Huntingdon Valley fire station visited by 1991 accident victim, company welcomes new firefighters

The Huntingdon Valley Fire Company said Vernon Freeman (pictured above) visited the fire station on Thursday, June 6, to thank the volunteers who saved his life in 1991.

Freeman was involved in an accident on Philmont Avenue that left him trapped in his vehicle, officials said. Chief Ted Middleman said it was one of the worst accident scenes he’s ever worked. Jeff Kramer, a firefighter in the shift program, also volunteered to help with the rescue at the time.

“Mr. Freeman stopped by to see if anyone from his rescue crew happened to be at the firehouse so he could thank them for saving his life. Ted and Jeff happened to be there and had their picture taken with him. So if you want to know why we do what we do, Mr. Freeman is the answer,” the company said in a Facebook post.

In related news, the company recently welcomed the following firefighters to its shift schedule: Bryan Armentrout, Matthew Chischnijak, Henry Conoly, Kevin Henry, Andrew Hoffman, Jeff Kramer, Kevin Morrissy, Ryan Morrissy and Ryan Teefy.

From their announcement:

The shift program allows us to supplement our volunteer firefighters to provide additional manpower and improve our response times. We have two shifts, 6am-6pm and 6pm-midnight. Our firefighters on the shift program are fully qualified, experienced, vetted and receive a salary for each shift. This program is a great way to save money for the taxpayers of Lower Moreland by supplementing our volunteer base and thus not having to resort to hiring full-time firefighters.

The company also announced that Hunter Gorski (pictured above and below), a member of the day shift, has completed his certification as an emergency medical technician.

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Photos: HVFC