BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — One Buffalo firefighter is hospitalized and another has been suspended after an incident at The Blackthorn Restaurant & Pub.
The 7 News I-Team has confirmed with the Buffalo Fire Department that firefighter Derek Rose is in critical condition at ECMC and firefighter Richard Manley has been suspended without pay for 30 days after an incident at The Blackthorn Restaurant & Pub Saturday.
According to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, it is investigating the incident along with the Buffalo Police Department. The DA said Rose was in his Buffalo Fire Department uniform when he was hurt after the “Old Neighborhood” St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Investigators said the investigation depends on eyewitnesses and so far it’s proving to be difficult.
I’ve got a wife with a husband in the hospital now in critical, critical condition. I’ve got a mother with a son in the hospital right now in critical condition. I’ve got a firefighter — a member of this community — who helps protect all of us, whose job it is to save lives, in critical condition in the hospital right now. So far, I’m not getting a lot of help by telling me what happened. The wife wants to know what happened. The mother wants to know what happened. The fire community wants to know what happened. The community in general wants to know what happened, and John Flynn wants to know what happened.
Flynn made it a point to say whatever happened at the bar may not even rise to a level of criminality, but he needs to know what exactly happened before he makes a decision.
No charges have been filed at this time.
While Manley is out on unpaid leave, Rose is still in the hospital. A GoFundMe has been started for his family which you can find here.