ShopRite Awards Firefighters Free Month of Groceries

Anybody driving up to of Warminster Sunday morning may have thought something terrible had happened, considering the firetrucks lined along the front driveway.

In fact, the exact opposite was occurring inside, as store owner Joe Cowhey presided over a ceremony thanking volunteer firefighters Joe Velten, Pete Croak and Tim Lambert for their lifesaving performance during a fire at on May 19. Cowhey gave each volunteer free groceries for month, up to $500.

"We certainly don't expect something like this," said Croak, battalion chief for of the Warminster Fire Department. "But it is a great honor, and it is nice for them to do this for us, especially since it doesn't happen that often."

According to Croak, he was the first on the scene at the apartment fire. He approached the front door, which was engulfed in heavy smoke, when he was told that everybody had been evacuated. Moments later, someone on the radio reported that more people were in fact trapped on the third floor.

"I went into the building and found a grandmother, grandfather and two 9-year-old girls in a back bedroom," Croak said. "We brought a ladder around back, Joe (Velten, of the Hartsville Fire Company), entered the room from the window, and we got everybody out to Tim (Lambert, of the Warminster Fire Department), who helped them down the ladder and to safety."

The small ceremony drew an appearance by Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, who gave each firefighter a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition.

"We are all just one phone call away from needing them to come to our rescue," said Fitzpatrick. "It's important we take the time to recognize how valuable they are."