Chief Harry Grim of Haycock Fire Company No. 1 and his son, Harry Grim IV, will never forget Sept. 1, 2021. Nor will they forget a happier date – July 19 of this year. The first was a night of near tragedy and the second one of triumph, the two connected inexorably in their minds.
On the first night the fire chief stood in the soaking rains Hurricane Ida was hurling at Main Street in Sellersville and peered through borrowed field glasses as a rescue raft bearing eight people ran wild in the dangerous swirling and rapid waters of Branch Creek.
He watched as the raft disappeared behind a building. It held three firefighters, one of them the younger Grim, three men from Bucks County’ s Special Operations Team and two unidentified men they had rescued.
“The streams were at levels I had never seen. It was dark and I had no idea what was happening. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life,” said Chief Grim, who has devoted 20 years of his own life to the volunteer fire company.
Later, the younger Grim documented what he called a “Mayday situation” on the company’s Facebook page. He wrote, “We were uncontrollably swept away in the swift current and all thrown from that raft upon impact of something underwater. It became very apparent how much we look out for each other as we all scrambled to help each other back into the raft. Each member of the crew stayed committed and calm in the face of uncertainty. We didn’t know what was about to happen and it did not look good at all for our crew.”
The raft was eventually pulled to safety and the men saved by members of the marine unit of Delaware Valley Fire Company of Erwinna.
On the second of those two memorable nights Chief Grim watched proudly as his son and five others received Medals of Valor presented by the Bucks County Chiefs and Firefighters Association.
Haycock firefighters receiving the medals were Grim, Bryan Eusterbrock and Richard Babb. The three from Bucks County’s Special Operations Unit were James Chevous, Matthew Chirik and Michael Stellate.
The association meets at firehouses on a rotating basis and this ceremony took place at the Midway Fire Company in Lahaska.
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