Bullet Hits Paging Device on Belt, Firefighter OK

An 88-year-old man fired a gun during an emergency medical call at home near Dwight Way and San Pablo Avenue early this morning, striking a communications device worn by a Berkeley firefighter, according to police news reports.

The firefighter was treated at the scene in the 1200 block of Dwight Way and didn't require hospitalization, Berkeley Police Officer Jenn Coats told Patch.

"We are very grateful that the firefighter was not hurt more seriously," she said. The bullet struck a Swissphone paging device that he was wearing on his belt, she said.

He was "resting at home with his family," Coats said in an update late this afternoon.

The shooter was taken "taken into custody without further incident," Coats said. "He is currently at a local hospital being evaluated."

Coats said the fire department was responding to a medical call that came in at 1:41 a.m. and requested police assistance at the scene. Responding officers heard two shots fired inside the home, she said.

Police found several firearms in the residence, which PD did recover several firearms from the residence, which "were removed for safety reasons," Coats said.

Here is a Bay City News Service report on the incident:

A Berkeley firefighter narrowly escaped serious injury when he was shot at while responding to an emergency medical call at an elderly man's home early today, a fire department spokesman said.

Firefighters responded to a home in the 1200 block of Dwight Way at 1:41 a.m. after they received an automated medical alert indicating that someone at the residence was having an emergency, acting Deputy Fire Chief Avery Webb said.

Firefighters asked Berkeley police to respond as well because the house was locked, but while they were waiting for police to arrive, the elderly man who lives there fired a gun at them, striking one of the firefighters, Webb said.

However, the bullet hit the firefighter's Swissphone, which Webb said is a pager-like device firefighters wear around their belts to receive communications.

The device "no doubt saved the firefighter from having significant injuries or worse," Webb said.

The firefighter was treated at the scene and, at this point, doesn't appear to need further treatment, he said.

Webb said the elderly man who lives at the house was taken away in an ambulance.

Berkeley police spokeswoman Jennifer Coats wasn't immediately available for comment.

Webb said the firefighter who was shot and the other firefighters who responded to the emergency call were released from their duties for the rest of the day for "defusing," a department policy that allows them time to deal with the psychological effects of a traumatic situation.

He said Berkeley firefighters are used to responding to other types of emergencies such as burning buildings and natural gas leaks, "but most incidents don't include firearms and circumstances like this."

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