Mini Good News | July 09, 2009 | 6 comments

Young Firefighter Saves Historic Covered Bridge Single Handedly!

source: http://kdka.com/westmoreland/Covered.Bridge.Fire.2.1077388.html

nursediesel
Junior Firefighter Rushes To Save Historic BridgeSOUTH HUNTINGDON (KDKA) ― Click to enlarge1 of 1
Ian Swank, a 15-year-old junior firefighter for the Turkeytown Volunteer Fire Department, helped save an historic covered bridge.
KDKA

A quick-thinking teenager from Westmoreland County jumped into action and helped save a 159-year-old historic bridge.

Ian Swank, 15, was at home around noon on Monday when he heard about a fire at the Bells Mills Bridge on his police scanner.

Swank, who is a junior firefighter with the Turkeytown Volunteer Fire Station, grabbed a fire extinguisher from his family's garage, put on his gear and asked his mom to drive him the few miles to the bridge.

By the time his fellow firefighters had arrived, Swank already had the flames under control.

The single-lane covered bridge, which spans Sewickley Creek between Sewickley and South Huntingdon, is one of the area's few remaining covered bridges.

Swank, who will be a sophomore at Yough High School in the fall, has been a junior firefighter for a year. He says he loves being a firefighter and helping people.

The South Huntingdon teenager told KDKA's Brenda Waters that his dream is to one day drive the truck.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Hope he gets his wish, there aren't too many of these old bridges around anymore.
Way to Go, Ian!
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6 comments // Young Firefighter Saves Historic Covered Bridge Single Handedly!

  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  

    • To those that read this site back in July:
      Over the holiday weekend Junior firefighter Ian Swank was presented with an Honorary Membership in the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society Of Pennsylvania for his efforts to extinguish a fire on the Bells Mills covered bridge. The informal ceremony was held on the covered bridge in Sewickley Township on Sunday.

    • 2 years ago
  • akamaial
  • jay_ct
  • akamaial
  • jay_ct
  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  
    • jay_ct:

      Yeah, we have towns called Red-onion, (Hempfield township), Hunker, Yukon, Youngwood, Peanut, Cereal, there are so many strange names. Most got started because of landmarks, example: turn left at the patch of red onions. Or go straight throught the turkey town to get to....
      It was because of what was seen there when you drove through, A farm raising a large number of turkeys is not easy to pass by with out knowing it.

    • 2 years ago
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