New engine will keep Austintown firefighter known to future generations

AUSTINTOWN

A newly purchased fire engine heads toward Austintown as firefighters Nick Reed and Lt. Dave Schertzer drive the vehicle home. Between them, on the dash, is the helmet belonging to the late John Fritz.

Fritz died at 48 on June 27, 2016, while on duty. About a year later, the fire department purchased a new engine that bears Fritz’s name and his retired unit number, 181, on its side.

Assistant Chief Bob Williams said the decision to put Fritz’s name on the engine was a given.

“John was the kind of guy that if somebody needed help, he would be there,” said Jill Ferrone, Fritz’s sister.

She and her father, Richard Fritz, said John was constantly working on projects benefiting others.

“He would probably rather not have his name on there,” Richard Fritz said. He said his son wasn’t much for receiving recognition, and public service was in John’s nature. “He’d wanted to be a firefighter his whole life.”

He had walked to the Cleveland Clinic in full firefighting gear to raise money for spina bifida research – twice. The spinal condition affected his oldest daughter, Riley.

“He was a fireman’s fireman,” Capt. Tim O’Hara said. “He took the job very seriously, to the point where it wasn’t a job. It was a lifestyle.”

Read more about him and the new engine in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.