DELCO SALUTE
FALLEN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS HONORED:
Upper Darby Patrol Officer Kevin Donohue salutes the stanchion for Officer Dennis McNamara, Upper Darby police, who died in the line of duty Jan. 30, 2002. He is one of 43 Officers in Delaware County who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
UPPER PROVIDENCE » Hundreds of police officers from around Delaware County and as far as Lancaster joined survivors of the fallen heroes for the 24th Annual Day of Remembrance at Rose Tree Park. Last year’s event was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Raindrops did not deter the solemn duty of remembering and honoring the 43 police law enforcement who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect the residents of Delaware County. In a moving ceremony, officers placed the uniform hat of each officer next to the stanchion bearing his name.
Two of the 43 names on the law enforcement monument belong to police officers who were both at the same incident, which led to their line of duty deaths.
Chester City officer Lawrence J. Fiorelli and Cpl. Thomas O. Pilkington were both at the horrific Eastern Rubber Reclaiming Co. blaze, known as the Wade Dump fire, under the Commodore Barry Bridge on Feb. 2, 1978. Both died before their time.
A judicial authority determined in their cases that their illnesses were related to the toxic disposal site and their subsequent deaths were ruled line of duty deaths, said Thomas Worrilow, past president of the Delaware County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, which runs the memorial.
Worrilow was a corporal with Chester City police that day and he recalled going to the blaze to assist. “Fifty-five gallon dumps were exploding and taking off like rockets. There was literally fire everywhere,” he said. Smoke from the fire obscured the Commodore Barry Bridge, which loomed overhead.
But what was so insidious about that fire were the thousands of barrels of toxic liquids illegally stored in the tire dump. Two hundred first responders arrived that day, but no one told them of the danger that was in the building and what might be under the ground.
“This was unknown to the first responders,” said Worrilow. “But more than a dozen state, federal and city officials were aware of this toxic disposal site.”
Ten months before, federal investigators had discovered 20,000 barrels and 20 tank trucks hidden with chemicals and solvents.
Besides the exploding barrels, the first inkling Worrilow had of the toxic stew was when he noticed the water running off the property was a reddish purple color and if you stepped on the
ground you would sink into the mud.
Within an hour, first responders were being taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation.
That night, when Worrilow went home, he left his soggy work shoes outside.
“Fortunately I did that, because the next morning my Bates police rubber soled shoes were shriveled up like prunes and had to be discarded,” he said.
Within 10 years, at least 21 of the first responders had been diagnosed with different types of cancers and strange illnesses, Worrilow said. Most were in their 20s to 40s and 11 had died. Over the next 22 years, 45 individuals became sick with a variety of different diseases and 28 had died.
Worrilow said the foundation has been petitioned by a number of families of the officers who have died from this exposure, who all want the names of their loved ones on the memorial. The foundation’s inclusion committee investigated
those requests; however, unfortunately, there were no records to be found of which officers were working on that particular day or what their assignments
were.
“There is no way to determine any link, however remote, for the men and women who were at this fire scene,” Worrilow said. Families
provided anecdotal information, which unfortunately cannot be collaborated.
Faced with this dilemma, the board of directors agreed on an all-inclusive plaque for all deceased victims of the Wade Dump, identified and unidentified. That plaque was unveiled Wednesday and reads in part:
“In the decades that followed, dozens of life-threatening illnesses and deaths occurred to Chester City First Responders, where clear evidence pointed directly to the exposure of deadly carcinogens from the WADE DUMP fire.”
The plaque notes since this fire, federal legislation has established improved protocols for the disposal of these hazardous materials for the safety of the public and of first responders.
It concludes: “To the surviving family and friends of these brave heroes, please know in your hearts that your loved ones will Never Be Forgotten and will forever be remembered here at Rose Tree Park.”
Family members for a number of officers were in attendance, one was Joe Costa of Aston who was there to remember his brother Officer Edward Wehe, 57, who was a seven-year veteran of the Marcus Hook police and a 15-year veteran of the Delaware County Park Police who died in the line of duty Nov. 5, 2013.
Wehe suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after responding to a protest at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility.
“We miss him so much, we looked up to him,” said Costa, who attended the event with Wehe’s daughter and grandchildren. “He served 25 years as a police officer in the Navy and as soon as he retired there he was a police officer again. He was always helping people. He was such an inspiration, he was like the leader of the family.”
“We stand here today to remember and honor officers who placed their lives on the line every day, and while performing their duty to keep us safe, gave their lives,” said Rev. Perry Messick, First Baptist Church of Collingdale FOP #27 Chaplain, in the opening prayer. “On this solemn occasion, we take time to declare the names of men and women who died fulfilling their oaths. We remember the lives they lived, we remember the families they loved, and we remember the futures they sacrificed.”
Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek thanked officers for their service and noted the added challenge of working during the pandemic has presented.
“During the pandemic, they were on the front line serving and protecting the community, each day coming into contact with the deadly virus. While many of us could do our jobs safely from home, that wasn’t an option for law enforcement,” Zidek said. He also pointed out that this came during a year of immense civil unrest.
“On behalf of Delaware County Council, I sincerely thank everyone here today,” Zidek said. “We are reminded that when each of you answers a call, you are risking your lives. Every call represents a threat and a danger.”
Zidek said the county 911 Center answered over 800,000 emergency calls and that first responders handled each one without hesitation.
“You are truly heroes. We are proud that Rose Tree Park and this solemn memorial can be a place for honor, reflection, remembrance, and hopefully, comfort. As chairman of county council, I can assure you, the county stands behind you and is grateful for your bravery and dedication. We will never forget the heroes of Delaware County’s law enforcement,” he said.
District Attorney Jack Stolsteimer called the memorial hallowed ground.
“I think the highest calling in public is to be a first responder because they are the only people in society who are willing to put their lives on the line for people they don’t even know,” Stolsteimer said. He echoed Rev. Messick that these are difficult times to be a police officer.
“In tomorrow’s world, people are going to be regretting the way they treated police officers,” the district attorney said.