Five months after the line-of-duty death of Binghamton Firefighter John “JR” Gaudet, crews will begin repairing the Court Street bridge railing and sidewalk near the site of the fatal fire.
City of Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham announced crews are scheduled to begin repairs to the area near 1 Main St. in Binghamton the week of July 9.
“My thanks to the Gaudet family and the Binghamton Professional Firefighters Association for their safekeeping of the memorial tributes to JR that had been displayed on the bridge since his passing,” Kraham said.
Court Street bridge repairs: Timeline, traffic impact
Following the Feb. 12 fire, Kraham said, the city retained engineers to asses the bridge conditions and design repairs.
Kraham said work will take several months to complete. Vacri Construction is performing the work at a cost of $195,000.
Pedestrian access to the sidewalk near 1 Main St. may be temporarily impacted during construction and detours will be in place. Traffic patterns will not be unaffected.
What happened on Feb. 12 in downtown Binghamton
Around 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 12, Binghamton fire crews responded to a major fire at 1 and 3 Main St. in the city.
While battling the fire, a wall collapsed at the scene, trapping Gaudet in the debris. Other firefighters freed Gaudet from the rubble, but he died from his injuries. Two other firefighters were hospitalized and released the following day.
The buildings, which were believed vacant, were completely destroyed in the fire.
A 36-year-old man has been accused of intentionally setting the fire. In March, Patrick K. Shea was charged with fourth-degree arson and second-degree murder.
Shea had a court conference on April 8 and is currently being held without bail in the Broome County Correctional Facility with no upcoming court appearances scheduled, according to the Broome County Court Clerk’s Office.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Repairs to begin at scene of Binghamton firefighter JR Gaudet’s line-of-duty death
Reporting by Jillian McCarthy, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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