By Ryan Mancini
masslive.com
PAXTON, Mass. — Firefighters who saved two teenagers during a nor’easter in March were recognized for their life-saving efforts on Thursday with awards from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.
Princeton firefighters and EMTs, and Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center dispatchers were among the 17 first responders to receive the Team Excellence and Merit, or TEAM, award from Early. The district attorney met with most of those first responders outside Station 2 in Princeton on Thursday afternoon.
Early described how the two teenagers went skiing on March 14 after all the snow accumulated through parts of the Wachusett Mountain ski resort, at times going off the trail. Once they were outside the ski area, both teens became stuck in snow, reaching their chests. Princeton received over 29 inches or 2 1/2 feet of snow accumulation, according to the National Weather Service .
“But after a few hours, the boys became lost, they became disoriented,” Early said. “They had to call dispatchers for help around 7:30 p.m. that evening. Their phones were failing, the signal was getting faint and weaker. Both teens were very wet, very tired, very cold.”
One of the teens called 911 after being missing for three hours. Firefighters and dispatchers were able to pinpoint their location using GPS coordinates. Initially, firefighters could not go off the trail to get to the two teens while still being a contact with them, Early said.
Eventually, firefighters worked with Wachusett Mountain dispatchers and their ski patrol to load up a snow cat and snowmobiles with warming gear and were able to reach the teens. One of the teens, Early said, “was shivering uncontrollably. Both were close to hypothermia.”
“This had the potential to go very badly. But because of their training, these public servants, these people, were all able to come together and coordinate their efforts to work as a team and save these boys,” Early said. “And it’s no understanding at all that if it wasn’t for their actions, we would have a very different result and probably lost two young teenagers.”
“You know, I can’t stress enough the local knowledge that everyone brought to the table... I’ve heard it said, ‘Going alone, we go fast, or going together, we go further,’ and that’s just what happened on this day.”
“This one was tough because it was late at night and time was definitely against us,” Princeton Fire Chief John Bennett said. “I’m just extremely thankful for all the resources that came together to make this a true success. At the end of the day, I think the one thing everyone needs to understand is that this is what we do. This is what we have a calling for.”
Here are the recipients of the Worcester County District Attorney’s TEAM award, for going “above and beyond,” as Early said, to save the teens.
• Princeton Firefighter/EMT Jonathan Barry
• Princeton Fire Chief/EMT John D. Bennett
• Princeton Firefighter/EMT Christopher Bruning
• Princeton Fire Captain/EMT Philip Connors
• Princeton Firefighter Thomas Connors
• Princeton Firefighter/EMT Brian Henrich
• Princeton Firefighter/EMT Seamus Kelly
• Princeton Deputy Fire Chief/EMT Advanced Tim Kelly
• Princeton Firefighter David Richard
• Princeton Firefighter/EMT Sara Williams
• Wachusett Mountain Snow Cat Operators Jesse Goodnow and Shawn Freeman
• Mountain Vehicle Maintenance & Grooming Operations Manager Scott Goodnow
• Ski Patrol Director Kevin McDonald
• Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher Danielle Beland
• Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher Elizabeth Consiglio
• Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher Alice Ordung
• Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher Zavon Zayas-Colon
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