Montgomery County, MD, Fire Officials Apologize to Team after Water Incident
A Maryland baseball team was forced to call its game due to a rainout, but it wasn't because of Mother Nature.
A firefighter was blamed for the muddy mess in the outfield that forced the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts to cancel.
During batting practice, a ball went over the fence and net and struck a pickup truck in the parking lot of the Silver Spring fire station, WJLA reported.
“One of our players heard someone from the firehouse say, ‘Hey, watch out. We don't want you to get wet,’” said Aidan Driscoll, an outfielder with the Thunderbolts. “And he said, ‘I'm going to shoot the water onto the field.’ Probably two minutes later, all we saw was [a massive stream of water] basically just shooting directly onto center field.”
“I went [to the fire station] and talked to the captain, and he admitted that he did it. And he said he wanted to get our attention," said Dick O’Connor, the founder and director of the Thunderbolts.
Montgomery County Fire Rescue Spokesperson Pete Piringer said of the watering incident: “This facility and firehouse have coexisted for years. We want to apologize not only to the players and the league and the fans, but to the community at large here.”
Piringer said the department is investigating the incident and the firefighters involved.
O'Connor said some of the players and families who were at the Blair High School diamond for the game travelled from Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Fire officials wrote in statement: "We want to express our sincere apologies to the players, teams, Cal Ripken League, and all fans and families impacted by this disruption. We understand how important this venue is to the community and especially to the young athletes who look forward to these events."
