This has not been ruled as a Line of Duty Death as of
yet-but we do want to share this story with you. On July 30, 2010, Fire
Lieutenant Patrick Nader, 23, of the West Newton FD was responding to a call
from his family's home on Mt. Pleasant Road, just outside the borough, when he
crashed into a telephone pole to avoid a construction zone near Bible Alliance
Church in Turkeytown. The young firefighter, who had dislocated two verte brae
and was left a quadriplegic, underwent a number of surgeries. “He
accepted his injury very well, more than I believe I could have at that age,”
his mother said. Lt. Nader, spent five months in the hospital and four
weeks in a rehabilitation center recovering from that spinal cord injury
he sustained on July 30, 2010.
Sadly, Lt. Patrick Nader died unexpectedly last Thursday
morning at age 25. “I wasn't ready for it to happen,” Jackie Nader said, adding
that her son seemed to be good health. “It was no different a day than any
other.” The family believes his death may be the result of complications from
his responding crash injuries. They won't know for sure until autopsy results
are returned in eight to 12 weeks, his mother said. His death was almost two
years to the day that he returned home from rehabilitation, she said. He missed
his privacy and being able to spend time alone with his friends, said his
father, Joe Nader. “We had to be his parents, his caregivers and his friends,”
he said. But when asked about the difficulty of the constant care, Joe Nader
didn't hesitate: “We did not mind that; we could've done that forever.”
The side effects from such a traumatic injury can be
ongoing, including pressure sores, respiratory problems or blood clots, even
when the person is in a stable condition, said an assistant professor in the
health science department at California University of Pennsylvania. “Only a
family who's taking care of someone really understands the impact,” she said.
“I can't even imagine what the family is going through.” A lawsuit filed on
Patrick Nader's behalf in November 2010 claims the state Department of
Transportation was negligent in safely operating a work zone and did not follow
proper flagging procedures, according to court documents. The Naders declined
comment on the lawsuit. PennDOT has denied the allegations. A trial date has
not been set.
LONG
ISLAND (NY) FIRE APPARATUS:
Occasionally we'll pass on information about a cool book-and this would
be one of those times. This new book "Long Island Fire Apparatus-The
Classics" features some really unique fire apparatus from the Long
Island, NY area - now available from Chief Bob Vaccaro. You have
probably read Bob’s column’s and have seen his photos in Fire Rescue Magazine,
Fire Apparatus Journal, Firefighter Nation, JEMS, Wildland Firefighter, and
Public Safety Communications. This is the second in his series about Long
Island Fire Apparatus. This new book highlights some of the really
unusual fire apparatus that was delivered to fire departments in Nassau
and Suffolk Counties from the 1920’s thru the 1980’s. The book
has 76 pages with 141 color and black and white photos.
Also available is Bob's first book. “Long Island Fire
Apparatus, The Modern Era. That book is 188 pages and over 200 color photos of
fire apparatus that has been delivered over the past five years to Long Island
Fire Departments.
