I am pleased to announce that Fallen Framingham Firefighter Mike Urban’s fire helmet has been returned.
It showed up in a backpack at a Middleboro firehouse. It will be handed over to the family on Saturday.
There is no word on who dropped it of, and to me that is not important.
It is also not clear if anyone is claiming the $1000 reward.
Update: The helmet has been returned. More information here
Update: If you have any information on the helmet, please contact Framingham Fire at 508-532-5930, Fire Dispatch at 508-532-5940, Framingham Police at 508-872-1212 or Middleborough Police at 508-947-1212.
Update: $1000 reward posted by the Board of Selectman in Framingham. Read more here
Framingham Firefighter Mike Urban, 57, died on January 7th after a battle with lung cancer.
Framingham Fire Department and IAFF local online
Immediately after Urban’s funeral service, Urban’s helmet was stolen.
Framingham firefighter Tim Campion stands with the helmet of Mike Urban, a fellow firefighter who died of cancer, as his casket is placed on a 1970 Framingham fire engine for the procession to St. Stephen's Church for the Jan. 11 funeral. Credit: Allan Jung/for Daily News and Wicked Local
What? You have got to be kidding me right?
Delaney said the helmet ended up in his son Ben’s car after the funeral. Ben Delaney had to pull over in Middleborough later that day when his car broke down. He called some friends to take him to a friend’s house about a mile away, his father said.
About 10 minutes later, Delaney said his son got a call from another friend.
“He was asking if he was OK, because it turned out his (car’s) windows were all smashed,” he said.
What is this world coming to?
I certainly hope they can find this helmet and return it to Urban’s Widow.
I can’t think of too many things that might serve as mementos of our lives as firefighters that are even close to having the same value as our fire helmets. The helmet should be a family heirloom showing the service of our fallen brother.
More coverage:
Fallen firefighter’s helmet stolen from family: MyFoxBOSTON.com
The other day I was surfing the internet…this is not uncommon at all! I was going from site to site. When I get going I might end up with 5 windows open with 10 or 15 tabs each which is not very easy to keep track of.
However, on this one particular day I was reading about one department going through competency drills for firefighting (some call them evaluated evolutions). Unfortunately I cannot recollect the site where I was looking, but it isn’t detrimental to my point either.
While I was perusing the site something caught my eye. The t-shirt that one of the evaluators was wearing was eerily familiar. I recognized the shirt and instantly felt a connection. I thought to myself…”Self, I have that shirt”! The shirt is one of my favorites because it is a long sleeve t-shirt of which I do not have many. Can anyone guess the color? That’s right it is navy blue like most of my t-shirts (dept. shirts excluded although they are navy blue as well). The shirt spells out FDNY on the back and is the memorial shirt for Daniel Pujdak.
I will understand if some of you are wondering who Daniel Pujdak is, but everyone should already know. Daniel died in the Line of Duty. He was 23 years old. You can read all about Daniel at DanielPujdak.com.
Firefighter Daniel F. Pujdak, Ladder Company 146
With regret, the Department announces the death of Firefighter Daniel F. Pujdak, L-146 (appointed September 25, 2005) which occurred on Thursday, June 21, 2007, as result of injuries sustained while operating at Brooklyn Box 247, transmitted at 1655 hours on June 21, 2007.
The profit from the sales of the shirt I bought go towards a scholarship in his name.
We always talk about how our fallen brothers are not forgotten. That t-shirt has helped me remember a fallen brother that I otherwise would not have known and might have forgotten. I have other similar shirts like the Fathers Day LODD (Ford, Fahey, Downing), 343 on 9/11, and Charleston 9 for examples while I am not shuffling through shirts in my closet.
My point is that we must remember the sacrifices of our fallen brothers. We must learn from their stories and tell those stories to the next generation.
I assure you that I could ask my brothers at the fire station if they know who Daniel Pujdak is and they would give me a blank stare. I have talked about him before of what I know and tried to tell the story just like I do for a lot of LODD’s when I am given the chance.
I almost always get a comment when I wear that t-shirt. Usually I get “who is that”? I tell the story again…
We must never forget!
Below is a slideshow of Daniel’s life and funeral. Never Forget!
Below is a bonus video of Daniel’s body being escorted in an engine during his funeral. The video is short and ends when the cameraman puts the camera down to salute the fallen firefighter. Never Forget!
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