Bill Rettew
Daily Local News, West Chester, Pa.
(TNS)
Oct. 23—UWCHLAN — A firefighter was killed Friday night while in the line of duty and as of Sunday night, his longtime girlfriend, also a firefighter, was hospitalized and still unconscious at Paoli Hospital.
West Whiteland Fire Company's Colin Reedy died when the personal vehicle he was riding in struck a tree while responding to a call during a downpour around 9 p.m. on Route 100 in Uwchlan Township.
As of Sunday night, Emily Gindele, who was admitted to the hospital in critical but stable condition, was still unconscious and unaware of the accident.
She has "a long road ahead of her" to recovery, according to West Whiteland Fire Company Lt. Mike McGovern.
Firefighters and family visit Gindele and as a reminder, her fire helmet sits in her hospital room.
West Whiteland Fire Chief Kevin Miller talked about the tragedy.
"It's something you never get used to," he said. "They are part of our family."
The tragedy brings firefighters closer together, Miller said.
"We will make sure we all make it through this tragedy," he said. "We are a close-knit group, with something like this bringing the value of our togetherness to an extreme high."
Firefighters at the West Whiteland station were responding to a call as Miller spoke by phone to a reporter.
"We will be all right," he said. "We are still out there serving the community."
Lt. McGovern said that firefighting is a "purpose-driven" occupation. About 63 volunteers work at the fire company.
McGovern noted that "We Can, We Will, We Must" is inscribed on every vehicle the fire company runs.
"We believe in helping the community," McGovern said. "The fire service is built to be resilient, take a punch, come together and keep serving the community.
"We are definitely hurting and it's heartbreaking. Times like these force us to remember that next time isn't always going to happen."
Lt. Craig Rowe talked about the couple.
He said that Reedy and Gindele are the most genuine people, pure-hearted and were fire company members for all the right reasons.
"You could tell that they wanted to do something for more than just themselves," Rowe said. "They were two peas in a pod."
McGovern said that Reedy was a very genuine young man. He also said that Reedy was eager to learn, was optimistic and had a sunny aura around him.
The last Chester County line of duty death was Capt. Chris Good, of Goodwill Fire Company of West Chester. He died on Nov. 21, 2012, of a heart attack less than 24 hours after working at a house fire in West Goshen Township. He was 36 years old.
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