REVERE, Mass. — Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo picked up the lunch tab for a group of firefighters who showed extreme courage and bravery while rescuing a driver who crashed into the Pines River.
Firefighters from Engine 5 showed up at the scene around 9 p.m. on January 19. The man was on the roof of his car, about fifty-feet out in the river. However, the current was strong and kept dragging him out further.
The man eventually had to climb on the roof as his car continued to sink. Within minutes, the car sunk and the man was left struggling to swim.
Lieutenant Brian Doherty stood on shore, at the edge of the water, yelling instructions to the man. When Doherty realized there wasn’t enough time to deploy the rescue device, he walked into the water, chest-high, and helped the man back to safety.
“Before we knew it, the vehicle started to submerge and we made the decision to just go and get the guy,” Doherty said.
Doherty’s main concern was not to lose sight of the driver.
“The car could have moved a different way and he could have got sucked under with the current or he could have fallen off the hood if we had taken our eyes off him for a second,” Doherty said.
Doherty single-handedly had the situation under control.
“By the time we got the hose, we brought it over to the shore, the lieutenant was already coming out of the water,” Firefighter Manny Velez said.
Both Arrigo and Fire Chief Christopher Bright praised Doherty’s split-second decision making.
“We’re willing to take great risk to save a life and I think [Doherty] made the right decision,” Bright said. “That’s what we do day in and day out. That’s what we’re trained to do, so hopefully when we have an incident like this there’s no hesitation.”
Firefighters recall the conditions the night of the rescue were rough.
“It was cold, snowing, windy and dark,” Firefighter Frank Trichilo said.
“Everything was starting to ice over right away,” Velez added. “It was like ice was falling.”
Doherty said he and the firefighters had actually discussed earlier in the night what they would do in the event a car went into the water.
Arrigo invited Bright and his firefighters from Engine 5 to City Hall on Thursday to treat them to lunch to show his appreciation for their heroic actions.
“It's all part of their job in some way, but when they go above and beyond and really show that courage and the character that exemplifies public safety folks here in the city,” Arrigo said.
Bright said he was grateful for the way things ended.
“I'm very proud of my department and our members,” Bright said. “If it wasn't Engine 5, it would have been any of our other members doing the very same thing.”
The 20-year-old man from Lynn who was rescued was treated at the scene.
Doherty said the crash was a freak accident.
“The one spot that you could do it, he did it,” Doherty said. “I don’t know if he could replicate it again if he tried.”
The cause of the crash is unknown.