Remembering three fallen heroes

Today we pause to remember three fallen Lancaster County heroes thirty years after they made the ultimate sacrifice.\
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Bausman Fire Company (Station 6-1) firefighter Jeffrey W. Jones, age 18, and St. Joseph Hospital (Medic 1) paramedics Bruce Ditlow, age 24, and Kevin Weatherlow, age 23, died on that beautiful June Saturday morning, June 13, 1981. Another firefighter, Mark Rhinier, age 17, of the Wheatland Fire Company (Station 6-9), also was overcome by the fumes but survived.\
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The responders were called to the scene of an abandoned septic tank in the School Lane Hills section of Lancaster Township in June 1981. An 8-year-old boy had been emptying grass clippings into the tank when he accidentally dropped the lawn mowers grass-catcher attachment into it. He climbed down to retrieve it and was overcome by poison gas.\
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After arriving on the scene, Paramedic Ditlow climbed into the tank first and Paramedic Weatherlow followed with an air tank that he tried to share with Paramedic Ditlow. But the poison gasses from the decaying grass rendered them both unconscious.\
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Firefighter Rhinier was the first one sent through the tank’s 18-inch opening to rescue the two paramedics. Firefighter Jones followed Firefighter Rhinier in. But the two firefighters ran out of air as they worked feverishly to help the fallen paramedics. The two could not lift the fallen medics quickly enough to the top of the grass pile.\
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Firefighter Jones died. So did Paramedics Ditlow and Weatherlow, whom were best friends since high school.\
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Firefighter Rhinier had collapsed on a pile of grass clippings in the pit. According to other rescuers, he stayed conscious long enough to grab a rope and be lifted out of the tank.\
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The boy that they were trying to rescue, was safely removed but suffered some brain injuries. \
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Please take a moment today to remember the fallen.\
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For LTFD’s tribute visit: http://www.ltfd.org/artman/publish/Recent_Incidents_2/Jeff_Jones_LODD_30th_Anniversary.shtml\
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