By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
The Glasgow and Barren County community has once again shown its generosity by donating to a fundraiser aimed at helping a firefighter who was hurt earlier this week.
Glasgow firefighter Chase Dile was injured on April 10 while working a fire on New Salem Road. He was taken to T.J. Samson Community Hospital with “severe burns” and later flown to TriStar Skyline Medical Center for surgery, according to prior reporting. In the aftermath, Arrow Safety set up a GoFundMe asking for community donations to offset “financial challenges that come with such a serious injury,” the fundraiser stated.
Worker’s compensation will cover 100 percent of his medical bills, but does not fully cover Dile’s lost wages or that of his spouse, according to Drew Hinton, who started the GoFundMe and is the president and chief executive officer at Arrow Safety.
“Glasgow [Fire Department’s] worker’s comp will cover his medical expenses, so this will be for all the unseen expenses, such as lost wages for Chase (worker’s comp usually only pays 2/3 of your lost wages, so this will supplement the rest), as well as lost wages for his wife so that she can stay with him and focus on his healing and recovery, rather than worrying about rent/mortgage, car payments, food, fuel for vehicles, and anything else that’s part of their normal ‘monthly bills,’” Hinton told Glasgow News 1.
The GoFundMe had a goal of $10,000 and has exceeded that, raising over $14,000 in less than a day.
“I’m overwhelmed at the many blessings we’ve seen from our community, and even from firefighters from the Louisville area…and from people in other states,” Hinton said. “We reached our initial $10,000 goal in less than 12 hours, and I’m amazed at how God has blessed Chase and his family during this time of need.”
“Anyone is welcome to continue donating, and we encourage everyone to keep Chase and his family in their prayers in the upcoming days and weeks ahead,” he added.
Hinton said he was unsure exactly when the fundraiser would close, but it will remain active “most likely a couple of weeks to a month.”
