The valor and selflessness displayed at the Boston Marathon bombings in April were spotlighted during Thursday’s event honoring dozens of firefighters from 18 cities and towns across Massachusetts for their heroics both on- and off-duty, including several from Brockton, Marshfield, Quincy, Scituate, Stoughton and Weymouth.
Brockton firefighter and EMT Donald Gazerro and Stoughton Fire Capt. Robert O’Donnell were among those off-duty firefighters, volunteering and waiting for runners at the marathon finish line when the terrorists struck.
“Without hesitation on- and off-duty fire service personnel rushed to the aid of fellow citizens. It was a thing to behold, and an extraordinary thing for us to admire,” Gov. Deval Patrick said at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium.
Other heroic efforts by firefighters were also recognized.
Just over a year ago, Marshfield firefighter Joseph Kalinowski was pinned down under burning debris and collapsed roof rafters inside a Humarock house that was fully engulfed in flames.
On Thursday, Lt. Kalinowski walked onto the stage at MIT and helped Patrick hand out awards to the eight firefighters from his department and Scituate who dragged him out of the flames.
Kalinowski, who had been badly burned on his back and neck, hugged many of those men, and the crowd of spectators – fellow firefighters in dress uniform, families and state officials – instantly recognized the poignancy and rose to their feet with applause.
“I appreciate, and we as citizens, appreciate the enormous sacrifice and extreme courage you exemplify everyday,” Patrick said.
Much of ceremony unfolded against the backdrop of stirring photographs projected onto a large screen, such as a silhouetted firefighter gripping an axe and walking toward a torrent of flames and the carnage on Boylston Street in April.
With every award came another harrowing story that often ended in a life being saved in the nick of time.
State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan recounted how two off-duty firefighters – Quincy’s Michael Eastwick and Weymouth’s John Higgins – were driving through Hingham last February in the aftermath of a blizzard when they spotted thick smoke pouring from the basement of a home.
“They heard a person inside calling for help, and forcibly entered the locked front door,” Coan said. “In spite of extreme temperatures, low visibility, and no protective equipment, Higgins crawled toward the terrified woman’s voice, found her and ultimately pulled her to the safety of her front yard.”
Patrick offered special thanks to the families of firefighters who often wait nervously while their loved ones face the perils of putting out fires and rescuing people from burning cars.
“Yours is special kind of bravery, who anxiously await the return of those who place themselves in harm’s way,” said Patrick.
Mara Hines of Marshfield agreed. The fiancée of Marshfield Fire Capt. Anthony Boccuzzo, Hines said she lives with that anxiety.
“The Humarock fire was that phone call you don’t want to get in the middle of the night. Your stomach drops,” she said. “We all have scanners, and you hear a firefighter is down, but you don’t hear who it is. All you want to know is they’re OK.”
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