Philadelphia firefighter recovering from a near-fatal fall to perform at Jersey Shore music festival
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A Philadelphia firefighter who was badly hurt when he fell from the roof of a rowhome while battling a fire is preparing to play with his band in front of thousands of people at the Jersey Shore Memorial Day weekend.
Officials say Ladder 13 firefighter Randy Ballinger was working with his colleagues to extinguish a rowhome fire on the 1100 block of South Paxon Street in February when he fell 25-feet. Now, after months of recovery, Ballinger is ready to take the stage with his punk band "Jersey Calling."
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"I've been playing with Josh Kates and Sean Bresling since 2002," said Balinger. "We got back together in 2020 during the pandemic when everybody had a lot of time on their hands."
Ballinger is still in a wheelchair, but he's not letting that stop him from shredding his bass at the Adjacent Music Festival in Atlantic City. The outpouring of support during the 18-year firefighter's recovery touched the heart of the Regional President of Live Nation, which landed Jersey Calling the gig at the music festival.
"The story of what Randy does being a fireman and falling that much and surviving it, and when I heard it was a punk rock band I was like, 'Wait a minute,' and then when I heard it was the Jersey Calling, I was like, 'Well wait, I gotta get them out on Adjacent," said Geoff Gordon, the Regional President for Live Nation Northeast Corridor.
Ballinger and the band are scheduled to open the inaugural two-day music festival Memorial Day weekend. Other acts performing at the festival include Blink-182, Paramore, and dozens of other popular bands.
"Well, I've had a couple of dreams come true in my life, like getting on the fire department, being one of them, and this is a close second for sure," said Ballinger.