Off-Duty Waltham Firefighter Saves Lynnfield Man

WALTHAM, MA — An off-duty firefighter is being credited with saving the life of an older man in Lynnfield. On Aug. 6, while Tom Leard was padding around Pillings Pond in Lynnfield, he heard someone screaming for help. Rather than just call 911, he followed the screams to shore and to the second floor of a home.

There he found an elderly man bleeding. Leard set to work to control the bleeding from what Lynnfield Fire Chief Glenn Davis described as a potentially life-threatening injury. Leard stayed and helped until Lynnfield firefighters and EMTs arrived.

"Leard's quick and decisive willingness to respond to a person in need is commendable and upholds the highest ideals and traditions for the fire service," Davis said in a letter of commendation to the Waltham Fire Department.

Chief Tom McInnis told Patch he's not surprised, that it's in the character of Leard and the rest of the Waltham firefighters to regularly help. That's just the kind of people they are, said the chief.

"Our guys do stuff like that all the time and a lot of the times we don't hear about it," said McInnis. "So it's definitely refreshing to hear from another chief. They do it in this city every day. It's nice to see they're getting praise for doing it off duty, too. It's a 24/7 job."

McInnis said he hasn't talked to Leard, yet, who joined the Waltham Fire Department in 2014 and works in the Moody Street station, but plans to personally congratulate him.

"Tom's a great guy," the chief said.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).