He said, ‘I am a physician. I’m a critical care doctor. I will stay here with you,'” Fry recalled during an interview with Patch Thursday, the day after the incident.

Fry was eventually taken by ambulance to Abington Hospital, which is where things got even crazier. The physician assistant who came into the room to treat Fry told Fry that he had just received a call from one of his best friends – a critical care doctor who had just stopped to help an injured crossing guard. The man was curious if his friend had come across any such patient at the hospital matching that description.

The coincidence gives Fry, a man who fought burning fires for years, the chills.

‘It Overwhelmed Me’

Fry ended up receiving around 12 stitches on his face, but his injuries stopped at cuts, scrapes and bruises. No broken bones thankfully. His sense of humor never left him as doctors performed a CAT scan to check for any head injuries. The nurse said they found nothing, to which Fry jokingly replied, “I could have told you that.”

Fry is a man who preaches the virtues of volunteerism. He feels it’s important to give back to the community. When he encounters kids during his crossing guard duties, he always tells them about the importance of helping their fellow neighbor.

So when Fry himself was on the receiving end of help, he became somewhat emotional.

“It overwhelmed me,” he said. “People were doing this for me. I was always the one who helped people. It was really emotional.”

Fry is now resting at home while he recuperates.

Not His Normal Spot

Fry was helping to cross students outside of Maple Glen Elementary School when he fell. It’s not his normal spot; he was filling in for fellow crossing guard Brian Sharkey who typically works that intersection. Sharkey has been dealing with the fallout from Hurricane Ida since he and his wife lost their home in the storm. (Patch recently profiled Sharkey as he and his wife try to recover from the storm damage.).

Fry typically works the intersection outside of Fort Washington Elementary School, but that post is temporarily out of rotation since that school remains shuttered due to Ida storm damage.

Fry enjoys chatting up the students and parents while he’s on duty. He speaks to the young ones about the importance of volunteering and helping others.

He is still humbled by the fact that he was he who was on the receiving end of help on Wednesday when he fell to the ground and got pretty banged up.

“Not that we’re big important people, but we’re sort of a role model on the corner,” Fry said humbly of crossing guards like himself.

‘Incredible Story of Service’

But to others, Fry and those like him are the exact embodiment of public service.

“He has an incredible story of service,” Upper Dublin Police Chief and fellow township resident Francis Wheatley said of Fry. “For him to be a crossing guard and have that authority and command presence and make sure these kids are getting to school safe is so important.”

Crossing guards are employees of the township, and technically work under the police department.

Wheatley went to Fry’s home the evening of the incident. The two chatted and then took a photo together on Fry’s porch. Thankfully, Fry’s home was not damaged in the recent storms, other than losing a tree on the property.

That photo made its way to the police department’s Facebook page, where numerous folks posted get-well messages to Fry.

Fry didn’t know of the outpouring of support until his daughter called to tell him.

“I don’t do Facebook,” the 72-year-old said with a laugh.

Still, he was moved when he heard about all the Upper Dublin folks who were wishing him a speedy recovery.

Fry is thanking everyone involved, from the neighbors posting on social media to the doctor who stopped to render aid at the scene to the physician assistant at the hospital to the police chief. Really, anyone who has shown they care in some way.

“I don’t know how I can thank these people,” Fry said.

Wheatley is not surprised so many people showed support for Fry.

“He’s just a lovely man and we’re privileged to have him on staff with us,” the chief said.

Importance of Community

Fry says he has always done his best to instill in his own children, and others, the importance of being there for one another. That sentiment of community caring came right back to him the day he took his spill in the intersection.

“I always told people, you see somebody in trouble, help them out,” Fry said. “And that was my whole mindset. I’ve been that way all along.”

But when he fell, it was Fry who needed a hand. Thankfully, there are others like him out there, something that gives Fry hope in humanity.

“It was never me. I was always helping or jumping in,” he said. “You’ve got to jump in when people are hurting. You’ve got to do it. I was the recipient this time. I was overwhelmed.”

Despite his facial injuries, Fry’s compassion for others is on full display when he shifts the conversation from himself to Sharkey, the fellow crossing guard whose home was recently demolished in Hurricane Ida.

“I said to him, ‘Brian, what can we do for you? What do you need?’” Fry recalled after speaking to Sharkey following the devastating storms Sept. 1.

Fry ended up sending Sharkey and his wife some items to help out as they try and get back on their feet.

“Everybody was trying to help him out,” Fry said. “That’s what I do. That’s what I like doing.”

Wheatley, the police chief, said Upper Dublin is currently short-staffed on crossing guards, and anyone who may be interested in the position should contact Corrine Dorn at the police department: corrine.dorn@udpd.us.