Press Release  State Fire Marshal Recognizes Fire Academy Staff for Medical Response

STOW — State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine today recognized the life-saving actions of Massachusetts Firefighting Academy personnel during a ceremony that honored outstanding employee performance and anniversary milestones.

The Department of Fire Services’ annual Performance Recognition Program ceremony highlights the contributions of DFS staff to the agency’s mission, which supports local fire departments through firefighter training, fire investigation, hazardous materials response, code development and enforcement, public education, grants, and more.

This year, it also recognized members of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s instructor staff and support branch, who took immediate action when a recruit experienced a severe medical emergency at the MFA’s Stow campus on January 29.

“In the span of just a few moments, the recruit lost consciousness and went into cardiac arrest,” State Fire Marshal Davine said at the ceremony. “Fortunately, the instructors and support staff immediately went into action. They got the recruit’s pulse back, and he was conscious and alert when he was transported to an area hospital.”

State Fire Marshal Davine issued certificates of recognition to Assistant Coordinator David Ryan; the Officer of the Day, Paul McPhail; EMS Officer Joseph DeSisto; Instructors Joel Abreu, Benjamin Arnold, Jeff Cote, Jeremy Coupal, Kevin Cronin, David DeMarco, Paul Duquette, Mike Dwyer, Jackson Lowbridge, Tony Marfongelli, Ed Morrissey, Jim Puleo, Andrejs Sterns, and Chris Stevens; and support staff members Kevin Holstrom and Paul Pavone. All of them are active or retired firefighters; several who were able to attend the ceremony were joined by the chiefs of their fire departments.

The DFS Critical Incident Stress Management Team activated to debrief with recruits and staff after the incident, and they too were presented with a certificate.

“Medical emergencies are part and parcel of a firefighter’s day-to-day work,” he said. “But a crisis like this is different for recruits who are still getting their bearings on the job, and it’s different when the patient is someone entrusted to your care. I really appreciate the CISM team mobilizing to help them, and I hope the certificate in their name reflects how grateful we are.”

Also recognized at today’s ceremony were:

• JoAnne Caruso, who stepped up to provide crucial assistance on data cleanup, formatting, and migration in support of a new cloud-based inventory management program;
• Timothy Moore, who went above and beyond in helping to manage more than $15 million in fire service grants and legislative earmarks;
• Dr. Sara Pragluski Walsh, who launched an immersion program for vocational school students to support fire service recruitment at a time when interested candidates are declining – all on her own initiative and in addition to her assigned duties; and
• Robert Escott and William Scheutze, who took on the responsibility of reviewing the MFA’s Recruit Firefighter program to ensure that its instruction, documentation, and teaching staff adhered to the latest edition of the relevant standard, NFPA 1001, Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications.

Also recognized were more than 80 staff members who have reached significant anniversary milestones for service to DFS and its predecessor agencies, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. They included 22 employees with five years of service, 22 with 10 years of service, nine with 15 years of service, five with 20 years of service, nine with 25 years of service, four with 30 years of service, five with 35 years of service, and two – Michael McKeown and William Defreest – who have supported the Commonwealth’s fire service for 40 years.

Finally, State Fire Marshal Davine and Deputy State Fire Marshal Maribel Fournier announced that Michael McKeown had won the annual DFS Chili Cook-Off. McKeown, who has worked at both the MFA and the Special Operations team, cooked up a smoked brisket chili with three types of beans and jalapeno, habanero, and chili peppers, beating out four other culinary contenders.

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