New Trenton Firefighter Hits the Ground Running

Trenton recently hired three new firefighters using grant money awarded in December 2012.

Chief Bruce Vick of the Trenton Fire Department said the new firefighters would help provide better service to the community.

“We’re going to have more manpower on the scene,” Vick said.

Trenton’s new firefighters are Chris Green and Anthony Damiani of Trenton and Joe Jergovich of Rockwood.

At least one of the newbies has had an extremely dangerous first week on the job.

Green, a graduate of Trenton High School, was involved in three major emergency situations during his first three shifts.

Vick said Green was thought to have been exposed to a life threatening illness, participated in extinguishing a hazardous materials fire at the former McLouth Steel property and assisted in extricating and reviving a Grosse Ile employee who was buried alive.

Green eluded injury in all three incidents. After tests were performed at Oakwood Southshore Medical Center, it was found that Green had not been exposed to a life threatening illness.

“In his short career here he’s been possibly exposed to, we know now he wasn’t, a life threatening illness through contact with a patient,” Vick said. “After the hospital did tests on him they found out that it wasn’t the illness that thought they were treating him for.”

Vick did not say the name of the illness.

Vick said Green was instrumental in reviving James Farrell, a Grosse Ile Public Works employee who was involved in a cave-in while attempting to fix a broken water main on Jan. 24. Farrell died days later at Henry Ford hospital in Detroit.

“He actually made a very good save on the guy, even though he did pass away later,” Vick said. “He gave him that second chance at life.”

The grant will allow the Trenton Fire Department to have a full staff, which the department has gone without since 2002.

Vick said after the two years is up and the grant money has been spent the transition back to a smaller staff won’t be a good one.

“It won’t be a smooth transition,” Vick said.

The additional manpower was made possible by a recently attained grant in the amount of $736,410. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant will allow Vick to hire at least six fire fighters for at least two years.

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