Woman praises Witless Bay firefighters after Good Friday incident

By Mark Squibb/April 28, 2022

Rosemary Ivany is singing the praises of the Witless Bay Volunteer Fire Department and other emergency personnel after they helped her and two others at the scene of a rollover accident on Good Friday.

“They give freely of their time, and they’re there when you need them,” said Ivany. “They give up doing things in their own personal lives to help others. They were remarkable.”

The Bay Bulls woman and her two passengers were heading to a hockey game in Mobile when a burst of blinding sunlight caused Ivany to go off the road in Witless Bay.

“It was no time and the volunteer fire department was there,” said Ivany. “They had to cut the windshield out, and then cut the roof back to get everybody out… One of the firefighters, and I’m not trying to single someone out, but he stayed with me and held my hand the whole time while another was still tending to my passenger in the back, and making sure he didn’t move too much because he clearly had injuries that were visible.”

Ivany and another passenger were trapped in the vehicle for maybe 40 minutes before they could be safely removed.

“They performed their duties so professionally and without hesitation,” said Ivany. “They knew exactly what to do and they took complete control… they’re wonderful, just wonderful people,”

She said that most everyone knows in the back of their minds that emergency personnel, many of whom are volunteers, will help them in their time of need, but that your appreciation for such people becomes much more real once you’ve lived through such an experience.

“We are very blessed to have such wonderful volunteers,” said Ivany. “They were just awesome.”