The Watertown Fire Department honored the bravery and life saving actions of several firefighters, police officers, and dispatchers during a ceremony at the Commander’s Mansion on Nov. 25. Also during the event, the Fire Department swore in three recently promoted firefighters and four firefighters who had been appointed to the WFD.
Service Awards
Car Strikes Building, Causing a Gas Leak
On Sept. 7, 2023, Watertown firefighters and police officers responded to a car accident with injuries when a vehicle struck a building.
Engine 2 arrived on the scene and confirmed that the building had structural damage and two natural gas meters had been severed and were leaking gas.
“Firefighters immediately began to try to extricate the driver,” Fire Chief Ryan Nicholson said.
The victim was removed from the vehicle and was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center by Medic 1.
The crew of Ladder 2 used the shut off to slow the leak, until the gas company could completely shut off the gas.
The vehicle was removed from the building by a truck from Perfection Auto, and firefighters assisted with stabilizing the building using WFD struts.
The Commendation Board of the Watertown Fire Department voted to award the Company Citation Award to Deputy Chief Robert Iannetta, Capt. Eric Allen, Lt. Stephen Thompson, Lt. Jason Capello, and Firefighters Michael Raymond, Jeffrey Pugliese, Matthew Nicholson, Derek Dubois, Jonathan Mazzola, Paul Coughlin, Cory Donahue, Christopher Fidler, Andrew Vega, and Kate Boudreau. The board also voted to award a Letter of Commendation to Public Safety Dispatchers Jessica Scully and Jane Gryzelcyk.
Car Rolled Over into House
On Jan. 13, 2024, a motor vehicle flipped into a house on California Street, and people were entrapped.
“Upon arrival we surveyed the scene and found a vehicle that failed to negotiate the corner and lost control, hitting a telephone pole, shearing it in half causing the downed electrical wires and a car on its side resting against the house,” Nicholson said. “Three occupants had been in the car with two passengers ejected and the driver trapped inside the vehicle with obvious serious injuries to both legs and right arm.”
Crews from Engine 1, Ladder 1, and C3 stabilized the vehicle and used extraction tools to free the driver. Ladder 2 was called to the scene to provide another set of extrication tools. Meanwhile, crews from Engines 1 and 3 provided basic life support care to the ejected victims. One of the passengers had a serious leg injury and the other had minor injuries.
After about 30 minutes the driver was freed from the vehicle and was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess by PRO ALS. The other passengers were also taken to Beth Israel Deaconess.
The Commendation Board of the Watertown Fire Department voted to award the Company Citation Award to Deputy Chief Robert Iannetta, Capt. Eric Allen, Lt. Stephen Thompson, Lt. Sean Connolly, Lt. Sean Fitzgerald, and Firefighters Michael Raymond, Edward Farrell, Mark Donahue, Matthew Nicholson, Derek Dubois, Angel Carrion, James O’Connell, Justin Pariseau, and Andrew Vega. The board also voted to award the Medal of Commendation to several members of the Watertown Police Department: Sgt. David Sampson, and Officers Don Pham, Joseph Farrar, Devon Shatkin, Kyle Rooney, Keith Parent, Andrew Civetti, and Michel Colon. Additionally, the board gave Letters of Commendation to Public Safety Dispatchers William Bellis and Antonio Galang.
Firefighter Saves Neighbor in Dark Woods
On Jan. 12, 2024, Watertown Firefighter James Caruso noticed his neighbor’s vehicle next to a nearby wooded area as it was beginning to get dark. This aroused concern, and Caruso decided to search for his neighbor.
The neighbor had been sick and was walking with his dog. The man’s wife wrote a letter to Chief Nicholson, about the incident, and said that her husband had been told by some hikers that the path around the pond in the woods was dry, but when he approached it he found it was flooded. He had a choice of either make the long back-track or wade through 18 inches of water to reach the pond.
“He chose the second option. As he made his way through the water and muck, he slipped and fell a few times, injuring his back,” his wife wrote. “As he continued, he came to a small familiar boardwalk near the edge of the pond, but it too was under water. Not realizing the submerged wood would be slick, he stepped onto it and slipped again — hitting his back on the edge of the walkway as he fell off into a foot of water.”
With his injured back, the man could not get up and lay in the cold water “as the sun set and it became dar and colder.”
Caruso had been riding his ATV in the woods and spotted the man’s car. He asked other neighbors if they knew where the man was.
“When they didn’t know, Jimmy suspected something might have happened (to the man),” the man’s wife wrote. “Jimmy then took it upon himself to grab some EMT supplies and flashlights, throw them in the back of his ATV, and go back out into the cold and dark woods to look for him.”
After initially taking a different path, Caruson went toward the pond and called out the man’s name. He finally heard a response from the other side of the pond and was able to locate him.
“Jimmy waded through water above his knees to reach (the man). He located him between the boardwalk and the pond, laying in the bushes in a foot of cold water,” she wrote. “After quickly assessing him, Jimmy helped him up and walked him back through the water to the ATV. They sped off so fast even our dog couldn’t keep up with him.”
When they got to the man’s home, an ambulance was called and neighbors brought out blankets. As EMTs cared for the man, Caruso went back into the woods to find the man’s dog. He was waiting near the man’s car, unwilling to move, but Caruso convinced the dog to get into the ATV so he could take him home.
The wife said she would not have been home for another two hours and she is not sure how long it would have taken her to figure out what happened and to organize a search party.
“We believe that only because Jimmy was aware, compassionate, and concerned for the welfare of a neighbor, is (my husband) alive today,” she wrote. “I am not exaggerating when I say that Jimmy is truly a hero.”
The Commendation Board voted to award Firefighter James Caruso the Medal of Commendation.
Woman Saved from Burning Home
On Oct. 11, 2024, Public Safety Dispatchers received a report of a smoke alarm and smoke coming from a home on Winsor Ave. Engine 2 arrived first, and saw smoke coming from the second floor of a two-family home.
“Lt. Glen McManus and Firefighter Daniel Russo of Engine 2 met Officer (Michael) Gryzelcyk in the front stairwell where he was able to relay to them that he had made verbal contact with a resident on the second floor, but he was unable to reach her due to heavy smoke conditions,” Nicholson said.
McManus and Russo each put on a breathing apparatus and located the resident. They carried her through the apartment and down the stairwell, at which point Gryzelcyk was able to help them remove her from the burning house.
The woman was taken to hospital, and McManus and Russo took a hose line into the house to start to extinguish the fire. Other companies arrived to douse the blaze.
The Commendation Board awarded Lt. Glen McManus and Firefighter Daniel Russo the Joseph A. Toscano Medal of Valor. They also awarded Officer Michael Gryzelcyk the Medal of Merit.
Promotions and Appointments
Watertown City Clerk Noelle Gilligan gave the oath of office to three firefighters who have recently been promoted and four recently appointed firefighters.
Brian Donovan was promoted from Captain to Deputy Fire Chief on Nov. 3, 2024. He was first appointed as a firefighter in 2002, was then promoted to lieutenant in 2010 and made captain in 2019.
Glen McManus was promoted from lieutenant to captain on Nov. 2, 2024. He joined the department in 2014, and was appointed lieutenant in 2020.
Douglas Wood was promoted to lieutenant on Nov. 3, 2024. He was first appointed a firefighter in 2003.
Four firefighters took the oath: Kyle Hanley (appointed on Feb. 19, 2023), Frank Byrne (appointed Oct. 8, 2023), James Coutoumas (appointed Oct. 6, 2024), and Zachary Robbin (appointed Oct. 6, 2024).