Baltimore firefighter Joseph Bayne died fighting a blaze in the 11th-floor offices of Riggs, Counselman, Michaels & Downes insurance company in 1977 in what is now the Legg Mason building. Nearly 30 years later, when the firm received a grant through the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. to be donated at its discretion, it remembered who to honor.

The firm and Fireman’s Fund Insurance presented the Baltimore City Fire Department with a $30,000 check Wednesday morning to support the department’s fire prevention bureau and paramedic bike team. The money will purchase equipment, supplies and training materials in addition to funding the department’s annual October Fire Prevention Month activities. Jean Bayne, Joseph Bayne’s widow, attended the ceremony at the Oldtown Fire Station with her sons Robert, also a Baltimore fire fighter, and youngest son George. The couple’s oldest son, Joe Jr., is a Franciscan priest and fire company chaplain in Buffalo.

“I’ve worked for the past 24 years in the fire department, for many years as secretary to EMS Division Chief Lloyd Carter,” Jean Bayne said. “That’s why this is so important today. The fire department and EMS are in my heart.”

Established in 1999, the paramedic bike team provides emergency-first response when event traffic and large crowds delay traditional response. In the past year, Bike Team members responded to 300 emergencies in the past year at events including: The Baltimore Marathon, Preakness Celebration, African-American Heritage Festival, Artscape, The Fells Point Festival and, most recently, the Virgin Music Festival. Shortly after the bike team program was launched, the unit saved a cardiac arrest patient’s life at a July 4 celebration on the Inner Harbor.

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“Ask any bicycle commuter in Baltimore — we all know the best way through traffic is on a bike,” said Mark Counselman, whose father Skip is a partner in the insurance agency and was working in the office the morning of the fire.

“The response times are a fraction of what they used to be at these events — sometimes less than a minute,” EMS Lt. Mark Fletcher said.

Since the Bike Team’s inception, 30 members of the department have received International Police Mountain Bike Association certification training. They are equipped with 12 lead cardiac monitors, oxygen, advanced cardiac medications and Endotracheal intubation equipment for advanced airway maintenance. Bike Team members have the capability to control bleeding, splint fractures, establish an IV, perform patient assessments as well as sustain life in a pre-hospital setting until the arrival of a medic unit.”

rcassie@baltimoreexaminer.com