The Columbus Fire Chief has canceled the department’s annual “Fill The Boot” fundraiser after a firefighter was struck and injured while taking donations today.
The accident occurred at the intersection of North High Street and North Broadway. Columbus Battalion Chief Steve Martin says the firefighter was taken to nearby Riverside Hospital.
“The firefighter has got a broken leg from the accident. He is at the hospital right now. He’s awake and alert and doing fine,” Martin says.
Martin says the head of the fire department decided to cancel Saturday’s fundraising event out of concern for firefighters’ safety.
“Division of Fire Chief Kevin O’Connor has decided to suspend our Fill The Boot campaign for 2016 pending a review of the situation and we’re going to look at our procedures and see if there are some things that we can do to make things safer,” Martin says.
The name of the injured firefighter has not been released.