IFLODD: Firefighter Memorial


Firefighter Record

Firefighter Details

Name Bruce Spaulding
Agency Bourbonnais Fire Protection District
Rank Firefighter
Type of Firefighter Paid-On-Call (POC)
Age Range 46 to 50
Sex Male
Date of Birth 8/7/1953
Date of Death 4/26/2003
Cause of Death Fall
Nature of Death Trauma
Attribute of Death [not applicable]
Type of Duty Firehouse duties

Incident Details

Incident Name N/A
Incident City Bourbonnais
Incident State IL
Incident Date 4/26/2003 8:40
Incident Location Firehouse
Incident Attribute Firehouse accidents

Incident Summary

On Saturday, April 26, 2003, Bruce Spaulding was injured while on-duty for the Bourbonnais Fire Protection District. He died later that day at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. Spaulding was mowing the fire station’s lawn on a riding mower when the mower hit a retaining wall. Spaulding was thrown off of the mower and tumbled into a ditch where he suffered fatal injuries.

A native of Bourbonnais, Spaulding had served for 21 years with the Bradley Fire Department, before an injury forced him into early retirement. In 1994, he started the Fire/Rescue training program at the Kankakee Area Career Center, and he spent the next decade training and mentoring young firefighters. He remained a part of the cadet program for the Bradley Fire Department, and he joined the Bourbonnais Fire Protection District as Cadet Advisor in January 2000. In January 2002, his injury had improved enough that his doctors lifted their original restrictions, allowing him to return to firefighting as a paid-on call firefighter with the Bourbonnais Fire Protection District.

Citations:

Maria Waickowski, “Mower Accident Claims Illinois Firefighter,” Firehouse.com News, April 29, 2003.


Firefighter and Incident Audio

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