Denver Firefighter Hits Line Drive, Rounds Bases In Between Calls

DENVER (CBS4) - It's a firefighter's dream call: "Engine 3, respond emergent to Lawson Park, Park Avenue West and Welton Street, for a team in need of a pinch-hitter."

Even if the dispatcher's call was only a dream, Denver firefighter William Coghill did, in fact, answer the bell.

Coghill and the crew from Engine 3 couldn't help but notice the softball game being played as they finished up a medical call at Park Avenue West and California Street Thursday evening. The game was being played at Lawson Park, on the same block as the medical call.

According to Denver Fire Department spokesman Greg Pixley, the crew stopped by for a few minutes to take in the game.

One of the ball players had to leave.

In the name of community service, Coghill stepped forward.

"He kind of volunteered, they kind of recruited him," Pixley said. "He said he hadn't swung a softball bat in about 20 years. The rest of the crew was betting he would strike out. They took the photographs because they planned on plastering them all over the fire house after he struck out."

To his crewmates disappointment, Coghill beat the odds, doubled to center, and eventually scored.

It may be the first time someone at Lawson Park has crossed home plate wearing bunker boots.

Engine 3's crew returned to the station at 25th and Washington immediately afterward.

No injuries were reported as a result the incident.