The Comstock (MI) Fire and Rescue Department made the following Facebook report June 14, 2025:
On December 12, 2024, Comstock Fire & Rescue was struck—literally and emotionally—while responding to an incident on the I-94 on-ramp during treacherous winter conditions. An out-of-control box truck slid into our scene, injuring two of our members (thankfully with only minor injuries) and damaging three of our vehicles—one of which was totaled.
One of the damaged engines was more than just a piece of equipment—it was a symbol of legacy. This engine had been part of a purchasing process led by our late Chief, Ed Switalski. It was ready for its first inspection when Ed was tragically struck and killed in the line of duty on I-94 on June 14, 2017. After his passing, several heartbroken members made the trip Pierce Mfg in Wisconsin to complete the inspection on Ed’s behalf. During that visit, the manufacturer honored him by placing a copy of Ed’s obituary inside the driver’s door. Our members also signed the inside of that door. In a final tribute, a memorial decal was placed on both sides of the engine.
Though this part of the story hasn’t been widely shared, that very engine—“Ed’s engine”—was the first vehicle struck on December 12. It was positioned ahead of a Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office cruiser (also damaged) and our now-totaled engine, which was the one captured on dashcam. In front of the totaled engine was the last of our department’s support vehicles, which was also struck. Additionally, Mcdonald’s Towing wrecker was damaged.
As shown in the photos, the point of impact on “Ed’s engine” was directly behind the driver’s door—the same door that held Ed’s obituary.
We truly believe Chief Ed was with us that day, just as he has been every day since his passing—watching over us, protecting our dedicated members, our fellow responders, and the public.
In a poignant twist of timing, the final repairs to Ed’s engine were inspected and approved at Pierce’s repair center just days before the 8th anniversary of his passing. The same copy of the obituary has been moved to the new door of this engine. The repaired engine is scheduled to arrive back in the community next week.
Gone, but never forgotten. Thank you, Chief Ed.
Watch dash cam footage of the totaled engine (not “Ed’s Engine”) here: https://youtu.be/DfeTjdF1C0Y?si=qPD5vVPHrHPJJpet
According to officials from Narberth Ambulance, a new, fully equipped ambulance costs approximately $500,000.
“It’s my privilege to represent our organization and our board of directors in offering our profound gratitude for the generosity of the commissioners of the township,” said Michael Brafman, president of Narberth Ambulance. “The ambulance that’s sitting behind us with the bow on it represents one of the largest capital expenditures that we make as an organization.”
Brafman said they spend a lot of time scrutinizing their budgets to get the best vehicles on the roads.
“When you guys received the ARPA grant, I’m sure there were a great many needs in the community that you considered. We are very appreciative that you found merit in our organization and our cause,” Brafman said. “We’re excited to have this truck on the street. We’re excited to serve this community.”
Several Lower Merion Township Commissioners were on hand for the event, including Anthony Stevenson, Andy Gavrin, Louis Rossman, Scott Zelov and Gilda Kramer.
Narberth Ambulance serves Lower Merion, Narberth, Conshohocken, West Conshohocken, Haverford Township, Lansdowne and Ridley Township. Last year, they answered over 16,000 calls.
Brafman said new ambulances represent one of the largest capital expenses they make as an organization.
John Mick, chief of operations for Narberth Ambulance, said the money to purchase the new ambulance couldn’t have come at a better time.
“This is about $370,000 worth of effort just for the empty vehicle; put in the rest of the equipment, we have about $500,000 total, so it is one of our largest purchases, and we probably make one about every year or year and a quarter with a two and a half year wait to get one.
The new ambulance features safety harnesses in the back, allowing crews to be strapped in while still having the ability to work on a patient. There is also a new lift system for the stretchers, so the crews no longer have to lift patients.
Having begun in 1944, Narberth Ambulance celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2024.
For more information on Narberth Ambulance, please visit their website at www.narberthambulance.org.
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Posted: Jun 15, 2025
Jun. 13—Eighty-eight years after the Chehalis Fire Department purchased it and 48 years after it was retired from service, Chehalis Fire Engine 2 is back on the road.
“It’s a big part of our history,” retired Chehalis firefighter Jerry Boes said of the engine.
Purchased new by the Chehalis Fire Department in 1937, the American LaFrance Fire Engine, aptly named Engine 2, was the second motorized engine in the Chehalis Fire Department’s history.
The engine was still in service as the Chehalis Fire Department’s third-out engine when Boes joined the department in 1976.
A year later, in 1977, the department received a 1976 American LaFrance class A engine and officially retired the 1937 American LaFrance from service.
It was surplused due to a lack of storage space and ended up as a static display at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, Boes recalled.
While the fairgrounds staff was supposed to maintain the engine while it was on display, it sustained significant damage and fell into disrepair, with Chehalis Firefighters Union Local 2510 IAFF formally requesting ownership of the engine in 1980.
The Lewis County Board of Commissioners at the time agreed to transfer ownership of the engine to the firefighters union, and the engine was returned to the Park Street Fire Station in Chehalis.
Engine 2 briefly returned to service in the aftermath of the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980, Boes recalled.
“They actually took it out of the firehouse and started using it to pump, to wash off all of the ash,” Boes said. “And somehow, I don’t know how it happened, who did it, whatever, but one of the fenders got bashed in on it, and my understanding was that they didn’t really know how to operate the pump and stuff. And so, the firemen realized that we really needed to try and rescue this truck.”
When longtime Chehalis Fire Department Captain George Benton died in December 2012 at the age of 94, his estate agreed to help with the restoration of Engine 2.
Former Chehalis police officer Rick Silva and a crew of Chehalis firefighters began working to restore the engine in 2014.
Silva was in the process of reassembling the engine when he died unexpectedly on June 18, 2015, due to complications during a surgery to correct a hip injury sustained during a struggle with a shoplifter who was resisting arrest in February 2015, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
After Silva’s death, the dismantled Engine 2 was returned to the Park Street Fire Station in Chehalis, where it sat untouched for about 10 years, until Chehalis Firefighter Adam Miller briefly moved it out into the street while cleaning out the old station.
“The building is just, you know, kind of falling apart, and (the engine) had some pieces and some sheetrock kind of stuck all over it, and I was like, ‘Hey, we just need to get it out and just kind of pick it up a little bit,” Miller said.
Ray MacDonald, of Olympia Firehouse 5, a nonprofit organization of retired firefighters that work to preserve and restore historic fire equipment, happened to be driving by while Miller was cleaning up Engine 2in the roadw
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