Watertown Fire Chief: Watertown Firefighters Helped Save Injured Officer, Assisted with Search for Bomber

After spending nearly 24 straight hours coordinating the Watertown Fire Department's response to this massive effort, I am pleased to provide the following report; By now I'm certain you have heard the harrowing accounts of the heroic actions of our first responders. 

As the details of the fierce gun battle Friday morning on our streets emerge we will all know the extent of that true heroism, particularly from our police officers. 

(Police) Chief (Edward) Deveau has all the reason in the world to be proud of his people as we all should be of him and them. I too am quite proud of the members of the fire department who continued to provide routine day to day protection on a day that was far, far from routine.

Our crews also assisted with the response by coordinating the staging of EMS units, providing protection to several bomb squads during the destruction of IEDS discovered during the search, provided protection at the landing zone set up for National Guard Blackhawk helicopters used to transport tactical teams to locations outside of Watertown, assisted crime scene evidence recovery teams, provided EMS coverage for the entry team that took the suspect into custody as well as other support tasks. 

Most importantly, I must emphasize the importance of the actions of our rescue company during the gun battle Friday morning. Firefighters Patrick Menton and James Caruso drove our rescue (truck) into an active shooting scene to get to Transit Police Officer Richard Donahue who lay gravely injured and pulseless from a gunshot wound to his leg that severed a major artery.  They did so without hesitation or the benefit of bulletproof vests and weapons of their own.

They quickly assessed Officer Donahue's condition, applied immediate care to stop his bleeding, performed effective CPR and most importantly made the life saving decision to rapidly extricate and transport him to the nearest hospital.  Other than Officer Donahue's own incredible will to live, the actions of Firefighers Menton and Caruso are the reason that he survived.  Although tempered by the losses suffered by other responding agencies, I am pleased to report that no Watertown Firefighters were injured during this incident and that each member was able to safely return home to their families at the conclusion of their tours of duty.

Mario Orangio

Watertown Fire Chief