Say WA? Evergreen State ping
FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this ping list.
Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.
If you would like to send a kind word including wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for Kevin Smith to the Spokane Fire Department, you may do so through this email link which will send a message to Assistant Chief Brian Schaffner
Spokane Fire Department - Contact
Thanks to Matt Drudge for linking to this article.
Good grief. In Spokane? Dang. Maybe in Tacoma or someplace, but not Spokane?
SR.com Grinch knocks Santa out cold
Grinch knocks Santa out coldThrown object hits firefighter on truck decorated as sleigh
Kevin Smith can't remember how it happened. Dressed in a red Santa costume and fake bushy white beard, the 29-year-old Spokane firefighter planned to spend Saturday evening taking part in his union's annual Santa Run by handing candy to children and shouting plenty of ho ho hos. But his role in the long-standing tradition was cut short by someone who's bound to end up on Santa's naughty list. Smith suffered a broken nose, two black eyes and a concussion after being struck in the face by an unidentified object while riding in the back of a truck decorated as Santa's sleigh just west of St. Aloysius Church on the Gonzaga University campus. "One second I was up there waving to people, and the next minute I wasn't," Smith said. Sponsored by the local firefighters union, the Santa Run sees firefighters spend a few hours on their days off traveling through Spokane neighborhoods on a flatbed truck decorated as Santa's sleigh. Holiday music plays as Santa spreads cheer through a megaphone and gives candy to children. No one knows what hit Smith – or who threw it – and no witnesses have come forward. Smith was the only firefighter in the back of the truck when it happened about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Other volunteers realized something was wrong after they hadn't heard from Santa in a few minutes. They stopped the truck and found Smith unconscious in the back, blood pouring from his face. "It pretty much cold-cocked him," said Lt. Scott Himelspach. The firefighters had planned to be out for a couple of hours but cut the night short so Smith could tend to his injuries. Smith awoke in the back of the sleigh to his colleagues asking if he was OK. "They thought I'd spilled my hot chocolate, but then they realized it was blood," Smith said. "The rest of the night was kind of hazy." He learned his nose was broken after visiting Deaconess Medical Center. This isn't the first time the Fire Department's traditional spreading of holiday cheer has been disrupted by flying objects. Firefighters have been pelted with snowballs, bottles and even paintballs, but serious injuries like Smith's are rare, Himelspach said. The department has filed an assault report with the Spokane Police Department, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said, but, unless someone comes forward, the chances of the case being solved are slim. "Just like any un-witnessed … crime, it's extremely difficult to connect the crime up with a criminal when you don't have an eyewitness," Schaeffer said. Smith is taking a couple sick days to recover but hopes to be back for his Christmas Day shift. A firefighter for eight years, Smith said Saturday's incident won't deter him from participating in the Santa Run next year. "There are quite a few people that are angry this would happen, but we're pretty happy guys in general. We like making people happy," he said. "It's just unfortunate that this happened." |
Here's their address:
Spokane Fire Department, 44 W. Riverside Ave, Spokane, WA 99201
This is horrible? What in the world in wrong with people today?
This was just on Greta Van Susteren. Seems the only time Washington State makes the news is over something stupid and embarrassing.
