BY JOYCE RUSSELL

Times Staff Writer

PORTAGE -- Even as Frank Gilbert Jr. laid injured inside his ambulance early the morning of Oct. 26 1996, the Portage Fire Department paramedic was thinking of others.

"Ray, I'm paralyzed; my neck is broken," the patient being transported in the back of the ambulance recalled Gilbert saying at the time of the accident.

Still, she told Cpl. Ed Clapp, Gilbert continued to "talk to her, telling her to relax."

The 16-year-old girl being transported to Porter Memorial Hospital was not injured in the crash. Gilbert, 38, was thrown around the back of the ambulance during the accident resulting in the breaking of two cervical vertebrae. He is paralyzed from the shoulders down and remains in critical condition in an intensive care unit at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Clapp, a reconstruction expert and Porter County Sheriff's officer, released the report Wednesday after investigating the accident for three months. The crash occurred about 8 a.m. Oct. 26 on Ind. 130 at Howe Street, just outside the Valparaiso city limits.

His report was based on interviews with witnesses and those involved in the accident, inspection of the ambulance and the scene, including the tire marks left by the ambulance.

"The primary cause of this event is the failure of the secondary participant, prior to beginning his turn, to check properly for surrounding traffic conditions. The dump truck operated by Mr. Curtis Bernard should have yielded to the approaching emergency vehicle," Clapp states in the final paragraph of his seven-page report.

Gilbert was riding in the back of an ambulance driven by fellow paramedic Raymond Smolar. The ambulance was eastbound on Ind. 130 when it approached a Valparaiso city dump truck driven by Bernard.

According to the report, Smolar activated the ambulance's siren and began to pass the truck. Emergency lights were also activated. Smolar told Clapp that he saw the truck's brake lights on, but did not observe an activated turn signal. Smolar believed the truck in front of him was yielding to his vehicle as he began to pass.

However, as he approached the truck, the truck began to turn left onto Howe Street.

"Smolar took evasive action, also attempting to turn onto Howe Street, since he had no other route open to him. Smolar was able to avoid impact with the dump truck. However,the ambulance left the roadway and entered a grassy area. The ground and grass in the area were very wet and soft. This caused a loss of both steering and braking control of the ambulance. The ambulance continued off the roadway and out of control, impacting into a display owned by Northwest Indiana Fence Co. and then into a large tree," Clapp's investigation found.

Bernard told Clapp that he neither heard the siren nor saw the ambulance attempt to pass him until it was right next to him. Bernard said he did have his left turn signal on,but was uncertain at what point it was activated. In a later interview, Bernard told Clapp his turn signal was activated at the crest of the hill west of the accident scene.

Bernard told Clapp that he did not look to the rear of the truck prior to beginning his turn.

Clapp also determined:

* The ambulance was traveling at a speed of 50.59 mph, "not unreasonable" for an ambulance on an emergency run in a 45 mph speed zone.

* The area was not a restricted passing area and the driver of the truck "should have been able to observe the presence of the emergency vehicle behind him."

* Had the ambulance been operating with its siren on for the entire emergency run, the truck driver may have been alerted to the ambulance earlier.

* The dump truck driver was obligated to yield the right of way to the ambulance.

* The use of seatbelts by Gilbert, although admittedly impractical, may have reduced his injuries.

* The placement of the head of the squad bench inside the back of the ambulance caused Gilbert to rotate as he slid forward and represents a potential design flaw.

* No evidence of the use of alcohol or drugs by either driver was found.

* By his own statement, Bernard did not look for passing vehicles prior to attempting to turn.

* No evidence of contact between the ambulance and the dump truck was found.

"We are happy and believed all along that our standard operating procedure was being followed at the time of the accident," said Portage Assistant Fire Chief Tim Sosby. "We stand by the report, but won't comment beyond that."

Jim Dishman, commissioner of Solid Waste and Recycling for Valparaiso, didn't see the report until Wednesday afternoon.

"I have no comment. It is still under investigation," Dishman said. (END "TIMES" REPORT)

PORTAGE (05-31-97)-- Mitch Bright remembers joking with his longtime friend Frank Gilbert Jr., calling him Clayton Moore, the actor who portrayed the Lone Ranger on early television.

"He had just such a desire to help," Bright, of Hobart, recalled of Gilbert who died Thursday at Porter Memorial Hospital.

It was when Gilbert was helping someone that he was injured in an Oct. 26, 1996, accident. As a paramedic, he was tending to a patient in the rear of the ambulance on Ind. 130 just outside of Valparaiso. The ambulance swerved from the road to avoid a dump truck and crashed into a tree. The impact threw Gilbert around the rear of the ambulance, breaking two of his cervical vertebrae.

Gilbert, 39, spent six months in Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago before coming home May 1, 1997. On May 3,1997, he was admitted to PMH with an infection.

complications from the infection caused his condition to decline the following four weeks until he died Thursday, May 29, 1997.

Portage City hall, where fire department offices and fire station No. 1 are located, was hushed Friday. Flags were lowered to half-mast. Firefighters wore a black stripe across their badges in memory of their fallen comrade. Both fire stations were drapped in purple bunting as the city went into mourning for Gilbert.

"This didn't happen in one day," Portage Fire Department Assistant Chief Jeff Scheub said during a press conference Friday morning.

"It had been a real struggle," Scheub said describing the past month.

Early Thursday morning Gilbert's bBody began to shut down.

"The doctors met with his family and fire department and told us Frank would probably pass either yesterday or today," Scheub recounted.

Gilbert had been on a respirator since his accident.

"His family did make the decision that if something did happen, there would be no compressions, no shock. It was a no code," Scheub said.

"He and I were both characters," Bright, who met Gilbert in 1974, said Friday. "He was just selfless. He had a wonderful, wonderful sense of humor. He had a compliment for everyone. He was a great guy and devoted to kids, everyone's and his own."

Bright was with Gilbert when he passed away Thursday night.

"He died so incredibly peacefully. I stood at the foot of his bed and held his feet as he died," Bright said describing Gilbert's last moments, adding his room in PMH's intensive care unit was filled with the people he loved.

The Fire Department issued a press release Friday, acting as spokesmen for themselves and the Gilbert family.

"We are deeply saddened today at the loss of a friend, a brother, a husband, a dad, a son. We found peace, compassion and friendship in Frank Gilbert and that is how Frank served his community, church and family," Scheub read, flanked by acting Fire Chief George Nikkos and Assistant Chief Tim Sosby.

"The Portage community has lost a firefighter and a friend. The Portage Fire Department has lost a brother and family member. Frank Gilbert's dedication, enthusiasm and love for his profession was exemplified every time Frank donned a uniform. Frank was truly respected in Emergency Services as an inspiration among his peers.

"The Gilbert family would like to thank the community for their thoughts, prayers and support that have graciously shown over the last seven months. Words cannot express the gratitude the entire Gilbert family feels towards all who have expressed their love to Frank, Kim, David, Christine and Emily and the rest of the Gilbert family," Scheub read.

"The family has endured so much during Frank's lengthy stays at Northwestern and Porter Memorial hospitals and would like to thank the staff of each hospital for their professionalism they showed Frank and the support and love they expressed to the Gilbert family."

Scheub also thanked area firefighters and fire departments for their support of Gilbert and his family. Scheub added that the Valparaiso Fire Department and PMH Emergency Medical Services department have offered to help staff the Portage fire stations during the next three to five days so that Portage personnel may attend Gilbert's visitation and services.

Frank Gilbert, a Highland native and known as "Lane" to his family, is survived by his wife, Kim; three children, David, Christine and Emily; parents, Frank Sr. and Wanda Gilbert of Hebron; sister and brother-in-law, C. Sue and Tim Braun and their children, of California and parent-in-laws, Betty and Bill Bacon of Highland.

A paramedic for 15 years, he joined the Portage department in 1991. He was also a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve attached as a medic with the U.S. Naval Reserves. He was a deacon in the Antiochian Orthodox religion at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Hobart.

October 1997... Gilbert's memory etched in stone

Portage paramedic Frank Gilbert Jr. honored in national service for fallen firefighters.

BY JOYCE RUSSELL
Times Staff Writer

They came from all over the United States and Canada with one thing in common.

They had lost a loved one, a firefighter, in the line of duty.

"The most important thing was the fact that there were so many of us in the same situation," said Wanda Gilbert of Hebron. "We know Frank's story, but every family had a story."

Gilbert is the mother of deceased Portage firefighter and paramedic Frank Gilbert Jr.

Frank Gilbert Jr. was inducted into the International Association of Fire Fighters Memorial for fallen firefighters in Colorado Springs, Colo., this weekend.

The 39-year-old father of three died May 29, seven months after an accident near Valparaiso broke two cervical vertebrae and left him paralyzed from the neck down. Gilbert was tending to a patient in the back of the ambulance when the accident occurred.

While he spent six of the months in Chicago hospitals and a rehabilitation center, Gilbert returned home May 1. Less than two days later he returned to Porter Memorial Hospital in Valparaiso with an infection that eventually claimed his life.

"It was one of the most moving things you've ever seen," said Wanda Gilbert. "So many of us were there with the same heartaches. We shared and we laughed about the good times."

She traveled to Colorado Springs with Frank's wife, Kim, and his son, David, both of Portage; Frank's cousin Vickie Anderko of Highland and her son Jeremy, of Indianapolis; Frank's sister, Sue Braun of California; and Portage Fire Department Assistant Chief Jeff Scheub.

"It was just a reminder that Frank will never be forgotten. It was really nice and very emotional," Kim Gilbert said Monday. "There were at least 500 people there and you all had something in common."

Frank Gilbert was one of 27 firefighters inducted during the Saturday memorial service. Their names were inscribed on a black marble wall.

Adjacent to the wall is a sculpture titled "Somewhere-Everyday." The sculpture depicts a firefighter climbing a ladder, holding a small child.

A second sculpture, "Lamentation," depicts a firefighter sitting on the steps of a house where a residential fire had been extinguished. Inspired by an Associated Press photograph, the firefighter had just learned three of his comrades had died.

Both sculptures were created by Gary Coulter.

The Gilbert family attended a banquet Friday night. The induction ceremony was held Saturday under skies shrouded by fog and drizzling rain.

Representatives of an honor guard presented each family with a glass encased U.S. flag. The flags had flown over the memorial for 24 hours after the death of the firefighter. As the names of each firefighter were read aloud, a single bell rang, symbolizing the firefighters' final "call home."

Speeches were given, songs were sung and poems read during the ceremony. It culminated with the releasing of hundreds of white balloons.

This was the 11th annual memorial observance where 846 names have been memorialized, including Hobart firefighter Herlof "Ted" Hansen III, who died in 1995 while fighting a fire.

One Year Later......

Frank Gilbert Jr.'s Name Joins EMS Memorial.

The Portage paramedic,injured in the line of duty,
will be honored in Roanoke, Va., May 23, 1998

BY JOYCE RUSSELL

Times Staff Writer

PORTAGE -- Nearly a year after his death, Portage firefighter/paramedic Frank Gilbert Jr. will be honored at a national ceremony this month in Roanoke, Va.

He will be one of 22 emergency medical service providers recognized at the National EMS Memorial Service on May 23.

Gilbert died May 29, 1997, seven months after he was injured in an ambulance accident while transporting a patient to Porter Memorial Hospital in Valparaiso.

Gilbert was tending to the patient in the rear of the ambulance when it swerved to avoid a collision with a Valparaiso city dump truck. The ambulance struck a tree throwing Gilbert around, causing the breaking of two cervical vertebrae.

He spent six months in a hospital and rehabilitation center in Chicago before coming home May 1, 1997. But less than two days later, Gilbert was taken to Porter Memorial Hospital with an infection that would claim his life.

His wife, Kim, and sister, C. Sue Braun, also of Portage, will attend the ceremony in Roanoke.

"It's a good thing. It's a week before the actual year anniversary of his death," said Kim Gilbert. "It's strange how it worked out that way.

"This makes it certain to me that his name will always be visible."

The names of the 22 EMS providers, all of whom died in recent years while assisting sick or injured people, will be engraved on individual brass leaves that will become a part of the "Tree of Life," a permanent memorial to EMS personnel who died in the line of duty, according to Kevin L. Dillard, memorial service chairman and president of the Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads, which founded the memorial service in 1993.

Since the service was established, 119 providers from 35 states have been recognized.

The "Tree of Life" is a special display in "To The Rescue," a national EMS exhibit highlighting the history of emergency medical service and the tools, technology and training used by EMS personnel.

Frank Gilbert was honored posthumously last September by the International Association of Firefighters when he was inducted into their memorial for fallen firefighters in Colorado Springs, Colo.

This recognition, Kim Gilbert said, would have greater meaning.

"That's what he was doing at the time of the accident," she said, explaining that he was involved in the paramedics' aspect of his job when the accident occurred.

Gilbert, the father of three, was 39 years old when he died. In addition to being a firefighter and paramedic, the Highland native was also a deacon in Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Hobart. He had been a paramedic for 15 years, working with the Portage department since 1991. He was also a reserve officer with the U.S. Navy.

A local memorial service commemorating the anniversary of Gilbert's death will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 30 at his grave, in Calvary Cemetery, Central Avenue and Willowdale Road.