THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY:A FAIR QUESTION TO ASK
Sunday, July 23, 2023
Dorothy Philbin | Columnist
GLOUCESTER CITY NJ (July 23, 2023)--Time and time again CNBNews has reported that getting information from the Gloucester City police and fire departments is worse than pulling teeth. However, it was posted on the fire department's Facebook page on July 12, 2023, that, the day before, they rescued a teenage boy from Little Timber Creek. The 14-year-old fell into the creek from the train tracks on the Gloucester City side of the Gloucester City-Brooklawn border.
CNBNews graphic fileSo, who was first on the scene? Not Gloucester City Fire and/or EMS. Not Brooklawn Police. The first on the scene was Chief 7 from Westville. His name was not given. He verified that the teen was holding onto a pole in the creek. Westville's marine unit was put into the water downstream. Next on the scene was Bellmawr's Dive Team. Then came Brooklawn's police.And finally, Gloucester City with their Swiftwater 5 team arrived, and it was put into the water. The boy was rescued and evaluated by EMTs. It was determined that he was unharmed and released.This story might sound familiar. April, 2022 a woman drove her car into the Delaware River, at Freedom Pier, two blocks from the Squad 51 firehouse. Gloucester City Police and civilians were both on the scene simultaneously, but who was missing? Our fire department. It was reported that the police kept yelling "where's the fire department?" Eventually, they showed up. The excuse they gave was that the men were training in Westville.Think about that for a minute. Every fireman and EMT in the city was somewhere else and no one seemed to know that they were missing or where they had gone.A year before almost the same scenario occurred. On July 12, 2021 a woman was spotted in the Delaware River near the Northwind Schooner, once again just two blocks from the Squad 51 fire house. A press release from the police department stated a 911 call was received by Gloucester City Police and the Fire Department around 10:30 AM stating a woman was seen floating in distress near the North Wind Schooner at Freedom Pier.Police spokesperson Lt. Jason Flood, said Police Officer Michael Becker was the first to arrive at the scene. He saw the victim hanging precariously to a rope that was attached to the schooner. Her face was barely above the water. Read further.
The public has a RIGHT TO KNOW!