By Marie Szaniszlo
Boston Herald
GLOUCESTER, Mass. — Authorities are investigating the death of a 37-year-old New Hampshire firefighter and experienced rescue diver who died in a weekend scuba-diving accident off Cape Ann in Gloucester.
Swanzey fire Lt. Benjamin Tatro was diving recreationally with other people Saturday morning by the wreckage of the coastal tanker Chester A. Poling when the accident occurred, authorities said.
Gloucester fire Capt. Joe Aiello said two of his department’s paramedics who responded with a Coast Guard boat tried to revive him, and he was transported to Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of death has not yet been determined, said Carrie Kimball-Monahan, a spokeswoman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett. She said a state police dive team will examine his equipment to see if it was working properly.
Tatro was a well-trained regional rescue team diver who was experienced in deep dives and cave dives, said Swanzey fire Chief Norman Skantze.
“This was very unexpected and very sad,” Skantze said. “He was a very dedicated firefighter, advanced emergency medical technician and mentor to younger members of the department. He was a part of our family and will be greatly missed. The whole town is grieving.”
Tatro started out as a junior firefighter at Meadowood Fire Department in New Hampshire and spent 20 years as a firefighter in his native Swanzey, the chief said. He was also an emergency department technician at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, was pursuing a degree in nursing at River Valley Community College and coached Little League in his spare time, Skantze said.
“He was a very caring person who would help anyone,” said his father, New Hampshire state Rep. Bruce L. Tatro. “That’s all he wanted to do since he was a little boy.”
A GoFundMe page has been started to help Benjamin Tatro’s wife and two daughters, ages 8 and 12.
“I just want people to know he was really loved and appreciated,” his wife, Sarah Tatro, said.
https://twitter.com/CapeAnnWeather/status/1001235089899118597
Copyright 2018 Boston Herald